Everlasting Nora

July 1, 2018

Gr 3-6-Nora's life changed forever when she lost her father and home in a fire. Nora and her mother now live in her father's mausoleum at the Manila North Cemetery in the Philippines. Nora spends her days dreaming about when she can go back to school as she sells daisy chains to funeral visitors. Nora and her mother also serve as labanderas, or washerwomen, to various people in the nearby community. But they continue to lose jobs as Nora's mother's gambling addiction grows. Nora's situation often feels hopeless, and after her mother's disappearance, she takes matters into her own hands. The girl feels there is no one she can trust after being conned and deserted by extended family in the past, but along the way discovers she has a greater support system than she expected in her fellow cemetery squatters, especially Jojo and his grandmother who help and support her even when things get dangerous. Cruz offers an important and engaging tale. Filipino terms are interspersed throughout, and unfamiliar readers can rely on context clues to keep the natural flow of the story. There is also a glossary at the back. At its heart, this is a story about friendship and family-the one we're born into and the one we make. VERDICT This moving title should find a place in all libraries looking for authentic and powerful middle grade stories.-Kristyn Dorfman, The Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2018
According to 12-year-old Nora, "A home does not have dead people inside it."Nora lives in the North Cemetery, Manila's largest, with her mother, Lorna, after having lost her home and father to a disastrous fire. Now impoverished, Nora sells dried flower garlands by the cemetery gates and helps her mother wash laundry for others to get by. More than anything, Nora wishes to return to her old life and go back to school. Past hardships with family have made Nora reluctant to depend on others for help. But when her mother goes missing and she must confront a street tough named Tiger who may have the answers she needs, Nora learns to accept help from those in her community, including her spirited friend Jojo and his kind grandmother, Lola Mercy. Nora is an impressive young heroine whose extraordinary self-awareness helps her to bravely take on adult responsibilities to support herself and Lorna. Even when frustrated with her mother's poor choices and conflicted about whom she can trust, she remains resilient. Nora's story is a tribute to Filipino children, and readers of all backgrounds will find themselves immersed in the culture, learning bits of Tagalog and longing to savor the delicacies described throughout such as biko, champorado, and banana-que.Cruz's touching debut breathes life, beauty and everlasting hope into a place where danger lurks and the dead rest. (glossary, author's note, activity guide) (Fiction. 8-13)

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September 17, 2018
Nora would be in the sixth grade if she hadn’t had to leave school a year before, after a fire destroyed her home and killed her father. Now living in her father’s mausoleum, in North Cemetery, the largest graveyard in Manila, Nora makes and sells daisy garlands to passersby and helps her mother do others’ laundry to provide food and necessities. After her mother disappears one night, Nora finds herself utterly alone, unwilling to call upon family or friends because of embarrassment and previous family circumstances. She soon realizes how dire her mother’s gambling problem has become and confronts a loan shark’s greedy lackey to find her. Unexpected help from neighbors and friends, like 13-year-old Jojo and his grandmother, Lola Mercy, portray a caring community within the shantytown and beyond. Debut author Cruz doesn’t shy away from Nora’s reality—her unreliable, grieving mother, the family’s extreme poverty, the violence of the gambling world—but she also weaves a story of hope in darkness and creates a courageous, resilient heroine to root for. Cruz’s rich descriptions of Filipino culture, most notably the food, intensify the sense of place and proffer bright spots in Nora’s difficult situation. Ages 8–12. Agent: Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Literary Services.

October 1, 2018
Grades 6-8 Nora is a 12-year-old Filipino girl living with her mother in a cemetery, in the grave where her father is buried. Her mother is addicted to gambling on mahjong, and one day she doesn't return home. Nora sets out to find her, starting a dangerous journey that uncovers not only family secrets but also Nora's own strength and resilience. Cruz does a wonderful job showing readers a life that many will know nothing about. The description and imagery of life in the cemetery is rich, as the narrative exposes snapshots of various people including other children, families, and even missionaries. The subject matter becomes extremely heavy for the intended age group, as Nora worries constantly about finances and survival, and the tone is sad with Nora's despair over her current and future life. This impactful debut novel shows young readers the devastating reality of life for some children in the world, introduces them to a new language and culture, and demonstrates the power of family and neighbors, courage, hope, and, most of all, perseverance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)