“Utang na loob: a debt from within. From the heart. It is a debt you did not ask for and will never pay off but must always try to. It is gratitude for the ancestors who brought you into existence, for the family who raised you, for the community who helped you in ways direct and indirect, visible and invisible. It is acknowledgment that none of us are alone.”
― Randy Ribay, Everything We Never Had

Randy Ribay’s Everything We Never Had dives into the lives of four generations of Filipino American boys as they work through a segment of time in their teenage years. Starting in Watsonsville in 1930: Francisco has just left the Philippines and has landed in California trying to earn a living in the fields. Flash to Stockton in 1965: Emil splits his time between school and working night shifts at his aunt’s restaurant. His father Francisco is barely home, spending his time instead as a labor organizer traveling the country. Emil has no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps. Jump to Denver, 1983: Chris is beyond tired of dealing with his overbearing father Emil. When a missed ‘ancestral history’ assignment gets Chris kicked off the football team, he finds himself spending days in the library learning more about his Filipino history. His attempts to discuss this with Emil are brushed off as unimportant. Now to Philadelphia 2020: Enzo’s anxiety is off the charts when his grandfather Emil moves in with them after a global pandemic breaks out. Tensions run high between Chris and Emil leaving Enzo to try to bridge the gap through long family walks with his grandfather’s dog.

Everything We Never Had is beautifully written. Each Maghabol boy has a complex father-son relationship that the author describes in such detail that readers are easily able to see how these relationships impact each subsequent generation. Each boy confronts personal and familial expectations in their own way, but Filipino American culture winds through each of their intricate stories.

“It’s facing the truth—even when it’s difficult—that allows us to change for the better.”
― Randy Ribay, Everything We Never Had

See YA Book Club

Interested in this book? Everything We Never Had is the July See YA Book Club pick. We will be discussing this book on Wednesday, July 1st at 6:30pm at our Eastern Avenue branch.

Join our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists.

Registration is not required. Books are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Eastern Avenue library. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm. Stop by the service desk for more information.

July 1 – Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

August 5 – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

September 2 – The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

October 7 – Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

November 4 – Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

December 2 – Tumble by Celia C. Perez