Everlasting Nora is a touching middle grade about a young Fillipino girl growing up living in a cemetery. It’s a book about loss, about family, and forgiveness.
Summary
After a family tragedy results in the loss of both father and home, 12-year-old Nora lives with her mother in Manila’s North Cemetery, which is the largest shanty town of its kind in the Philippines today.
When her mother disappears mysteriously one day, Nora is left alone.
With help from her best friend Jojo and the support of his kindhearted grandmother, Nora embarks on a journey riddled with danger in order to find her mom. Along the way she also rediscovers the compassion of the human spirit, the resilience of her community, and everlasting hope in the most unexpected places.
Review
This #ownvoices and diverse middle grade instantly worms its way into your heart. Revolving around Nora, readers can instantly empathize with Nora’s challenging life. Living in a cemetery, unable to attend school, and barely making living costs, her life takes another turn as her mother disappears. As Nora has to figure out the mystery of where her mother is, she has to learn to rely on those around her. She carries a burden heavier than most middle grade readers, but the way she handles the quest to find her mother will not only inspire you, but admire her bravery.
At the end of the novel, Nora has to rely on the community and those around her for help. It’s hard to accept help when you need it. But when you have no where to turn, you can find out who in your life will be supportive of you in your time of need. At the same time, Nora struggles with hope. Finding hope to go back to school, to find her mother. So Everlasting Nora is about finding hope, bravery, and strength to continue forward.
Everlasting Nora is a touching middle grade that will show readers the importance of stories, friendship, and community. It will enforce the importance of second chances, forgiveness, and the value of the family we find along the way.
Find Everlasting Nora on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound & Book Depository.