Hello and happy December! Whatever holidays you celebrate, I hope your home is merry and bright and your time includes a cozy corner with books.

Today’s spotlight will be my one and only for this month. Between travel, holidays, and not one but two big book deadlines–to my agent and publisher, respectively–over the next few weeks I will have to satisfy my MMGM craving by reading all your posts. Thankfully today’s book can nicely carry the month! If you haven’t read Everlasting Nora, you should. It’s the kind of book that will make a great gift for a child, teacher, or reader, and has a story that will stay with you! My thanks to the awesome Natalie at Literary Rambles for the copy I won. 🙂

The book is set in the Philippines, where 12-year-old Nora lives in the North Manila Cemetery with her mother, among their many squatter neighbors. Their home is their father’s mausoleum, and they get by from day to day by washing other people’s laundry, and selling the wreaths of everlasting daisies that Nora makes. But, life wasn’t always like that. When Nora’s papa was alive she lived in a regular home, enjoyed after school treats (and never went hungry), and went to school like regular kids. But now she’s always a little desperate, more than a little hungry, and longs for the days when she could sit in a boring classroom all day and soak up knowledge. What’s worse, her mother has developed a gambling habit, and very early in the book this begins creating problems for her and Nora that escalate as the book progresses.

Your heart can’t help but warm to this courageous, determined little girl who is smart and willing to work hard to help her family. I also really enjoyed the many other side characters in the novel, especially Nora’s new best friend, Jojo. Jojo’s Grandma, little Ernie, various other neighbors, and her friend from her past life also stand out as bright lights of character in the novel. With fist fights and knife wielding, a kidnapping and a desperate escape, as well as quieter moments when Nora reads a Philippine folk tale and spends time growing, this will be a whole-classroom pleaser.

Another thing I loved about the book is what a great job the author did of showing Nora’s poverty and desperate circumstances while also showing that this is not the entirety of life in the Philippines, so as to give the reader a balanced view. I confess, while I have a long-time friend from the Philippines, she has lived almost all of her adult life in Hawaii and I knew little about modern life there. I suspect that’s true of many readers, so it’s especially helpful that both sides of Nora’s life–before the fire that killed her father, and after–are shown through a series of contrasts Nora makes and through her memories. Similarly, the generosity of Nora’s cemetery neighbors despite their poor circumstances served as a balancing point to the greed and viciousness of the book’s main villain. All in all, the book balanced the variety of subject matter extremely well.

All that said, I would have liked to see the ending extended just a little further, as it felt a tiny bit rushed and the different pieces wrapped up a little too quickly. I also could see that sometimes the author’s voice was cautious, especially when integrating her research on the cemetery into Nora’s story. However, these were the kinds of nit-picky things most readers will likely never notice, and the vivid setting and exciting action will sweep readers along so quickly they won’t realize how much they’re learning as they read. I’m also sure that educators of all kinds will love this book, as it does such a superb job of demonstrating the craving a child can have for education just when it becomes most difficult to get, and the way that the same education can open doors. I really appreciated the links author Marie Miranda Cruz included in the back of the book, so readers can learn more about organizations that bring education to kids living in poverty, and help in whatever ways they can!

Now, let’s hear what Apricot-kitty has to say:

“I’m hungry. I think I should be fed. In fact, I think I should be given a snack for every meal Nora had to miss.”

Please pardon Miss Apricot. We had a storm arrive over the weekend, bringing actual-for-real and measurable inches of snow (and before Christmas!), and I don’t think she’s forgiven us yet for ‘breaking’ the outside with all that nasty white stuff. Perhaps a few more minutes cozied up on a stocking will help? In the mean time, I think some holiday snacks are a great idea because reading this book will definitely make you hungry! It also made me want to sample banana que pretty desperately. It’s mentioned over and over in the book and sounds as good as this pic looks!

In fact, I think that might get added to our family’s Christmas Eve fun finger foods night. Recipe and source for the pic here on Pinch of Yum, just in case you need a fix as well!

Tell me what what you’re reading, and if you get a winter break what you’ll be doing! I’ll get to enjoy some beach time as well as having family visit, but you can bet that throughout I’ll be revising, writing–and stealing moments of reading! I’m excited to share spotlights on my most recent book-loves with you all come January.

For the full round up of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday spotlights, interviews, reviews and giveaways stop by Greg Pattridge’s blog, and happy reading!

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