Isabel in BloomIsabel in Bloom

Being the new kid in school is never easy, but for twelve-year-old Isabel Ligaya, everything is new in San Francisco. New school, new town, new country. The plan was for her mother to work in the United States and earn money to send back home to Isabel and her family in the Philippines. But now, after five long years of being apart, Isabel is reuniting with Mama in California. The last place she wants to be. Before Isabel left, her lolo told her to look for the familiar. At first she only knows what's missing: the smell of Lola's cooking, picking calamansi from Lolo's garden, running and laughing with her friends. Then, after spotting a few things that remind her of home, Isabel finds just what she was looking for at the after-school-club fair: the cooking club. And with that first step--and a dried-up old garden--Isabel begins to find her way in her new world. Mae Respicio has created a poignant novel-in-verse about friendship, community, and how we can bloom where we're planted.