Isabel in Bloom — Mae Respicio

A middle-school girl discovers a connection between her home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S. through a special garden in “this sweet and heartfelt novel [that] explores how bumpy beginnings can offer chances for new growth” (The New York Times)

A National Council of Teachers of English Recommended Book

Twelve-year-old Isabel is the new kid in her San Francisco middle school. It's the first time in many years that she'll be living with her mother again. Mama's job in the US allowed Isabel and her grandparents to live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn't really know her own mother anymore.

Making new friends in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school means Isabel will begin to find her way, and maybe she too, will begin to bloom.  

In this beautifully rendered novel-in-verse, Mae Respicio explores how growth can take many forms, offering both the challenges and joy of new beginnings.