This book was an eye opening look into a part of life in Manila that many outside of the country may not know about. Nora is living in a cemetery. Yes, a cemetery. She lives there with her mother in a mausoleum in extreme poverty and they are not alone, there are dozens of squatters in the cemetery because the mausoleums provide shelter and nobody pays much attention to the land unless a burial is happening.

This book is a story of friendship, family, humility, acceptance, perseverance alongside Nora’s struggle to find her mother after she disappears. She is accompanied by her friend Jojo who embraces the life in the cemetery in a way that Nora can’t understand because she wants to go back to her old comfortable life. Throughout the novel Nora learns about her past while finding ways to move forward.

This would be an excellent read for middle grade reader to learn about those less fortunate, a new culture, and to understand how you make things work with what you have.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It might seem that I’m biased but I just can’t help but love this book so much. I was anxious at first and I was glad that this didn’t disappoint. It was so much more than I hope for. Set in one of the most populated cemetery, dead and alive people alike, in Manila, Everlasting Nora surely makes for an interesting read. Who would have thought cemetery could be a living quarters for a lot of people? It might seem scary and depressing, even embarrassing. Such as the case with Nora. One year of living in the cemetery and it is still hard for her to call it her home. Nora as the main character and narrator is someone you’ll easily root for. She’s clever, brave, independent and devoted to her family. I love that she loves school and even though she had to stop, she longed to be in one and still try to learn with the help of Kuya Efren, inspired by the real-life founder of Dynamic Teen Company who pioneered pushcart classroom where they go to the slum areas such as cemetery and trash dumps to teach the out-of-school kids. I also love how well-developed Nora’s character is. From wanting to run away from the cemetery, she came to see it as her home and with that came the acceptance and appreciation of the people around her. Her loyalty to her mother and the ability to forgive her despite her Mama’s shortcomings is very admirable.

There are numerous characters introduced and it can be a little tricky to keep up with all of the names, but aside from Nora, Jojo is another character that made a mark. He is Nora’s best friend and is such a delight to read. He is cheerful and industrious and is someone whom you want to be friends with. At the age of 13, he’s providing for himself and his grandmother. The community in which Nora lives mirrored most communities in the Philippines. They treat each other as family and when one needed help, they will give it without expecting anything in return. It also realistically portrayed how resilient the Filipinos are.

The story may not be an original one, but the setting and the characters certainly made Everlasting Nora quite unique. It may be a work of fiction but it certainly feels like something that happens in reality. The plot, the characters, they are all realistically presented. I like how the author managed to spin what seems to be a miserable and hopeless story into something heartwarming and uplifting. It shows how you need not be related for someone to be called family. It is well-written and absorbing. A book about family, friendship, forgiveness, hope, and determination. I definitely love reading about Nora’s journey and I can’t rate it high enough. Though the target readers are middle graders, adult readers will surely enjoy it, too.

3.5 stars!

Nora is intelligent, hard-working, persistent, and just so happens to live in a cemetery—a mausoleum to be exact. And not just any mausoleum, but the one housing her father’s dead body. After her father’s death, Nora and her mom moved to the family grave house. It’s not that they wanted to live amongst the dead, but they were forced to out of poverty, alongside thousands of other Filipinos in the capital
city of Manila.

After a long day of selling everlasting daisy garlands outside the cemetery gates, Nora arrives home to an empty house. Her mother is gone. When her mom doesn’t come home after one day, then two, she begins to worry. Nora remembers her mother as she used to be—smiling, singing, and radiant—before they lost everything. Lorna, Nora’s mom, is a gambling addict and it seems that her bad habit has finally caught up with her. Nora refuses to lose her mom and, along with her best friend Jojo, sets out to find her and bring her home.

Nora is a beautiful character. At twelve years old, she longs to return to school and escape from the impoverished prison holding her captive. Despite losing her father and the only life she’s ever known she holds her head high and learns what it means to be a survivor.

Nora’s journey, and her transformation, was truly inspiring. In her desperation to save her mom, Nora learns how to trust people again and to look for kindness in unexpected places. Rather than dwelling on life as it used to be, she begins to create her own opportunities and accept the generosity of others. In searching for her mom, Nora really discovers a new identity for herself.

Overall, I enjoyed “Everlasting Nora”; it was truly an adventure set in a place that I could never imagine calling home. Cruz paints a picture of cemetery dwellers as survivors and innovators and honors them with the dignity that is often stripped away by those outside their walls. “Everlasting Nora” is a fantastic middle grade book that illustrates empathy and how to look beneath the surface and into the true nature of others.

I loved this memorable and touching children’s story about a little girl who lives in a graveyard in the Philippines with her mother and her struggle to find her mother when she goes missing. Appropriate for grades 4 to 7, in my opinion, it sensitively tells Nora’s story while focusing on themes of friendship and loyalty.
Thank you, Net Galley, for my review e-copy!

First of all, Buy this book! I loved reading Nora's story. It was sad, but also inspiring. What does home mean to you? What would you do to survive and keep your family safe were questions that ran my mind as I read this story.

As I read, I kept thinking are there really children and people in general living in cemeteries, but I knew deep down it was true. This book really made me think and want to know more. I will definitely be adding this book to my class library. I know my students will enjoy reading about Nora's courage and will have many questions.

The authors note at the back answered many of the questions I had as I read. I think this should win an award for the most courageous character! Thank you for writing this story. It has made a most profound impact on my thinking and I know it will do the same for all who read it.

This is a beautiful book, sensitively told and an eye opening glimpse into another culture and into poverty that will be familiar for some readers.

Nora lives with her mother in a cemetery in Manila -- in the mausoleum where her father was buried after dying in their apartment fire. She is no longer able to attend school and has been selling everlasting daisy necklaces and helping her mother do laundry for other people to earn enough money to go live with Tito Danny in the country. Then one night her mother does not come home and Nora's world goes even more topsy turvy. You can't help but root for Nora and your heart breaks as she runs into one setback after another. Reading this story reminds us all of the need for compassion and hope and that we are never alone.

I especially appreciated the context clues in the prose for the Philippino terms used in the story as well as the little glossary in the back of the book. This would be an excellent classroom resource for middle grade students. Activities and discussion questions are included in the book for during and after reading.

A big thank you to Starscape for a paperback ARC and to NetGalley for the access to a digital ARC.

Really good story! I had heard of people living in Manila's cemeteries, but have never found a story about the people, the families living in them. I can't even imagine a government that would allow it's people to live like that. Anyway, Nora and her mother end up living in her late father's family crypt after they are impoverished by his death. It's a harrowing existence, to say the least. His family treats Nora and her mother very; badly even steal from them. The cemetery families seem very close knit and bond with each other to survive, in comparison. I like the idea that a teacher volunteers his time to teach the children in the cemetery. He also helps Nora and her friend with their schooling. The glossary at the end of the book was very helpful in translating the few foreign words in the book. I think kids will be interested in learning about the Manila culture and its language. Great story for ages 8 and up. Highly recommended for school library purchase.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge and the author Marie Miranda Cruz for this advanced copy of Everlasting Nora, that will be released in just two weeks(October 2, 2018).

This story was so unique and beautifully written, I did not want to put it down! Nora, a twelve- year-old, is living day by day in a cemetery after a fire took their home and her father, leaving Nora and her mother alone. Her mother wasn’t making the best decisions for them either as she was getting them further behind with gambling debts.

I was really cheering for Nora as she had to endure so much disappointment and shame, yet had to carry the burden of providing for her and her mother. She wanted to so badly go to school, live in a real home and feel like a normal little girl again with a bright future.

I really appreciated reading a children’s book that highlighted some of the realities of homelessness, I think this is very important for children to understand how some families struggle.

As sad as the story is, I still really enjoyed reading it and was very satisfied with the ending. In the author’s note at the end, she discusses her inspiration for the story which made me love having read it all the more! 💗 My opinions are all my own.

This is an excellent coming of age tale where the young heroine faces trial after trial; however, she retains her hope and drive. She has grit and her friends who give generously despite not having much themselves. Even though Nora and her mother live in a tomb in a cemetery, she struggles to better herself and longs to return to school. What a great message for young people who have so many advantages.

Everlasting Nora
A Novel
by Marie Miranda Cruz
Macmillan-Tor/Forge

Starscape
Children's Fiction , Middle Grade
Pub Date 02 Oct 2018



I am reviewing a copy of Everlasting Nora through Macmillan- Tor/Forge and Netgalley:


Twelve year old Nora looses both her Father and the family home and has to moved to Manila’s North Cemetry, the largest shanty town in the Phillipines today!


One day Nora’s Mother disappears as well leaving Nora alone.


She had lost both her Father and the family home to a fire when she was eleven and soon she finds herself without a Mother too!


Nora embarks on a dangerous journey in search of her Mother with the support of Jo-Jo and his kindhearted Grandmother. While on this dangerous journey she discovers compassion and the resilience of the human spirit.


I give Everlasting Nora five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Nora is a little girl who lives in a shantytown inside a Manila (Philippines) cemetery -- she and her mother actually live inside the mausoleum where her father is buried. The book goes into extensive detail of what it's like for the homeless who live in the cemeteries, which is a real thing in Manila. Nora and a friend try to find her mother, who disappeared one day, while Nora does her best to hold down the menial job she has to keep herself and her mother, a compulsive gambler, fed. This is an intense story with themes of addiction, organized crime, and violence. For middle-grade readers. (Netgalley review)

When I saw this was set in the Philippines I snatched it up. From the beginning I felt compelled to do outside research on the Philippines and the facts revealed in the story. (Do people really live in cemeteries?! Yes! They do). The author delves into some very serious and very real topics, including childhood homelessness and the destructive effects gambling addiction can have on a family.

I enjoyed the extensive Tagalog glossary and descriptions of traditional Filipino foods. I was surprised to learn that children who can’t afford a uniform and books can’t go to public school. Those are not obstacles for children where I live and I have always taken that for granite.

Caution: there are parts of the book might scare certain kids, or that they may not be emotionally ready to handle. Parents should read the book first to discuss and possibly prepare their child.

Watch my video review for the book at: https://youtu.be/kqusGADpR0w

I enjoyed reading this book and encourage others to read it as well. It provides awareness on the poverty situations that countries like the Philippines face. Moreover, the main character Nora is someone you want to root for, and the story is also very gripping. Overall, I think this is a very sweet story of hope and friendship that people of any age would enjoy.

I was excited to read Everlasting Nora for the book itself and because I'm Filipino American and have lived half my life in the Philippines. I hadn't expected to find the strength of my emotional reaction reading a middle grade novel set in Metro Manila and about the poverty and difficulty that Nora and her friends faced as they struggled to survive on so little.

There are plenty of poor people in the developing world, quite a lot of them are children. But to read about how they fill their days trying to pay for food and shelter, to find water and safety is quite different. Marie Miranda Cruz incorporates Filipino words and phrases in the dialogue and text of the book but it works well. It is great to read reviews and find that people who have no experience with the Philippines are drawn to the story. As a Filipino reader or Filipino American reader, it is particularly thrilling and heartwarming to read a story set in my hometown.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC I’d this book. All opinions are my own.

Wow.. I’ve read very few books set in the Philippines, so it was so interesting to learn about the way that some individuals live. Nora’s life is filled with challenges and obstacles that were overwhelming sad for me, even though there is hope and community in the story. This is a powerful and eye-opening story.

Charles Dickens wrote many of his novels to show what life was like for the downtrodden, for those kids that had slipped through the cracks, through no fault of their own. And like Olive Twist, Nora, in this story, has had bad luck, on top of bad luck, in her early life.

Written about the real life existence of shanty towns in the North Manila Cemetray of the Philippines, Nora has to live in a mosoleum of her father, who died in the fire that destroyed their home. Although school itself is free, in the Philippines, the books and uniforms are not, and so, she can’t even go to school now. She sells everlasting wreaths for the people that come to the cemetray to pay their respects.

The author says that when she, a Philapina, came to Manila, after living in the United States, she was not aware that all the people selling things in the cemetary were actually living there. She realized that she wanted a story that told about the children who lived there, all their lives.

Nora goes through a lot, but has good friends, that help her. So, while all seems lost, she does push through, despite the evil that is around her.

This is a good introduction to children of first world countries, to see how others live.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.