Brown Boy Nowhere was a book I never knew I needed. This story of a filipino american, like me, navigate life and school in america resonated in me personally so I might be biased. I truly felt for Angelo as he had no choice but to go through big life changes and deal with racism in a new, white majority town away from everything and everyone he grew up with and in. This lets readers in on how it’s like to be a Filipino american living in america firsthand with all of its struggles and also positivity that can come from community. More stories like this!

I really wanted to enjoy this one. Everything from the cover, the representation and the plot excited me. But unfortunately, the story fell flat and didn’t meet my expectations.

I felt that the characters were stereotypical at points, so I’d be interested in hearing own voices opinions on the representation. Rep aside, the characters didn’t have layers, they were just sort of “there”.

I definitely skimmed the last hundred pages or so. The story just didn’t compel me to keep reading.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

I thought it was a good story. Solid characters. Well written.

Thank you netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a review

I found the story and plot to be fun and lighthearted, but there were several points that I disliked, like comparing a black girl's skin to mocha...
Some things felt a bit too cliché, for example how the high school is divided between footballers, pompomgirls and freaks. Maybe it's trully like that in the USA, but for an european it sounds a bit too much. I know that every high school has popular kids and nerds, but the divide shown here was really strong.
Also, the MC faces bullying, with a lot of racism, and I'm not a fan of how his relationship with his bullies evolved. It didn't feel like the bullies learned to be better people and apologized, they were just afraid that their racism would hurt their chances to go to university, and that was enough to make them stop and become friendly with the MC ?

Brown Boy Nowhere is a story of a Filipino-American teen who is forced to move away from the beachfront city he calls home into a rural, obstinate town thousands of miles away from everything he knows.

Angelo Rivera is a sixteen-year-old Filipino-American teen from San Diego, California. Skateboarding, hitting the beach, hanging with his friends and his girlfriend, Amanda, are his entire world; and not to mention the biggest skateboarding competition in California is coming his way. However, his life is turned upside down when him and his parents move to Ocean Pointe, Texas: a tiny little town with that is in the middle of nowhere. Now flipping burgers at his parents’ new restaurant, dealing with being the only Asian kid in a school with only white kids around, and adjusting to his new identity as “brown boy”, it seems Angelo’s life has taken a turn for the worst.

However, Angelo has come to realise that he is not the lone outcast in Ocean Pointe. He befriends Kirsten, the cute ex-cheerleader who is passionate about graffiti art, and Larry, the punctual yet concealed band geek who share similar stories of being excluded from all things considered “familiar”. These three might be against the grain of this closeminded town, but they are sure this won’t stop them from living the lives hey desire.

While managing shifts at work, avoiding problematic (and racist) bullies, and wishing to go back home, Angelo comes to realise that Nowhere can become Somewhere after all.

As a Filipino-American myself, reading Brown Boy Nowhere was a relatable and eye-opening experience. It was an emotional read and addressed so many important topics that we as humans face today. Angelo is a character who embodies not just Filipino-Americans, but all other Asian Americans as well. Racism was an ongoing theme throughout this book. The bullies, of course, were nonetheless high school jocks who were the big boys on campus who are willing to do anything to grab the attention of anyone, even if it means destroying the new guy in town. Hearing the term, “Brown Boy” was both strong and quite triggering at the same. This term alone was relatable to me since Filipinos are often recognised for their darker skin tones, but triggering because of its outstanding racial prevalence.

As for plot, it was quite predictable and the main reason this book is rated as it is. The story of the main character moving from a big city to a small town trying to adjust to their new life as an outsider was nothing new. However, it was refreshing to see that the protagonist was a Southeast Asian teen, and this is something that is not seen too often throughout literature. Diversity is another unique aspect to address. Ocean Pointe is a town that is completely okay with being bland and one in the same all the time. When Angelo and his parents arrive, the town slowly but surely opens their minds to change and cultural differences. This was fascinating to read about because even the smallest, most bland places can have the potential to be understanding and compassionate for one’s life situations.

The biggest takeaway I had from was the unique backgrounds the characters have and how they tied the novel together. Angelo is the new kid in town shaking up the normalcy everyone is used to. Kirsten is the girl determined to chase her dreams as an artist regardless of what anybody thinks, and Larry is both the quiet and enthusiastic kid who is willing to meet new people and learn something new along the way. Angelo’s parents were so much fun to read about and give readers a deeper understanding of Filipino culture and family customs. Hospitality and a friendly demeanour to all are just two of the several traits you will read about throughout this story.

Brown Boy Nowhere was a unique and fun novel to read. Although with a predictable plot and being a POC YA novel in its most basic sense, this story addresses family dynamics, multicultural understandings between different races and ethnicities, and more mature topics such as racism, xenophobia, and much more. You also witness the understanding and middle ground between those characters that are outsiders and those doing everything they can to fit in. As for ethnic and cultural diversity, and characters addressing both serious and no so serious issues, this a book you don’t want to miss out on this summer!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review.

Angelo and his parents relocate from San Diego to a tiny nowhere town (that I think is in Texas, but I'm sure?).

There everyone has a place and football rules. Angelo doesn't fit into that hierarchy and begins shaking things up immediately just for looking, thinking and acting differently.

Through his love of skating he begins to make friends and build a place for himself, but not without push back.

Can he and his family make a home in this nowhere town? Will the community learn how to accept new things?

I loved this book! I love reading about skating (even though i don’t skate) and found family, and this book had both. with the main character being Filipino American, it dealt a lot with the topic of racism and micro aggressions. i also loved all the characters and how they were all very different from each other but still found friendship with each other.