Decided to drop this book altogether.

I find the topic very interesting and engaging; however, the author wanted to discuss so much within his book that it felt less of his story and more of a historical textbook. He should've focused on what he wanted us to experience—being in his shoe, and placed less emphasis on the very historical aspect of his book.

A huge chunk of the portion that I've read, I was left to wonder, why is this even here? What is the connection of this with the main story?

And even though, in a sense, it has a connection, I didn't think it was detrimental enough to actually place it there.

As a Filipino-American who was born to first generation immigrants from the Philippines, this author's story resonated strongly with me. There were many portions of the book that I related to so much, such as the hardships that his parent suffered in pursuit of a better life for their children. I questioned my identity a lot growing up because of how I looked being different from those around me in school and in public. Reading about challenges like this from a different perspective is so helpful because it is important to know that others shared the same experience, and that they were able to learn and grow to become strong individuals from it.

I appreciated the author going into depth between his own personal experiences as well as delving a bit into Philippine history in other chapters. I am not very well versed in history, politics, and such subjects regarding the Philippines so it was very interesting to hear about the significance of certain events in this society's growth, and how they affected so many people who were present in these settings and conditions growing up.

Thank you so much to the author and publisher for providing a finished copy of this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I enjoyed how the author switched back and forth between personal experiences and Filipino history. I wish I had this book growing up, because I learned a lot of things that I wasn't even aware of as far as Philippines and its multiple occupations.