This was a pretty emotional read for me. I didn’t have a debut, and now that I have a daughter I’ve said that she would have one because I missed out on it. But I have some of the same feelings about them as Luz did at the beginning of this book.

This book is so about so much more than a debut. This coming of age story shows the complexities of relationships with family, friends, and your community. It speaks on finding your people and putting yourself out there for others. It also shows that even when you feel alone, there are people that care about you.

I also love the commentary on the Fil-Am community. It doesn’t matter how active you are in it, what percentage of Filipino you are, we come together to support each other.

Thank you, Shannon, for this story of self love, familial love, platonic love, and community love.

I really enjoyed this book! Lucia is an interesting and dynamic character, and I loved how fallible she was. Her relationship with her family was interesting. I learned so much about Filipino culture, and I really appreciated how the author explained things to an audience that might not know the customs. I highly recommend this book to adults and teens. It was a cute and easy read. Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this coming of age story about a Filipino American teen girl who is trying to please her mom by participating in a debutante ball even though it's not really her thing. This was a great own voices story perfect for fans of authors like Sonora Reyes or books like Ophelia after all by Raquel Marie. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I DNF’d this book at 57%!

Unfortunately I don’t think this was the book for me! I couldn’t connect with the main character. She was driving me crazy with the poor atitude choices and the way she saw the world. I tried, but I simply couldn’t continue this book.

I enjoyed the writing style, it was easy to follow and it flowed very nicely. However, the story and the characters lost me.

Shannon just reached in and ripped my heart out, the writing in this is absolutely beautiful.I’m so glad this gives the topics more depth.

Laughed myself silly the whole first half of the book and seriously COULD NOT stop crying with every turn of the page in the second half. Like legitimately weeping at every scene for WHAT. God my heart. Three thousand stars for SCFR writing yet another absolute masterpiece.
I do have some minor critiques about the Filipino dialogue (I hope this got fixed in the final publication cause I did read an ARC) but honestly 95% of readers probably wouldn’t even notice.
Loved this. Highly recommend.

Eighteen Roses by Shannon CF Rogers stars Lucia “Luz” Cruz as she takes on her debut (pronounced “deh-BOO”), the Filipino coming of age ceremony that celebrates turning 18-years-old. Luz hates most people, with the exception of her one friend, Esmé Mares. High school senior year finds them in a rift as Esmé wants to branch out of the bubble they’ve isolated themselves in, in which Luz was content--thought they were both content. This puts her in the difficult position of having to fill her cotillion court of 18 people for the traditional Filipino debutante ball her mother is throwing for her 18th birthday, which she adamantly doesn’t want in the first place. However, her lola is coming all the way to Arizona from the Philippines for the big occasion, so Luz must put aside her feelings in order to be the dutiful daughter for her mother and lola. This is a book about friendship, community, and the complex feelings that come with being the elder to little sister Ali and eldest daughter to a struggling divorced Filipina immigrant mother and a lying, absent father.

Luz holds onto so much anger. She is simultaneously used to being ignored yet does not want to be perceived. She’s the eldest teenage daughter to her struggling divorced immigrant mother, who depends on Luz in ways that a teenager probably shouldn’t necessarily have to be responsible. Luz plays the dutiful daughter in the major ways, but she somehow can never do anything right by her mother, hence her anger and her near-constantly-negative attitude that keeps her isolated from most people. While I, personally, am not the eldest daughter, I am the only daughter in a Filipino-American immigrant household, so while I may not directly understand Luz’s specific circumstances, I relate to a lot of the complex feelings she holds regarding her mother. She wants to do right by her mom as far as duty goes, but she rebels in the way she carries herself because she feels like no one in her family listens to her. I get that. It’s the constant of being ignored by one’s closest relatives, resulting in feelings of resentment and rage manifesting in the pessimistic rebel (Luz) or even talking back (me), ultimately coming off as disrespectful in the eyes of a mother. In this way, I have so much empathy for Luz because being a FilAm teenager is hard enough with managing cultural and generational differences, and while there is no one way to encapsulate the FilAm daughter experience, I understand Luz in the personal way of being weighed down by expectations coming from multiple sides (parents, siblings, society, myself) yet bringing out my personal prickly side as I press against them while inevitably doing what I’m told/supposed to do.

I loved reading Luz grow into herself. Even though this caused a rift in their friendship, I appreciate that Esmé took the opportunity to explore her interests and branched out of the bubble of safety that she and Luz isolated themselves to. Teenage me might not have quite understood this, but 30-year-old me understands that growth should sometimes be had away from one’s comfort zone, even and especially since their friendship was them holding each other back despite Luz’s inability to see that until they had stepped away from each other. In this way, I think it’s really good to have this shown on page for teenagers to read.

Another aspect I loved about this book was the focus on friendship and building community. I think there’s something kind of special about how Luz learns to allow other people into her life by way of humor and the stand-up comedy club. There's something about baring oneself on a mic in front of loads of (oftentimes mostly) strangers via the vulnerabilities that come with presenting oneself on stage, which Luz talks about in terms of being the one to control what people see and hear about her. Calling back to Luz being constantly ignored, I am so proud of the way she steps into herself in order to take hold of the narrative that surrounds her. I love reading her journey with the friends that she makes by showing her true self and slowly allowing them into her life as they work together to fundraise and save The Sunshine while practicing for her debut. And especially!! when the president of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Filipino-American Associates!! makes a point letting Luz know that Filipino/FilAm communities are built in part by the community reaching out to each other to help fill each other’s cotillion courts, which brings these kids and their families together in celebration of each other and Filipino traditions as they’re passed down through generations. I love this!! I’ve seen this in real life amongst my own FilAm community!! And it warms my heart to see this element reflected in the pages of a book.

I’m excited to continue reading more from Shannon CF Rogers! Thank you, Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for the ARC!

This was a sweet story about a girl who is turning 18 and resisting the traditional 18th birthday party (debut) for Filipina-American girls for a variety of reasons. It's a coming-of-age story full of teen drama. I wasn't super into it and I don't think it will stick with me for long, but enjoyed the experience of reading about this culture and their traditions.

I loved this so much! It made me laugh out loud so many times and also cry. It was adorable. There's definitely elements of found family, which I always appreciate.

I also feel like the author got inside Lucia's head so well. Sometimes I got really annoyed with Lucia's decisions and her inability to communicate, but it made sense for a teenager.

Happy book birthday to Eighteen Roses! This heartwarming, coming-of-age young adult novel features family, the growing pains of friendship, and Filipino-American diaspora.

I loved this book simply because it was genuine in its representation of Filipino family dynamics. Luz is very relatable and frankly, it surprised me how much of myself I saw in her anger and envy of the world. I liked how the author was able to write about a characters’ detachment from their culture and identity. I also adamantly refused to not have a debutante ball and I understood Luz’s resentment throughout this book. Moreso, the difficult relationship she has with her mother is so REAL that at times I wanted to tear up. Growing up with festered bitterness or simply sadness for either one of your parents is something you will eventually come to terms with because they will remain unchanged, and this book perfectly captures that. I also loved how this navigates friendships and self-discovery. Her chemistry with Esme was so nostalgic because I have it with my best friend as well. Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a book that centers on personal growth.

While I did enjoy this at first, by the end I'm a little disappointed. This is a well written read, and there's a lot to love about it. There's heart and humour, and Lucia's struggles are understandable. I just didn't feel like the book fully lived up to its potential. Lucia acts pretty mean at times towards other people. I understand that she's hurting, but she sometimes hurts the people who don't deserve it, instead of the ones who've caused her pain. I would have loved to see a little more accountability and self awareness, and by the end I didn't feel like I'd seen quite enough growth.

Shannon C.F. Rodgers writes beautiful, painful and healing stories - She honestly is one of my favorite authors.
I laughed. I raged. I cried. I finished Eighteen Roses and immediately knew I wanted to reread it again someday.
Thank you for writing books that make me feel seen, Thank you for writing books where I see my family.
Shannon C.F Rodgers is an auto-buy author for me.

Lucia is about to turn eighteen, but a traditional Filipina debut is the last thing she wants, especially since it requires eighteen friends—and she only has one. When her mom secretly plans the debut, things quickly spiral out of control. With no way to stop the party, Lucia has to find a way to make it work.

I’m not sure where to start with this book. It’s packed with culture, wit, and wisdom, and is exceptionally well-written, capturing Lucia’s struggles with incredible accuracy. You truly feel like you're experiencing everything right alongside her. This book is phenomenal. I know it will resonate deeply with many readers, and I can't wait to see that happen.

Lucia felt a bit too close to home. If you've ever had a phase of hating things to hate them. Of feeling a bit 'above' those who get invested, of wearing our Outside badge proudly, you have to read Eighteen Roses. It's about Lucia who is firmly invested in the 'don't ever change' and 'why would we' who experiences a situation with her best friend who wants to change. Who wants to try becoming involved in theater, in leaving the orbit of just the two of them on the fringes, and expanding her world. And of course that scares Lucia shitless.

So part of Eighteen Roses is about Lucia not only finding out how it is without her best friend by her side, but also her own journey getting involved in things. Expanding her social circle to find things she cares about. And quickly you realize that she hasn't cared because she hates things, but because she's afraid of getting hurt. Big ow! Because how relatable is the feeling of pretending we don't want to, that we're above it, that we're fine all because we're scare of being hurt. Of being left, of being let down.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I have to be honest, I didn't think I would like this story at first. I think that might be because I saw too much of myself in Lucia Cruz. As a fellow Filipino-American I related to Lucia "Luz" on a lot of her thoughts about her culture and her overall personality felt very close to home too. I would also consider myself a "hating-ass bitch" at times with a resting "rat face" lol. Luz's negativity about everything and her constant fights with her best friend Esmé and her mom/her sister made me start to hate her as I read the story in the beginning. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't see things from her their point of view and then I remembered... She is a teenager and this is exactly how I used to act too at her age.

Growing up is hard and feeling like you don't fit in somewhere or only fit in certain aspects of people's lives is even harder. I think this story really captures how hard it is to be a child of divorce and how hard it is to live up to your families expectations of you. Luz was really passionate about the things she cared about and was trying really hard to act like nothing phased her. She wanted people to like her. She wanted to make people proud. She was simply scared of being rejected or replaced by people she cared about and wasn't open to trying to get to know other people.

I was very surprised when she joined the Comedy Club at her school and even more surprised when all the guys (the ones who stayed) seemed genuinely nice and genuinely tried to show her that they cared about her and wanted to hang out with her. I had a hard time making friends (like Luz) when I went off to college (Luz didn't go to college she and Esmé had a bit of a falling out) so I completely understood how lost and alone she felt drifting around school. I was really glad to see that in the end Lucia had the debut she wanted and not the one her mom/her other family members wanted for her.

There was a lot of growth in this book for Luz and although the ending felt a bit rushed (I think the final product is about 100 pages longer than this ARC I read) I felt completely satisfied by the direction of Luz's life and her group of friends. This was an incredibly heart warmign book that made me tear up a few times and I'm definitely going to buy a copy of it when it comes out.

This book was so good! It was so emotional and inspiring and I really enjoyed the character progression! It was very very well written and I could not put it down!

As a Filipina, I'm always on the look out for reads that has Filipino representation, so I was excited to read this.

Lucia is turning eighteen, and per Filipino tradition should have a debut to celebrate her coming-of-age. Unfortunately, everything about the tradition feels wrong to her, so she isn't too excited when her mom plans one behind her back. Custom dictates that she invites eighteen of her closest friends to participate in the special ceremonies. However, she only has one friend, Esme, who she has a falling out with.

To be honest, Lucia was hard for me to like because of her attitude towards her family and the tradition. However, I enjoyed the Filipino culture representation in the story. The family/relative dynamics was relatable and on point (relatives trying to up each other, comparisons, etc). I also appreciated that the author included some Tagalog in her dialogue.

Filipina-American Lucia rebels against the traditional debutante her divorced mother wants her to have. Lucia eventually agrees and enlists new-found friends from her high school improv club to make it work.

Lucia is turning eighteen this year, but having a debut isn’t her style. Especially not a Filipina debut, where you have to have eighteen friends come. She only has one friend. When her mom decides to plan a debut behind her back, things start going downhill. There’s no stopping the party, so she’s stuck planning it however she can.
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. I mean, it was so full of culture, wit and wisdom, as well. It was so well written, describing Luz’s struggles with crazy accuracy. You really felt like you were in her shoes. It was just so, so good. I can tell that so many people are going to see themselves in this book and I cannot wait for that to happen.
Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for an eARC of this book.

I've never heard of a Debut party in Filipino culture before and while this book is a lot about coming of age and all the terrible things that that includes, it also has a lot of information about the culture itself. I was eating this book up so hard that I stayed up way longer than I should have just to finish it. Truly an excellent coming of age book.