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Everything We Never Had Audiobook
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Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Longlisted for the National Book Award
Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction Award
From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son relationships.
Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines.
Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind.
Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on “ancestral history” sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history―even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant.
Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades-long rift.
Told in multiple perspectives, Everything We Never Had unfolds like a beautifully crafted nesting doll, where each Maghabol boy forges his own path amid heavy family and societal expectations, passing down his flaws, values, and virtues to the next generation, until it’s up to Enzo to see how he can braid all these strands and men together.
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"? “Entwined and exquisite like a taut braid, the narrative expertly weaves the lives of these fathers and sons into a powerful family drama centered on one family's Filipino American experience. Even more impressive than Ribay’s ability to balance four separate point-of-view characters is the way the story immerses the reader in each character’s time period…Ribay vividly and honestly brings these settings to life so the reader can better understand how the characters’ worlds shape them."
— Booklist, starred review
Quotes
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★ “[An] emotionally resonant tale…Compact storytelling richly layered with Filipino American culture and history provides the backdrop for each father-son relationship as the Maghabols confront personal and familial expectations in both past and present narratives.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review -
★ "Told in alternating viewpoints, this strongly characterized novel covers the boys’ struggles with identity against the backdrop of changes in American society. The many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments offer deep insights into intergenerational patterns and how one’s life experiences and upbringing affect parenting and relationships….A powerful and moving family saga.
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review -
★ “Entwined and exquisite like a taut braid, the narrative expertly weaves the lives of these fathers and sons into a powerful family drama centered on one family's Filipino American experience. Even more impressive than Ribay’s ability to balance four separate point-of-view characters is the way the story immerses the reader in each character’s time period…Ribay vividly and honestly brings these settings to life so the reader can better understand how the characters’ worlds shape them.
— Booklist, starred review -
★ “[An] emotionally resonant tale…Compact storytelling richly layered with Filipino American culture and history provides the backdrop for each father-son relationship as the Maghabols confront personal and familial expectations in both past and present narratives.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review -
★ "Told in alternating viewpoints, this strongly characterized novel covers the boys’ struggles with identity against the backdrop of changes in American society. The many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments offer deep insights into intergenerational patterns and how one’s life experiences and upbringing affect parenting and relationships….A powerful and moving family saga.
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review -
★ "Ribay juggles skillfully and with great heart a Filipino American family history...A must for all collections, this four-generation saga of Filipino fathers and sons will resonate with teenagers of all cultures.
— School Library Journal, starred review -
★ “Entwined and exquisite like a taut braid, the narrative expertly weaves the lives of these fathers and sons into a powerful family drama centered on one family's Filipino American experience. Even more impressive than Ribay’s ability to balance four separate point-of-view characters is the way the story immerses the reader in each character’s time period…Ribay vividly and honestly brings these settings to life so the reader can better understand how the characters’ worlds shape them.
— Booklist, starred review -
★ “A masterclass…an insightful and powerful look at generational trauma.
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books -
National Indie Bestsellers list (debuted at #15)
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★ “[An] emotionally resonant tale…Compact storytelling richly layered with Filipino American culture and history provides the backdrop for each father-son relationship as the Maghabols confront personal and familial expectations in both past and present narratives.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review -
2024 National Book Awards Young People’s Literature LonglistNational Indie Bestsellers list (debuted at #15)
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A Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of the Year! Longlisted for the 2024 National Book Awards - Young People’s Literature A National Indie Bestseller★ “[An] emotionally resonant tale…Compact storytelling richly layered with Filipino American culture and history provides the backdrop for each father-son relationship as the Maghabols confront personal and familial expectations in both past and present narratives.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review -
Longlisted for the 2024 National Book Awards - Young People’s LiteratureA National Indie BestsellerA Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of the Year An NPR Book We Love of 2024 A School Library Journal Best YA Book of the Year A Mirrors & Windows Award for Excellence in Children's Literature Finalist
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★ “[An] emotionally resonant tale…Compact storytelling richly layered with Filipino American culture and history provides the backdrop for each father-son relationship as the Maghabols confront personal and familial expectations in both past and present narratives.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review -
Longlisted for the 2024 National Book Awards - Young People’s LiteratureA National Indie BestsellerA Publishers Weekly Best YA Book of the Year A Kirkus Best YA Book of the YearAn NPR Book We Love of 2024 A School Library Journal Best YA Book of the YearA Golden Poppy FinalistA Mirrors & Windows Award for Excellence in Children's Literature Finalist
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★ "Ribay juggles skillfully and with great heart a Filipino American family history...A must for all collections, this four-generation saga of Filipino fathers and sons will resonate with teenagers of all cultures.
— School Library Journal, starred review
Awards
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Among longlisted titles for National Book Award Nominee, 2024
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Among longlisted titles for National Book Award Nominee, 2024
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Among longlisted titles for National Book Award Nominee, 2024
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Among longlisted titles for National Book Award Nominee, 2024
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Among longlisted titles for National Book Award Nominee, 2024
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About Randy Ribay
Randy Ribay is an award-winning writer of young adult fiction including The Reckoning of Roku, The Awakening of Roku, and Patron Saints of Nothing, which won the Freeman Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award and LA Times Book Prize. He also contributed to the Printz Award–winning anthology The Collectors edited by A.S. King. His other novels include Everything We Never Had, After the Shot Drops, and An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes. Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy earned his BA in English literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his EdM in language and literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and catlike dog.
About Ramón de Ocampo
Ramón de Ocampo, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, was a cowinner in 2018 of the Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, he has been seen on television, film, and stages all over the world, including recurring roles on such television shows as The West Wing, 12 Monkeys, Sons of Anarchy, and Medium. He is the winner of a prestigious Obie Award for his stage work.