Isabel in Bloom

Isabel in Bloom

by Mae Respicio

Pub Date 09 Apr 2024

Random House Children’s,Wendy Lamb Books

Children’s Fiction

I am reviewing Isabel in Bloom through Random House Children’s, Wendy Lambs Books, and Netgalley:

This middle grade novel celebrates nourishment and growth through a connection between a girl’s home in the Philippines and her new home in the U.S.

Isabel is a 12-year-old new student at her middle school in San Francisco. It will be the first time in many years that she will live with her mother again. As a result of Mama’s job in the US, Isabel and her grandparents could live more comfortably in the Philippines, but now Isabel doesn’t really know her own mother.

Getting to know people in a new city, a new country, is hard, but joining a gardening and cooking club at school may help Isabel find her way, and maybe even bloom.

This middle grade novel in verse is beautifully written and highly recommended!

I give Isabel in Bloom five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!