Between the cultural aspects and the story of friendship and family, I am excited to share this title with my daughter. The author doesn’t shy away from some tough issues and I appreciate that in a middle grade book. I will be recommended this title to my Middle Grade Book Club — teachers and librarians interested in middle grade literature.

This was an excellent book, definitely one of my top 10 middle grade novels of 2018. The plot was interesting, and the characters were relatable despite living in an environment completely different from my own.

There is so much to like about the story of Nora, who lives with her mother in a grave house in the Manila North Cemetery. A tense, action-filled middle-grade novel that doesn't avoid difficult topics like gambling addictions, gangs, and corruption, but that also shows hope and loving community, even in the midst of extreme poverty. It's authentic to the culture, and I liked that there is no heroic foreigner coming in to save the day, only friends and family who help and support each other with what little they have. What I don't like: the cover. I don't think it portrays the depth of the book. Note: there is some graphic (and unfortunately realistic) violence. Highly recommended for 10-12 year olds. Review based on an ARC from NetGalley.

This book was so unique, insightful and eye opening! I got it as an ebook from NetGalley to review and I genuinely didn't expect it to have such an effect on myself and make me think.

I loved the story of Nora and her daily life at the cemetery. I've never before about people living in such conditions and it surprised me immensely how they've managed to create a home where the dead are "living".

I highly recommend it if you are looking for something different, humane and inspiring.

Ever since the fire that killed her father Nora and her mother have been living in his mausoleum. In the Philippines, when you have no family, no jobs, no hope for the future that is where you can end up. Things were going okay but her mother's habit of playing Mah'jong has gotten out of control and one day she doesn't come home after playing all night. Nora and her friend Jo'Jo eventually figure out where she was and she is able to come home but she is really sick, they now have no work at all, and Nora's beloved father's watch and the money she was trying to save have all been stolen. Can Nora get help for her mother, get her watch back, and maybe find some hope for her little family?

This was pretty intense and sad but I feel like it is a good book for students to see how others may be living.

This book was an eye opening look into a part of life in Manila that many outside of the country may not know about. Nora is living in a cemetery. Yes, a cemetery. She lives there with her mother in a mausoleum in extreme poverty and they are not alone, there are dozens of squatters in the cemetery because the mausoleums provide shelter and nobody pays much attention to the land unless a burial is happening.

This book is a story of friendship, family, humility, acceptance, perseverance alongside Nora’s struggle to find her mother after she disappears. She is accompanied by her friend Jojo who embraces the life in the cemetery in a way that Nora can’t understand because she wants to go back to her old comfortable life. Throughout the novel Nora learns about her past while finding ways to move forward.

This would be an excellent read for middle grade reader to learn about those less fortunate, a new culture, and to understand how you make things work with what you have.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It might seem that I’m biased but I just can’t help but love this book so much. I was anxious at first and I was glad that this didn’t disappoint. It was so much more than I hope for. Set in one of the most populated cemetery, dead and alive people alike, in Manila, Everlasting Nora surely makes for an interesting read. Who would have thought cemetery could be a living quarters for a lot of people? It might seem scary and depressing, even embarrassing. Such as the case with Nora. One year of living in the cemetery and it is still hard for her to call it her home. Nora as the main character and narrator is someone you’ll easily root for. She’s clever, brave, independent and devoted to her family. I love that she loves school and even though she had to stop, she longed to be in one and still try to learn with the help of Kuya Efren, inspired by the real-life founder of Dynamic Teen Company who pioneered pushcart classroom where they go to the slum areas such as cemetery and trash dumps to teach the out-of-school kids. I also love how well-developed Nora’s character is. From wanting to run away from the cemetery, she came to see it as her home and with that came the acceptance and appreciation of the people around her. Her loyalty to her mother and the ability to forgive her despite her Mama’s shortcomings is very admirable.

There are numerous characters introduced and it can be a little tricky to keep up with all of the names, but aside from Nora, Jojo is another character that made a mark. He is Nora’s best friend and is such a delight to read. He is cheerful and industrious and is someone whom you want to be friends with. At the age of 13, he’s providing for himself and his grandmother. The community in which Nora lives mirrored most communities in the Philippines. They treat each other as family and when one needed help, they will give it without expecting anything in return. It also realistically portrayed how resilient the Filipinos are.

The story may not be an original one, but the setting and the characters certainly made Everlasting Nora quite unique. It may be a work of fiction but it certainly feels like something that happens in reality. The plot, the characters, they are all realistically presented. I like how the author managed to spin what seems to be a miserable and hopeless story into something heartwarming and uplifting. It shows how you need not be related for someone to be called family. It is well-written and absorbing. A book about family, friendship, forgiveness, hope, and determination. I definitely love reading about Nora’s journey and I can’t rate it high enough. Though the target readers are middle graders, adult readers will surely enjoy it, too.

This book is gorgeous, and like nothing I've ever read before. After a fire destroys her home and takes her father's life, Nora and her mother are lost, destitute, and have no family willing or able to help. So they do what countless others in similar positions have been forced to do - they move into Manila's North Cemetery. When Nora's mother disappears one day, Nora is faced with the unimaginable burdens of fending for herself and also desperately trying to find and save her mother. With the help of her neighbors in the cemetery, Nora is able to survive, only to discover layers of secrets she'd never imagined. But Nora doesn't give up, and fights with every last ounce of her strength and determination to find a way to save herself and her mother. Despite all odds stacked against her, she perseveres.

It's an incredible story - all the more so because it's grounded in truth. Partially because it is set in Manila, but not only, this reminds me a lot of Monsoon Mansion. A child suddenly thrust into circumstances no child should have to overcome. But all the more beautiful and heartwarming when she does overcome it.

This one is a middle grade read, but it's definitely for the mature end of that - despite the uplifting message, there's some violence and pretty scary stuff. But it's a 100% recommended read.

*I was provided with an ARC of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, but I loved it! There wasn’t a single moment that I was bored, the author kept me engaged the whole time. The story was so easy to follow as the plot was flawless, because of this, I truly felt like I’d been on a journey with Nora, in every sense of the word. It was such a unique story, I can’t think of anything else like it. Yes, there were classic themes, such as poor vs rich, powerful vs weak and the general hardships in life, but Everlasting Nora was authentic, especially in that it was set in the Philippines. I enjoyed the inclusion of Philippine culture a lot, the snippets of their language, food and customs, added such a nice touch.

My favourite thing about this book, and also my favourite character, was Jojo. He was the self appointed, 13 year old personal protector of Nora. I loved this little ball of sunshine so much, he really was like a reliable source of light through all of the darkness in Nora’s life. He was the one person that she could rely on, even more so than her mother. He cared about Nora so much and it touched my heart greatly, their friendship was the purest thing ever, in that way that only children’s can be! They had each other’s backs through any and everything and gave each other some much needed companionship, in a situation that no one should be in.

One of the most upsetting things about this book was that although they were in a less than ideal situation, Nora and her mother always had each other, so when her mother disappears, Nora feels abandoned and is forced to confront the issues in their relationship. Nora lost her father in a fire in their old home, and so her and her mother eventually end up on the streets, and her mother has not been coping very well at all. Her mother, understandably, wants to find a way to make a better life for them and in her desperation she spirals out of control. She develops a gambling addiction and ends up losing the menial jobs that they need to survive on. Then she gets involved with some really bad people, taking out loans to pay off all her debts and then she doesn’t come home for a number of days. Nora then thinks about all of the times her mum has spent money on things they don’t need, like purses and dresses, even demanding some of Nora’s own earnings. One of the things that makes me so angry is when people don’t look after their children to the best of their ability, the thought of this 12 year old girl being all alone in a makeshift home in a graveyard, makes me so sad.

I also struggled with the fact that these kids are so young and yet had adult responsibilities, Nora was only 12 and she had to be working, otherwise her and her mother would not survive. Her mother had lost them two washing jobs already and so when she disappears, Nora is clinging to that last job, trying to do tasks that were meant for the both of them. I felt so sorry for her when she arrives to do washing and she feels such despair at seeing denim items, as she knows how physically draining they are to wash. If this wasn’t difficult enough, Nora is trying to keep this job, whilst searching for her mother in the streets. My heart really goes out to these children that are forced to grow up so quickly. Nora can’t even attend school anymore, even though she desperately wants to, because they can’t pay for a uniform and supplies. Every child should have the right to an education and so I completely fell in love with the character Kuya Efren who Nora says “came to the cemetery a few times a week to teach children whose parents couldn’t even afford to send them to public school . They were squatter kids like me who had no money for uniforms and school supplies.” Unfortunately this sort of help probably isn’t realistic for most of these kids, which is hard to accept.

Now the most devastating thing about this book is that it is loosely based on real life events. Many years after a trip to her native country, the Philippines, where she celebrated her first All Souls’ Day, the author was shocked to find out that people actually lived in those cemeteries. She was so moved that she chose to write this story, influenced by one particular little girl called Grace, who she read about on a blog by a Baptist Missionary. This girl was an orphan who lived in a graveyard in Manila, where she had to beg on the streets to stay alive. The Missionary returned to the Philippines to help rescue Grace and other children, but found that she had died in a charity hospital all alone. I can’t even express how much Grace’s story hurts my heart and I’m so grateful to the author for raising awareness through this beautiful story, right down to all of the resources at the end, for those who want to learn more.

What I found so magical about this story is how it showed how family doesn’t have to be someone you are related to. Despite Nora’s initial resistance to accepting her neighbours kindness and her shame at living in the graveyard, she eventually learned to appreciate everything and everyone that she did have. It was beautiful how those who resided in the graveyards looked out for one another, how they would use the few things that they did have to help each other out. Like if one person had a way of cooking food, they would allow others to use their stove and in return they would get a share of the food cooked, I’m a sucker for books that create such a sense of community and this book made me so happy. Jojo and Lola Fely in particular were so precious and truly were a blessing to Nora and this book.

Everlasting Nora was a moving novel that was as informative as it was bursting with rich characters, hope and love. It was a beautifully engaging take on a subject that most people would either like to pretend doesn’t exist or are simply unaware of. And Nora is such a powerful character, showing such fierce loyalty to her mother, despite her shortcomings, is determined to help her self and her mother and is wise beyond her years. I challenge anyone to not fall in love with her and her newfound graveyard family, this book offers some harsh realities, whilst also making you see the miracle of community and kindness in the most dire of circumstances.

3.5 stars!

Nora is intelligent, hard-working, persistent, and just so happens to live in a cemetery—a mausoleum to be exact. And not just any mausoleum, but the one housing her father’s dead body. After her father’s death, Nora and her mom moved to the family grave house. It’s not that they wanted to live amongst the dead, but they were forced to out of poverty, alongside thousands of other Filipinos in the capital
city of Manila.

After a long day of selling everlasting daisy garlands outside the cemetery gates, Nora arrives home to an empty house. Her mother is gone. When her mom doesn’t come home after one day, then two, she begins to worry. Nora remembers her mother as she used to be—smiling, singing, and radiant—before they lost everything. Lorna, Nora’s mom, is a gambling addict and it seems that her bad habit has finally caught up with her. Nora refuses to lose her mom and, along with her best friend Jojo, sets out to find her and bring her home.

Nora is a beautiful character. At twelve years old, she longs to return to school and escape from the impoverished prison holding her captive. Despite losing her father and the only life she’s ever known she holds her head high and learns what it means to be a survivor.

Nora’s journey, and her transformation, was truly inspiring. In her desperation to save her mom, Nora learns how to trust people again and to look for kindness in unexpected places. Rather than dwelling on life as it used to be, she begins to create her own opportunities and accept the generosity of others. In searching for her mom, Nora really discovers a new identity for herself.

Overall, I enjoyed “Everlasting Nora”; it was truly an adventure set in a place that I could never imagine calling home. Cruz paints a picture of cemetery dwellers as survivors and innovators and honors them with the dignity that is often stripped away by those outside their walls. “Everlasting Nora” is a fantastic middle grade book that illustrates empathy and how to look beneath the surface and into the true nature of others.

I loved this memorable and touching children’s story about a little girl who lives in a graveyard in the Philippines with her mother and her struggle to find her mother when she goes missing. Appropriate for grades 4 to 7, in my opinion, it sensitively tells Nora’s story while focusing on themes of friendship and loyalty.
Thank you, Net Galley, for my review e-copy!

First of all, Buy this book! I loved reading Nora's story. It was sad, but also inspiring. What does home mean to you? What would you do to survive and keep your family safe were questions that ran my mind as I read this story.

As I read, I kept thinking are there really children and people in general living in cemeteries, but I knew deep down it was true. This book really made me think and want to know more. I will definitely be adding this book to my class library. I know my students will enjoy reading about Nora's courage and will have many questions.

The authors note at the back answered many of the questions I had as I read. I think this should win an award for the most courageous character! Thank you for writing this story. It has made a most profound impact on my thinking and I know it will do the same for all who read it.

This is a beautiful book, sensitively told and an eye opening glimpse into another culture and into poverty that will be familiar for some readers.

Nora lives with her mother in a cemetery in Manila -- in the mausoleum where her father was buried after dying in their apartment fire. She is no longer able to attend school and has been selling everlasting daisy necklaces and helping her mother do laundry for other people to earn enough money to go live with Tito Danny in the country. Then one night her mother does not come home and Nora's world goes even more topsy turvy. You can't help but root for Nora and your heart breaks as she runs into one setback after another. Reading this story reminds us all of the need for compassion and hope and that we are never alone.

I especially appreciated the context clues in the prose for the Philippino terms used in the story as well as the little glossary in the back of the book. This would be an excellent classroom resource for middle grade students. Activities and discussion questions are included in the book for during and after reading.

A big thank you to Starscape for a paperback ARC and to NetGalley for the access to a digital ARC.

Really good story! I had heard of people living in Manila's cemeteries, but have never found a story about the people, the families living in them. I can't even imagine a government that would allow it's people to live like that. Anyway, Nora and her mother end up living in her late father's family crypt after they are impoverished by his death. It's a harrowing existence, to say the least. His family treats Nora and her mother very; badly even steal from them. The cemetery families seem very close knit and bond with each other to survive, in comparison. I like the idea that a teacher volunteers his time to teach the children in the cemetery. He also helps Nora and her friend with their schooling. The glossary at the end of the book was very helpful in translating the few foreign words in the book. I think kids will be interested in learning about the Manila culture and its language. Great story for ages 8 and up. Highly recommended for school library purchase.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge and the author Marie Miranda Cruz for this advanced copy of Everlasting Nora, that will be released in just two weeks(October 2, 2018).

This story was so unique and beautifully written, I did not want to put it down! Nora, a twelve- year-old, is living day by day in a cemetery after a fire took their home and her father, leaving Nora and her mother alone. Her mother wasn’t making the best decisions for them either as she was getting them further behind with gambling debts.

I was really cheering for Nora as she had to endure so much disappointment and shame, yet had to carry the burden of providing for her and her mother. She wanted to so badly go to school, live in a real home and feel like a normal little girl again with a bright future.

I really appreciated reading a children’s book that highlighted some of the realities of homelessness, I think this is very important for children to understand how some families struggle.

As sad as the story is, I still really enjoyed reading it and was very satisfied with the ending. In the author’s note at the end, she discusses her inspiration for the story which made me love having read it all the more! 💗 My opinions are all my own.

Through the thoughts and experiences of Nora, a young girl living in a local cemetery with her single mother after losing their home to a fire, we learn about life in Manila, Philippines. Nora has lost her father to the fire that took her home and her mother has succumbed to a gambling addiction to the popular game mahjong. Though Nora experiences many hardships, her story is ultimately uplifting and one of survival and triumph over adversity through hard work and friendship. An excellent story to help readers learn about different cultures and the importance of family and relationships.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Set in the Philippines, twelve-year-old Nora loses her father and family home in a fire and has to move to a shantytown in Manila's North Cemetery. She and her mother live in the mausoleum or "grave house" where her father is buried, along with countless other homeless families that occupy the cemetery. Nora is unable to go to school because she cannot afford the uniform, and she makes money by selling daisy garlands and helping her mother at different odd jobs such as laundry-washing at people's houses. Mom suffers from a gambling addiction and one day disappears, leaving Nora and her friend JoJo to find her mom and get her home safe.

Nora is a resilient heroine that you can't help but root for and fall in love with, as are her main support characters in this story, JoJo and his grandmother. The representation this story provides is both important and eye opening, and its message of hope and resilience is intense. There are strong themes and real danger in this middle grade book which make for an authentic look into the struggles that the homeless face.

There is a Tagalog glossary at the back of the book, as well as a reading and activity guide to be used in schools! I'm excited to have this book in my classroom when it comes out.

(Apologies for the relative shortness of this review, I read it over the summer but school has started again since then, and my back to school teacher brain is fried!)

This is an excellent coming of age tale where the young heroine faces trial after trial; however, she retains her hope and drive. She has grit and her friends who give generously despite not having much themselves. Even though Nora and her mother live in a tomb in a cemetery, she struggles to better herself and longs to return to school. What a great message for young people who have so many advantages.

Everlasting Nora
A Novel
by Marie Miranda Cruz
Macmillan-Tor/Forge

Starscape
Children's Fiction , Middle Grade
Pub Date 02 Oct 2018



I am reviewing a copy of Everlasting Nora through Macmillan- Tor/Forge and Netgalley:


Twelve year old Nora looses both her Father and the family home and has to moved to Manila’s North Cemetry, the largest shanty town in the Phillipines today!


One day Nora’s Mother disappears as well leaving Nora alone.


She had lost both her Father and the family home to a fire when she was eleven and soon she finds herself without a Mother too!


Nora embarks on a dangerous journey in search of her Mother with the support of Jo-Jo and his kindhearted Grandmother. While on this dangerous journey she discovers compassion and the resilience of the human spirit.


I give Everlasting Nora five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!