Everything We Never Had

These four overlapping stories are sweeping and exciting, drawing the reader in to the worlds of the characters. Ribay's writing is vivid, historically informative, emotionally resonant, and often funny as the narrative moves back and forth in time between adolescent experiences of the four Maghabol men, focusing on their troubled relationships with their fathers. His compelling account of the pandemic lockdown experience shows, in disturbingly familiar ways, how social isolation and doomscrolling impacted teens. In the author's note at the end of the novel, he talks about the intense archival work he did to paint an accurate picture of farmworkers' history in the Central Valley of California, and that he consulted a psychologist about how to depict symptoms of anxiety, which shines through in the parts about Enzo's battles with the "murder hornets" in his head. The book may be especially relevant for young adult readers from Filipino or multiracial families, or those with immigrant backgrounds, but they are by no means the only audience for this fantastic novel. Every teenager, to some extent, grapples with finding their place—in history, in the world at large, and within their own family. Everything We Never Had is a profound meditation on this coming-of-age struggle, and on the American experience.