Everything We Never Had

Everything We Never Had - Paperback

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Everything We Never Had
  • Everything We Never Had
Everything We Never Had - Paperback

Everything We Never Had - Paperback

by Randy Ribay
$12.99
$12.99

Book Overview

by Randy Ribay (Author)

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. Winner of the APALA medal, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction Award, and longlisted for the National Book Award. Now in paperback!

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 un-American 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.

Author Biography

Randy Ribay is a Filipino American author of young adult fiction. His novel Patron Saints of Nothing was a finalist for the National Book Award and the LA Times Book Prize. Randy was also a contributor to the Printz Award-winning anthology The Collectors, edited by A. S. King. His other works include An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes, After the Shot Drops, and Chronicles of the Avatar: The Reckoning of Roku. Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.

Number of Pages: 288
Dimensions: 0.7 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN
Publication Date: August 26, 2025
Accelerated Reader:
Quiz Name: Everything We Never Had
Interest Level: Upper Grades, 9-12
Reading Level: 5.3
Point Value: 8
ISBN9780593461426
Author Randy Ribay
PublisherKokila
GenreYoung adult and Family
FormatPaperback
PublishedAugust 2025
LanguageENG- English
Pages288
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceTeens & young adults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Young Adult Fiction Young Adults

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More by Randy Ribay

Everything We Never Had

Everything We Never Had - Hardcover

Everything We Never Had - Hardcover

By Randy Ribay

About Randy Ribay

Randy Ribay writes stories for young people. He's the author of Patron Saints of Nothing; Everything We Never Had; Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Reckoning of Roku; and more. He's a two-time National Book Award nominee, a co-winner of the Michael L. Printz award, and a recipient of the Asian/Pacific Award for Litera­ture. His books have appeared on the New York Times, Indie, and USA Today bestseller lists. Born in the Philippines and raised in the US, Randy currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.

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