Displaced

by Aneka Rodriguez, Mitzi Villavecer (Illustrator)

SPACE.
When Elay's
Nany
decided
to
pack her bags,
board the airplane
and fly back
to Manila,

TIME.
Elay's glorious hours of
guitar-playing,
exam-flunking,
Facebook viewing,
Justin-drearming
slowly
decreased
to
zero.

FORCE
The harder she struggled
to return to how things were,

DISPLACEMENT.
the greater the forces
that took her farther.

Genres: Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Neil Franz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical YA story written in verse. Still good.

RTC.

[kb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got my fill of Filipino-ness from this book, all right! There’s the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) angle, the extended family factor, the text messaging addiction and the always fun hayskul layp.

Read the rest of my review on Bookbed.

[Fe Trampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read! I liked how it was written inverse at first as every stanza gave me such vivid images that really popped in my bead... and then somewhere down the road these images just stopped and I was in the head of the character a little TOO much. And saying that I was in her head too much is a bad thing because there were only so many words on a page.

I think I bought this book ten years ago and I’ve read it before but prior to picking it up today I did not remember a thing about it. Bad sign again, I guess? It was really pretty when it wanted to be and I related so much to a lot of things in the book because I was in high school a little after the time this was set BUT it had its problems.

The main character was a teenager. What can any of us expect? The conflict with her mom was disarming at first. I would go on to say that that was probably what the author was going for when she wrote this. It was effective for me in that respect, but then that conflict just disappeared without resolution and the character went on to just focus on her adolescent problems with her friend and the guy that they both liked.

Once upon a time, I also thought that everything revolved around my high school friends and the boy(s) I liked back then but whenever it felt like things were going that way, I am always brought back to how my family life was going and how reflective that was of myself when I was ‘away’ from my family. I’m not saying I didn’t like this, I’m just saying I would have liked it more if it focused on the mother/daughter relationship that was featured.

Also, a slight comment on the usage of verse——after a while, it really didn’t feel like ‘form’ met ‘function’ here. Why was it written in this way? If maybe we delved further into the main character’s penchant for music, it would have made more sense. However, because we did not do that, there were pages where I just felt distracted by how things were structured. This could have been a short story in paragraph form and nothing would have changed. That’s all.

[Sheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim from Mt. Cloud Bookshop in Baguio. It was rare to see a YA book by a Filipino and in verses too so I was definitely intrigued to have a try. Word flow was simple yet smooth and easy to get into. There were several issues brought to the table (i.e. OFW mom, parent-child relationship distance, separated parents, friendship issues, boy issues, pressure on academics, etc.), however, it felt like none were really addressed head-on and given a proper resolution. They were just left to fizzle on their own or given a brush-off resolution. Too bad since the build up nailed it.

TFG Bingo Card Challenge 2017: YA FICTION BY A FILIPINO AUTHOR - 6/25

[aye · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes it's better to let go of people who don't see your worth. who is unworthy of you. the art of not caring if they leave you hanging. it hurts at first, but you'll get used to it, especially if you know who those people are.

fun fact: i randomly picked up this book at the library yesterday, and i didn't realize that i had already finished reading it because it's actually good. there are a lot of life lessons, so i kind of recommend it. ٩( ᐛ )و

[Jelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that reminds me of gummy bears. Sweet but not fully satisfying. Nice imagery though, simple prose that gets the writer's feeling across.

[Moondough · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had a really unique writing style.

[MACB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book since I was in elementary! I bought a copy but I lost it lol. I hope I can find it because I think this is the first YA I’ve ever read.

[Yana]

easy to read, simple plot. execution?? not done so well. it had no closure whatsoever, I'm confused, is there a sequel or???

[Bookbed · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A YA novel told in verses by Aneka Rodriguez, Displaced follows the story of a high school senior, Elay, who is undergoing life-altering experiences. Aside from college admissions, best friend drama and seemingly unlikely-to-happen crushes to worry about, she also has to deal with a balikbayan-mother situation." Continue reading our review here.

Please note: We don't use ratings but for this purpose, we tag books with three stars by default.
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[Juri Granz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out great in the beginning. Gabby/Elay is a pretty complex character. Her experiences and problems with school, her social and love life, and her family are relatable to most teenagers. It was quite interesting and also sad to see how she starts becoming more closed off, angry, and lonely since her mom left to go abroad. Her feelings and struggles were really valid and realistic.

The ending, however, felt unsatisfying. I feel like there should've been more build-up and time for her to patch things up with her best friend. We don't even exactly know how she patched things up with her mom, or if they even got to make up. There was basically so much tension and conflict throughout the story only for them to be resolved way too fast in the end.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel in verse form, coupled with the illustrations made for a very quick and interesting read. Though I read this book as an adult, I found myself relating very much to Elay's issues and rooting for her to succeed. I think it's a realistic depiction of mother-daughter relationships, of OFW families, of teenage trials and tribulations. Also found myself smiling at the little quirks that made Elay such a fun character.

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Gabriela seems to be hard but atleast it has a point. =)

[Vanessa Lenn]

i want to read

[Theolex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book just contains a typical high school girl. But i think the nanay conflict is more important than the conflict between love.