June 2019
(Kokila/Penguin) |
Patron Saints of NothingJay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth -- and the part he played in it. As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity. Bookshop | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Penguin |
March 2018
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) |
After the Shot DropsBunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble.
When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision—maybe a dangerous one. Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion. Bookshop | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | HMH |
October 2015
(Simon & Schuster) |
An Infinite Number of Parallel UniversesFour friends from wildly different backgrounds have bonded over Dungeons & Dragons since the sixth grade. Now they're facing senior year and a major shift in their own universes. Archie is struggling with his parents' divorce after his dad comes out as gay. Mari is terrified of her adoptive mother's life-altering news. Dante is carrying around a huge secret that is proving impossible to keep hidden. And when Sam gets dumped by the love of his life, everyone is ready to join him on a cross-country quest to win her back. The four quickly discover that the road is not forgiving, and that real life is no game.
Bookshop | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Simon & Schuster |
Short stories
June 2022
(Audible) |
Project KawayanThis is how it begins: Select-Your-Destiny, a storytelling experience that places the listener directly in the action by giving them the power to choose what happens. The narrator describes the circumstances, and once a Destiny Node is reached, the listener chooses what happens next. The narrator narrates, the listener chooses. That is how it has always worked—until now.
In this story, the listener chooses to team up with the narrator, collaborating on what shape the story will take. A story of an unnamed teen who must piece together what’s going on after waking from suspended animation in a vacant bunker deep underground without memory. With each twist and turn, each Destiny Node, the listener and narrator begin to recover what was lost. What comes to light will transform them both. Audible |