by Randy Ribay
Jay Reguero sits in his Michigan bedroom, staring at news of his cousin Jun's death in the Philippines. The police report calls it a drug-related killing, part of President Duterte's violent war on drugs. Jay refuses to believe it. Jun was the cousin who sent him books and letters, who cared about justice and helping people. Jay convinces his parents to let him visit family in the Philippines for the first time since childhood. In Manila and the provinces, Jay searches for answers about what really happened to Jun. He interviews family members, friends, and neighbors, piecing together his cousin's final months. Each conversation reveals new complexities about poverty, politics, and survival in a country Jay thought he understood. The investigation forces Jay to confront his own privilege as a Filipino American and question everything he believed about his family and homeland.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, privilege
Setting: Manila, Michigan, Philippines
Period: Contemporary
Content warnings: death, drug-use, violence