At first I wasn't sure where the book was going, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Basically a kid goes to the Philippines to visit his father's family after he finds out his cousin/best friend was killed over drugs. He demands answers and so goes, as the typical American teen, to the land where he will clear up any names that need to be cleared up. Obviously, he learns quite a few things about his familial culture through the different interactions with his family members. I think one of the things I liked the best about the book was that it was a great depiction of an American teenage boy. There were different "themes" in the book, and although I am not a fan of too many issues in a book, this one seemed to be a little more real about them. Maybe that they weren't preachy made a difference. Anywho, it was a good book and I did enjoy it.