“[An] engaging account of the Filipino American experience in the 20th century. . . . It expands and deepens our knowledge of that past beyond Bulosan’s riveting account of the Filipino American experience in the first half of the 20th Century. Of course, it helps that Dawn Mabalon is retelling the history of her own family and her own community.”
- Benjamin Pimentel (Phillipine Daily Inquirer) “Mabalon’s text is not merely a history of a community, but a study of how that community has been remembered and forgotten, given the redevelopment and gentrification policies that demolished most of Little Manila’s buildings after the 1960s.”
- Christopher Patterson (International Examiner) “Mabalon’s work reminds us of the precious importance of engaging in conversation with our elders. As a fellow third generation Filipina American, almost twenty years older than the author, I had often felt alone in seeking out the stories of my grandparents and ancestors, then writing about them in order to keep them alive for all generations. Mabalon-author, professor, and community activist-sets the bar for projects such as these to new heights. Justly so, because ‘A community worth saving is a community worth writing about. And vice versa.’”
- Lisa Suguitan Melnick (Positively Filipino blog) “This extensive book has valuable information for multiple audiences, including ethnic studies academics, students of ethnic studies, and general readers interested in labor, gender, intergenerational relations, urban studies, race, and the everyday lives of Filipina/os in the twentieth century.”
- JoAnna Poblete (Journal of American History) “I expect that Little Manila will become a staple in courses focused upon histories of California, immigration, and labor.”
- Allison Varzally (American Historical Review) "By acknowledging Filipino community formation in a context of intercultural relations while also privileging uniquely Filipina/o stories, the author effectively weaves oral accounts into her narrative, offering a human dimension to the urban history of Little Manila that would otherwise remain lost in the past."
- Naomi Alisa Calnitsky (Oral History Review) "Little Manila Is in the Heart is a much-loved masterpiece of ethnography, history and activism all at once, centering on the titular Little Manila of downtown Stockton, California. Mabalon’s writing is as sharp as it is loving and accessible, and the way she traces the community’s origins to its contemporary struggles against gentrification could be fruitfully linked to similar struggles around the country, particularly the rapidly changing Bay Area. Rest in power, Dawn."
- Elaine Castillo (Electric Lit)
