Book Review: No Man Manila

 

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Komiket at PASLICon 2026

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A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@zarahgeeh)

Book Review: Lost, Light Life

Lost, Light, Life 

By Rob Cham, Anino Comics

Our little Backpacker’s journey has come full circle. The illustrations, coloring and inking have all beautifully complemented the story of the little one’s triumph. Here’s to more fulfillment of dreams and adventures big and small in the years to come!

Thank you @aninocomics 💜

May we find the loyalty of true friends, the faith of family and the fortitude to soldier on in our chosen paths!

Recommended Reads: My List of Must Have Children’s Books at the MIBF 2019

This is batch four of my recommended must have children’s books to acquire at the Manila International Book Fair happening tomorrow. For this post, I am sharing titles of middle grade books, young adult novels and sequential art or comics.

1. Tuli o Di Tuli by Dr. Luis Gatmaitan,; illustrated by Manix Abrera, Hiyas 2019;

Philippine Children’s Literature’s resident doctor strikes again! Dr. Gatmaitan’s Tito Dok series tackles the science behind circumcission breaking myths and folklore along the way. 

2. Ako Ang Bayan by PD Guinto; illustrated by Manix Abrera, Adarna House 2018

Guinto writes about freedom as the most precious thing on earth. His exposition is clear and straight to the point. Abrera’s visual interpretation of Guinto’s prose is simple but satisfying. 

3. Moymoy Lulumhoy Book 4 by Segundo “Jun” Matias, Lampara Books 2019

Moymoy is now a teenager and his adversaries doubled. However, his greatest enemy to date is himself. Follow Moymoy’s adventures as he traverses a more challenging journey, finding his own self.

4. Janus Silang at Ang Hiwagang May Dalawang Mukha by Edgar Samar, Adarna House 2019. 

If you are a fan of this book, go grab a copy because the questions left unanswered in book 3 leads you closer to the end. 

5. Trese Book 7 Shadow Witness by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldissimo, Visprint 2019

Finally! Trese fans, we will get to know more about Alexandra’s mysterious brothers! 

Enjoy the MIBF 2019 and hope to see you there! 

Gene Luen Yang Is 2017 Teen Tech Week Spokesperson

Teen Tech Week 2017 Poster

During Teen Tech Week last March 5-11, 2017, I launched the Book Spine Poetry Festival 2017 in school and presented two possible outreach activities during school assembly a week after. Having donated three boxes of books to the #MagingMagiting book drive campaign of the Ayala Foundation, I thought of putting together a presentation on developing classroom libraries and creating a catalog of recommended reads. The latter is a public service campaign and the former is literacy and reading advocacy project. Both library activities/projects drum up this year's Teen tech Week theme: Be the Source of Change.

I shall write about the projects in another post. For this blog post, I will talk about Teen Tech Week and its spokesperson, Gene Luen Yang.

Mr. Gene Luen Yang as chosen by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) as his year's Teen Tech Week ambassador has this to say about libraries and its services to young people:

“Libraries have always been about both information and wisdom. Library staff teach us to be wise and discerning about the information we consume,” said Yang. “Because of technology, our world is now more information-rich than ever before, which is why we are more in need of wisdom than ever before.”

Mr. Yang has won a Printz and an Eisner for his graphic novel, American Born Chinese. 

When I read American Born Chinese a few years back, I was immediately endeared to the main characters, Chinkee/The Monkey King, Jin Wang, a second generation Chinese American, and Danny an American teenager of Chinese heritage. The three characters all display flaws that, thanks to a recognition of making the most difficult choice and learning from mistakes, became their saving grace in the end. Mr. Yang sure did give his characters a difficult time as well as allowing them to go through personal and socio-cultural struggles to rise up better than where they started. Such is the ethical and somewhat didactic journey of Jin Wang and Danny. However, the Monkey King's legendary value set as a backdrop for Jin and Danny made American Born Chinese a fascinating read. It has a blending of the lessons of the past to the present day and ushers a reassuring future for Danny.

Mr. Yang has more works that are worthy of acquisition for your library shelf if you are developing your library's graphic novel collection. I recommend, The Eternal Smile, Level Up and the historical two volume graphic novel, Boxer and Saint, about the Boxer Rebellion.

Of the four, Level Up is a personal favorite because it is a coming of age story where the lead, a young college freshman realizes his purpose in life despite pressure from academic work and big expectations from family. How Asian, right? But, I suppose, this is a conflict that many young adults encounter too, regardless of race, color or religion.

Finding one's self can take a person a lifetime to do so. Perhaps, as librarians of young adult learners, we can help a bit by recommending reading materials and designing programs and projects that will create oaths for them to find and discover their identity.