The Lighthouse Diary #67: Expanding Our World: Reflections on World Languages and Literature Week 2025

Joel Donato Ching Jacob aka Cup

During this year’s World Languages and Literature Week, we, at the BA Library had the privilege of hosting three remarkable authors namely, Joel Donato Ching Jacob, Robin Sebilono and Artie Cabezas who shared not only their books but also their writing journeys and the literary works that have shaped their thinking. Each talk, spanning 30 to 40 minutes, became more than just a discussion of craft and the writing life —it was an invitation to step beyond the familiar borders of language and thought.

Thinking of a way to introduce the Book Talk and Author Visit activity, I was reminded of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s words: “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” It’s a striking idea—that our ability to understand, to imagine, even to dream, is shaped by the words we have at our disposal. And so, I used this idea to bring in our students' consciousness into the sessions. Our students, through these author talks, experienced a challenge and opportunity to expand the limits of their worlds.

Joel Donato Ching Jacob, whose middle-grade novels, Wing of the Locust and Orphan Price,  are set in an imagined pre-colonial city in Laguna province, spoke about the importance of learning sight words. He emphasized how reading books of all kinds—especially those that genuinely interest us—contributes to vocabulary growth and comprehension.

Robin visits BA!

Robin Sebolino, author of Vassals of the Valley, delved into his purpose for writing. A passionate historian at heart, Robin finds both comfort and contemplation in writing fiction. His talk underscored how storytelling becomes a way of making sense of history, giving voice to the past while engaging with the present.

Lastly, Artie Cabezas presented his portfolio of sequential art, leading us to explore the power of visual narratives in non-literary texts and other media. His talk became even more resonant when he shared works that reflect his advocacies—gender identity, representation of people with disabilities, and creating spaces for the marginalized.

What worlds opened up! Language is not just about communication; it is the foundation of how we interpret and engage with the world. And when we encounter writers who challenge and inspire us to see differently, who introduce us to narratives outside our own, we grow. Our students didn’t just listen to authors—they widened their own worlds.

We will always be proud of our Griffin and Virtus et Ars Awardee!

I hope these conversations linger in their minds, urging them to read more, to write more, and to embrace the vast possibilities that language—and literature—offer.

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! 

Library Book Display: Ms. Z Recommends

3 X 3: Recommended Reads of 2018 by Filipino Librarians

At the first week  of January, CNN Philippines featured the top books of 2018. I do not question the list, nor the readers who recommended them. But, I noticed that there were no librarians in the roster. Of course, I find the list really helpful. In fact, I checked which books are already in our library shelves.

Then again. Then again. There were no librarians who put out, on social media, his or her top reads of 2018.

So, let me start compiling a list of top 3 reads by Filipino Librarians in the blog and this will be followed by guest bloggers, all are Filipino Librarians who will share with us their top 3 reads.

Here is mine. All Young Adult novels!

1. Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton - A fitting end to the Rebel of the Sands series, the book is a storytelling gem. I love the story arc of Amani, the series' irrepressible female lead. There are girls in this series who kicked ass.

2. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman - This is the first book I read in 2018 that swings from dystopian to utopian ideas latched on religion, philosophy, science and technology. It is a YA novel but eerily prophetic of how humanity may turn out to be as it engages and interacts with technology. One of the lasting questions I have after reading the novel is, can artificial intelligence evolve into a god?

3. Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir - Book 3 in a four part series, it has more action and back story of the villains rather than character development of its heroes. Tahir is consistent though, so book 4 should end with a bang. Like Hero at the Fall, there are plenty of strong women characters in this installment, especially mothers that readers will love and hate.

So, there you go. Three books that has a review of only three sentences. 3 X 3 by Filipino Librarians!

2018 In Review: Books Reviewed

As 2018 winds down to its last days, I continue writing my blog's year in reviews. This one is about the books I have read and posted a review on the blog.

Fiction and Non-Fiction Book Review   of High School Hacks is a DIY-survival Guide for students enrolled in the IB Program. Plus, it has a short review on Lian Hearn's The Storyteller's Daughters. One of the more memorable read I have this 2018 is the Sycthe Series by Neal Shusterman. Read my review of book 2, Thunderhead in this link.

The Holiday Season is a time when I also catch up on my reading. So, to recall, here are links to
Christmas romcom books and more Christmas romance books I read over the holiday break in 2017 but posted reviews in January 2018. I also received advance reader copies of ebooks. I reviewed ARC of Cora Seton's A Seal's Purpose, a contemporary romance series and a college preparatory guidebook ACT Prep.

Since 2016, I followed through two young adult series by Alwyn Hamilton, the Rebel in Sand series and Sabaa Tahir's Ember in the Ashes series. Hamilton's final installment to Rebel, Hero at the Fall was a satisfying closure to the series. Tahir's Reaper at the Gates is the deep breathe before the end and conclusion to Elias and Leia's adventure.

Sadly, I am only able to post two reviews of books by Filipino authors in the blog. Read Eric Ramos, Author of Productivong Librarianship and Emiliana Kampilan's Dead Balagtas. The later won a National Book Award last month. The hype over this book is real. But, I am still seated on my chair on this one as I have read books and graphic novels of this kind before.

And then, there are book reviews I posted in the blog from books I picked from our library. Dialogue and Humble Inquiry, How Psychology Works. The Demon Haunted World and Other Books, Formative Five are all good reads I shared with the Beacon Academy community as well as readers of the blog.

It's been a good reading year, judging from this list of book reviews. To think that I have not posted fiction I read during the second half of 2018 is saying a lot about the concerns and the work that kept me busy. Lined up for 2019 are Candy Gourlay's Bone Talk, Hello, Universe,  Still Me by Jojo Moyes, and From the Library of CS Lewis.

Happy sigh. I am giving myself a pat on the back.

Teen Read Week 2018

Teen Read Week in the US kicked off last October 7, 2018 and will run until October 13, 2018. This year’s theme is It’s Written In the Stars: READ. For details and promotions ideas, visit the Teen Read Week website.

To quote the purpose and objectives of Teen Read Week, here is an excerpt from the website:

“Teen Read Week™ is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)... Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.”

In August, the top ten nominees for Teen Read Week was announced. The video can be viewed in the site as well. But here’s a link to the one in YouTube: 

Top Ten Nominees

What Teen Read Week activities or library evebnts do you run for the young adult readet?

Book Review: A Reaper at the Gates

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are three words to describe this book. Magic. Mayhem. Murder. The same three words I used for books 1 and 2. I am adding a fourth word for this third installment —mothers, which makes reading Reaper all the more difficult for me.

It is an exciting read, for sure, and it had me surprised and disappointed at some points in the novel. But, it is Sabaa Tahir’s explorations and presentations of mothers of all kinds and the many ways women can mother children not their own that moved me to tears. The human heart is only as big as a fist and a mother's can accommodate an entire world. Women are amazing beings and reading this book amplified it more so.

How a novel written for young adult readers can affect me like this is magic indeed. When is the fourth book coming out?


View all my reviews

Book Review: Thunderhead (Arc of Scythe Book 2)

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was hard to put down. I am slowly rereading each chapter to carefully track the changes in the plot and connect gaps that were left open in book 1. There was still no clear explanation on Scythe Faraday faking his death but, from his travels and trajectory in book 2, he sure will play a big role in book three.

In this second book of the series, Shusterman lets us in into the mindscape and emotions of the Thunderhead. Considering that the Thunderhead is a computer program, an Artificial Intelligence, it remains a product of humanity. It is an amalgamation of man's greatest dreams and worst achievements. Therefore, it knows the human heart so well and given its all seeing eye, cameras and bots all around, it can meddle with their affairs. Then again, it does not entirely do so.

As the utopian world where the Thunderhead exist as god unravels, it makes use of people it can trust and who, based on a mathematical computation and algorithm, can save the world from destruction. From what we learn in history, the downfall of one world takes time. Empires are not built in a day and so its. Book three will be a difficult read and I will be at the edge of my seat hoping for the heroes to rise and save the day.

Thunderhead retains everything I love in book 1: the irreverence, the humor, the murders that are cushioned with moral explanations and philosophical ruminations and the love story. The ending tore me apart and the only consolation I had at the closing chapter was the idea of how romantic it is to die for and with the one you love.



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Book Review: Scythe (Arc of a Scythe)

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review of Scythe

Definetly a series that I will watch out for till the last book. One of my best reads of 2017.

Philosophical. Funny. Utterly human!

What worked

As a first book in the series, its duty is to build a believable utopian world and characters to inhabit that universe. In this age and time where death and disease have all been eradicated, I find myself looking for grounding so I could suspend my disbelief. Shusterman succeeds to some extent by pulling up the sci-fi card.

Thanks to science and technoligy, immortality has been achieved. The fountain of youth is no longer the stuff of legend and the elixir of life can be accessed and availed in a revival center. The world is controlled, managed and sustained by the Thunderhead, an AI that supplanted the Cloud as well as corruptible man made institutions. Gone are the imperfect political systems of the world except for the Scythedom composed of Scythes, gleaners of the human race. They are the grim reapers and people who populate Shusterman’s world regard them as honorable and frightful beings licensed to take lives and to bring an end to one’s immortality.

And there lies the conflict. Scythes are humans too and they are fallible. While many of them live up to the morals of gleaning, and its agonies, many abuse this power.

It is here in this world and in this problem where teenagers Citra and Rowan found themselves in. Both became scythes at the end of Book 1. The former was ordained by the Scythedom but the later became a vigilante. It is their story arcs that had me hook, line and sinker.

What did not work

One of my favorite characters in the book faked his death and it was not explained how. There are more loop holes and gaps in the plot. I had to put them aside to join in Citra’s and Rowan’s journey.

Definitely, I am expecting an answer to my questions in Book 2!


View all my reviews

The 2017 Teen Top Ten Nominees

Voting ends on October 14, 2017. Make a choice! Let other's hear your voice! For more information go to the YALSA Teen Top Ten website.

Book Review: Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


These short stories are good enough to read for when you miss the whole gang. JK Rowling has created a host of very interesting characters that, in their death or continuing adventures in the Potter books and beyond, you wonder what came before and what happened next. This collection did just that for me.

Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall are two of my favorite characters in the Potter books. Knowing their past, or better yet, their origin stories gave me closure in understanding their story arc. JK Rowling is really something else!

I hope more short stories of intriguing characters come up in the future. Sirius and his brother, Regulus. Charlie Weasley. Aberforth Dumbledore. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Olivander, the Wandmaker. Just to mention a few. There are many events in the Wizarding World to know more about as well. The Goblin Wars. The slavery of the elves. Muggle and wizard relations. At the end of it all, readers and fans of the books are at the mercy of JK Rowling, magical weaver of tales!



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#ReadingWithoutWalls (2 of 2)

Last week at school, I sent the Dean of Student Services and our Guidance Counselors an email requesting for their support in our Summer Reading Program.

One of my favorite authors, Richard Peck, once said that we (readers) can find ourselves in the pages of a book. Reading, like writing, may appear to be a solitary experience but, it is actually a shared encounter between the reader, the text and those who created the book. I believe that the book is a safe place where, apart from discovering ourselves in it, we as readers can open up to different worldviews of others. In many instances, it leads us to spaces where we can think, ask questions and seek the truth.

I wish to share this belief, which has become an advocacy, first to our students and hopefully to anyone willing to open a book and discover that it is one of the safest place to be one's self and encounter adventures, challenges and risks in life. Thus, our theme for this summer's reading program is #readingwithoutwalls. 

Comfort Zone by Gene Luen Yang and a display of books promoting inclusivity, diversity and empathy

We are recommending books about inclusivity, diversity and empathy. We can also work together in identifying books that meet the academic and developmental needs of our Griffins. Kindly help us spread the word.

After setting up a spread of books for recommendation and putting up our library bulletin board campaigning for #readingwithoutwalls, the email was the next step in the process. By next week, I will be making an announcement during the school Assembly on the Summer Reading Program for 2017.

Reading Programs are best implemented with the help of the community. Remember, it takes a village to raise a child.

#ReadingWithoutWalls (1 of 2)

Free comic: Comfor Zone by Gene Luen Yang

I follow YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) over at Twitter and it was there where I found Comfort Zone, a short comic by Gene Luen Yang.

The story seems autobiographical. A young Gene Luen Yang, considered an oddity by his peers finally found a place and space to stand out at computer camp. There he meets a friend and the approval of his peers. When a new kid comes along, they pick on him and his annoying habits. What comes around goes around? Bullying is a vicious cycle. Who ever said revenge is sweet? The young Gene Luen Yang doesn't think so as he felt remorse for an unkind act that haunted him for years.

Now, as the National Ambassador of YA Literature and Teen Tech Week 2017 in the US, Gene Luen Yang spends his time and acclaimed success as graphic comic creator helping teachers and librarians of young people grow in compassion and empathy. Indeed, none us is too old or too young to turn in a new leaf, to start a dream or set forth a new goal.

The social media campaign, #ReadingWithoutWalls is the punch at Comfort Zone's ending. YALSA and Mr. Yang invites and encourages everyone to:

* Read a book with a character who doesn't look or live like you.
* Read a book about a topic you don't know much about.
* Read a book in a format you don't normally read for fun.

Visit the Children's Book Council for more freebies: posters, PDFs of fliers and brochures. The reading program and campaign began last year during Teen Read week, but like what I said earlier, it is never too late to do a good deed, to dream a new dream or to set a new goal. Better late than never!

Go to the YALSA website too. It is also a good source to find out more about Gene Luen Yang and the #ReadingWithoutWalls social media campaign.

Book Review (SPOILERS): Traitor to the Throne

Traitor to the Throne
Alwyn Hamilton
Viking, 2017

I will begin my review of Traitor to the Throne, the second installment to the Rebel of the Sands, with the quoted paragraphs.

 "In this backdrop, Amani struggles to find herself while Jin has his own agenda. Jin maybe fighting alongside his brother, but he dreams of freedom; of being in a place where he can truly be himself; where he is not beholden to anyone else; where he could be the master of his fate."

"But this is a dream yet to come. Or not. My guess is, since Amani has only discovered her true power at the end of the book, Jin has to make a decision somewhere in book 2. Fight or Flight? Can he do both? Will Amani continue to become her own hero despite her growing feelings for Jin? Will the Rebel Prince prevail? Is there a traitor waiting in the wings?"

These came from the book review I wrote about Rebel around June last year. If you wish to read my review before this one, just click the link that is highlighted. There are spoilers in this review, so, don't say I didn't warn you.

I am glad that most of my questions that came up in Rebel were answered in Traitor. Amani did become the hero in book 2 to the point of leading the Rebellion to the next installment. Jin was gone most of the time, spying and gathering intelligence for the Rebellion. Jin and Amani's relationship have grown more intense as well as the political intrigue that envelopes them both. Since Amani was traded as a slave to join the Sultan's harem, I got a good look of the nature of the Rebellion's enemies and their battle plan. The Sultan is really evil.  

Traitor bespeaks of many messages for the reader to take it all in at once. I am still digesting the whole novel, actually. One of the messages I took away from Traitor that lingers still is this: those who love and stay loyal to the virtues and values that make us human in a time of conflict and war eventually die and get hurt. This is a more compelling read, for me, at least. But that is not saying that Traitor is better than Rebel. The latter is intriguingly beautiful and captivating. The former is breathtakingly exciting and ruthless at the same time. 

Sam's mindscape as he sneaks into Shazad's room.

What Hamilton began as narrative layering in Rebel, she continued so skillfully in Traitor. The legends and djinn lore she used as padding to the world she built for Miraji and its characters is an homage to the Arabian Nights. The crafting was well done that the legends and djinn lore she introduced in selected chapters made Miraji and its inhabitants more believable in a folkloric sense.

I am glad there are more djinns this time. And golems too! Shazad continues to kick ass. There is a rainbow moment between a demji and a human. New characters were introduced and a few good ones died. Sam is one of my favorites to emerge. While I wonder about Jin's prolonged stay in Xichia, and who funds the rebellion of the Rebel Prince, I also wonder what will become of Sam in book 3.

I will read Traitor to the Throne once more so I can post my guide for teachers and parents who wish to discuss the book with their teens. Here now is the link to the resource and reading guide I whipped up for Rebel of the Sands.

Rating: 5 Bookmarks

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.

2016 Teens' Top Ten by YALSA

From my inbox sent by Teen Read Week (ALA):

Now through December 31, 2016, teens aged 12-18 can nominate their favorite titles to be considered as a 2017 Teens’ Top Ten nominee via the public nomination form. Book title nominations submitted in the current year will be used for consideration of the following year’s list of nominees. For books to be eligible for consideration, they must be published between January 1– December 31, 2016.

And here is the video of this year's nominees!

Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is just something sexy about a guy who wants to live life in his own terms according to his principles and values. This is how I see Elias Veturius, the soldier hero of Sabaa Tahir's , thus, it was easy for me to root for him all throughout the book.

He is a guy against a system he doesn't want to be a part of and the fates has something else planned for him. He fights for his freedom and gets to runaway with the girl at the end of the book. No, it's not a happily ever after ending since his escape from the system is wrought with conflicts that range
from breaking the bonds of friendship, living with the guilt of killing his friends, and turning away from an illustrious and entitled life of a Gens/Mask. These will haunt him in book two and will definitely play a big role in his character development. For now, it is enough for me to say that I truly enjoyed Ember, the magic, the mayhem and yes, even the murders.

In this age of GoT and the Walking Dead, reading a book that has a viscous violence in it but stays centered to a hero, tormented and seeking redemption, is definitely worth several reads.

What else worked

The world building of Tahir is neither in the past nor in the future. The place is either middle Eastern or Mediterranean. Soldiers fight with spears, daggers and scrims but they wear boots and fatigues. The social strata is similar to imperial Rome, yet the existence of Augurs, mortal mages who know the patterns of time is suggestive of Greek myth. There are djinns and efrits, fey creatures and ghouls, the stories are told in the tradition of the Arabian nights all mixed, matched and meshed in a world that made me believe it does exist.

There are girls and women characters as strong as the men and the guys; villains that can put Lord Bolton to shame; and a splattering of supporting characters created to help the heroes and push the villains with their evil plans.

Ember has so many layers and pieces put together, it is a tastefully made novel crafted with so
much care. It doesn't look like a novel that was easy to write, but Tahir knew how to do it amazingly well.

What did not work

The romance is middle grade level. The characters are in their late adolescence, between 17-20 years old and yet, I feel like I am reading about an 8th grader falling in love for the first time. Eeew.

I hope this would improve in the second book since the love angle can be a stronger force to bind Elias to Laia thus, forming a tandem that is worth swooning over and cheering for as they battle the odds in the next journey. I look forward to Helene Aquilla's turn to shine. I want to know if my hunch on Keenan, the rebel Scholar is correct. Did Cook truly survive and why does she know so many secrets? Will Marcus turn out to be a super villain aided by the Nightbringer? And, I want to find out what the heck those Augurs were trying to tell Laia, Helene and Elias all along.

On to book two as there are riddles left to solve!

View all my reviews

2016 NCBD Bumasa at Lumaya Blog Tour Round Up

I am back to the blog tour round up of Bumasa at Lumaya 2. It's been a busy two weeks right after the NCBD. Hinga-hinga muna.

And, here they are!

Cris Tanjutco Ngo of Teacher's Pet wrote a chapter review on The Magic of the Frozen Moment: A Crash Course on Comics Appreciation by Paolo Chikiamco. Teacher Cris is delighted to get recommendations from Chikiamco on comic books to read and the varied ways of accessing them. As a school librarian, I find this helpful too, since a number of my readers in the high school library where I work are comic book lovers and visual learners.

Lausanne Barlaan of Bookbed provided a glowing review of Bumasa at Lumaya 2. She wrote the good points on Ramon Sunico's and Carla Pacis' essays, specifically on writing for young adult readers. She glows over the insights of Mailin Paterno Locsin on her essay about writing non-fiction for young people. There are, however, parts in her review where she pointed out the typo errors in the book. Surely, for a second printing, these errors will be corrected.

Blooey Singson of Bookmarked is by far, the most frank review on Bumasa at Lumaya 2 that I have read. Weighing the good points and the bad ones, I tend to agree with her that the readers' perspective and context, as far as Young Adult materials is concerned, needed representation. Perhaps, in the third volume, the current voice and changing tides in readership, book formats and access can be included.

I, for one, feel the need to revise my piece on setting up a library and reading center for young readers.

Day 5 of #KwentoRP612: Tay, Inom Tayo!

Tay, inom tayo!

Pagyaya ng bunso. Syempre, hindi ko siya uurungan. Kaya kahit pagod ako't gusto ko ng mahiga, sinagot ko siya.

Tag dalawang bote lang. Wala pang sweldo.

Sagot ko ang pangatlo, Tay. Rumaket ako sa club kagabi.

Kaya pala inabot ka ng madaling araw.

Ang tawa niya.

Sa katapusan, makakauwi na ako ng maaga, Tay. Pramis. May bago ng supremo.

Kinuha niya ang gitara. Tumugtog. Nagsimulang umawit.

Liparin mo sa ulap
Sisirin mo sa dagat
Hukayin mo sa lupa
Baka naroon ang kalayaan

Mas magaling ka na sa akin, sabi ko ng matapos siya.

Nagmana ako sayo.

Sabay kaming napabuntong hininga.

MagjaJapan ako, Tay. Itutuloy ko po.

Kaya ka pala nagyayang uminom. Alam na ba ng Nanay?

Umiling. Tinapos namin ang unang round.

Akin na ang gitara.

Oras na, magpasiya
Kung saan ka pupunta
Oras na, oras na
Mag-iba ka ng landas

Tayo na sa liwanag
Ang takot ay nasa isip lamang
Tama na ang pag-aalinlangan
Ang takot ay nasa isip lamang

Wala ka paring kupas, Tay. Anong kanta yan?

Hindi mo na naabutan. Hanapin mo sa Google!

Sabay kaming tumawa.

Tapusin na natin ito. Kailangan nating makausap ang nanay mo.

Mga hiram na piling titik ng mga awit:
Mula sa Oras Na ng Asin at Naroon ng Yano

Book Review: Rebel of the Sands

Rebel of the Sands
Alwyn Hamilton
Viking, 2016

I enjoyed reading this book because, to me, it is a love story. Love. Love. Love! Oh, there is so much love in this book by Alwyn Hamilton that I am rereading it this summer.

What worked 
The lead characters are adorable. Jin and Amani are worth rooting for. There is tension between the two which was established at the very start of the novel. For me, at least, this is a motivating factor to move faster through the pages. As Amani's attraction to Jin slowly unfolds, she remains clueless of her true identity. This is something that Jin knows all along and to the perceptive reader, Jin has some surprises tucked into his sleeves that Amani is not aware of. She can only guess. 

Jin's secret is revealed in the middle part of the book. And what perfect timing. As Amani's belief in the stories surrounding the mysteries of the desert materialize, so is her realization of the truth behind the identity of Jin and the Rebel Prince. I like this unfolding of events and the revelation of the key characters in the story. It engages me. I have many AHA and I knew it moments while reading the book. The last time I was engaged in a book was when I was reading the HP series.

The book also presents a bigger view of Amani and Jin's world. There is political intrigue, international relations and the unending quest for power. In this backdrop, Amani struggles to find herself while Jin has his own agenda. Jin maybe fighting alongside his brother, but he dreams of freedom; of being in a palace where he can truly be himself; where he is not beholden to anyone else; where he could be the master of his fate. Sexy. Yes! 

But this is a dream yet to come. Or not. My guess is, since Amani has only discovered her true power at the end of the book, Jin has to make a decision somewhere in book 2. Fight or Flight? Can he do both? Will Amani continue to become her own hero despite her growing feelings for Jin? Will the Rebel Prince prevail? Is there a traitor waiting in the wings?

These are my questions. I am counting the months till book 2 comes out.

What did not work 
Very few djinns. Their spawns are everywhere, but these creatures of fire and air are amiss in book 1. Just a little thing, I know. But I love djinns.