“One foot ahead of the other. One shaky step at a time… Sometimes, that was all life asked of us. A bit of motion, so we could feel that we were heading somewhere worthwhile.” A good YA novel is a rare thing. Sometimes the characters come across as immature, and slightly annoying, to more mature… Read More Fudge My Life: A YA Novel Stuffed with Life Lessons
(Poster from Encore Theater) Mirrors abound in the latest offering of Encore Theater, a group of thespians who had worked closely with playwright Floy Quintos (gone too soon in 2024), and who last staged his final play, GRACE. His plays are known to reflect the social conflicts of our times, yet clarified and rephrased so… Read More Mirrors and Metaphors: “Miranda and Yolanda” Reflects on Filipinos’ Relationships with Leaders
“It is in the everyday experiences of ordinary women that we find true history – the texture of our nation as lived, felt, and dreamed,” writes Zea Asis, one of the contributors to this book about women “navigating a world ablaze.” There is much that makes this book special. The cover alone is a clever… Read More UNWRITTEN WOMEN: You Can’t Spell “Heroism” Without “Her”
“You become the story you tell yourself.” Weddings are full of drama, and in one of those intersections of real life and reading life, I found myself reading “Mirror Marked” the week after my brother got married. With a whole new appreciation for the chutzpah unique to wedding planners, I found myself thoroughly charmed by… Read More Mirror Marked: A Reflection on Authenticity
Do not be deceived by the cute, eye-catching cover (well-made as it is). Do not make my mistake of thinking that you’re in for a fun, light romp through the misadventures of a millennial Filipina. A closer inspection of the cover reveals the black blood of the dinuguan hinting at darker themes, the stressed-out cats… Read More Some Days I Wish I Was A Cat: Furious in Pink
The pleasure in realizing that you’ve been missing out on something absolutely wonderful usually comes when you close a book, sniffling back tears from the leaky teapot that is now your face. I had been hearing about Tori Tadiar for the longest time, as the bookish community was abuzz with joy and pride at her… Read More Twinkle, Twinkle: A Radiant Little Book
Few books have forewords that embrace its reader in an emotional chokehold, already sniffing through a mist of tears. This is such a book. Veteran journalist Atom Araullo introduces his powerful collection of eight articles and accompanying photos as “stories that don’t shout, but linger.” These are long-term issues from all over the Philippines and… Read More A View From The Ground: An Intimate Look at Filipino Reality
THE VANISHED (the English translation of author Chuckberry Pascual’s “Ang Nawawala”) has introduced this reader to one of the most unforgettable characters to ever grace the page. When things keep getting lost in a particular barangay, there’s only one person to call. Our hero/ine Bree solves seven capers in these tragicomic short stories (alternatively seen… Read More The Vanished: Mystery Meets Social Criticism
THE SECRET LIVES OF OFWs has an irresistible premise. What if the Filipino migrant worker is actually a mythological creature, with enough supernatural power to take revenge against abusive foreigners? Events creative (and former OFW) Jet Tagasa’s first book is a collection of eight horror stories, each featuring a kababayan who happens to be more… Read More The Secret Lives of OFWs: Here Be Monsters
“The status quo did not mean peace.” Glenn Diaz’s 2022 novel about a middle-aged teacher fleeing her violent past has been picked up by Tilted Axis Press, as well as shortlisted for the Novel Prize in 2020. It is many things: a literary crime novel, a concise history of Philippine contemporary history from the time… Read More Yñiga: A Literary Crime Novel that Tackles the Past and Future of Being Filipino
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