However, unlike many history textbooks, this story isn’t told through the voices of the invaders – this time, it is told through the eyes of the invaded. “They’ve been bringing chaos and war nearby, and they’re coming very soon.”Īfter that moment, everything changes, and the young protagonist begins to question everything he’s ever known.īone Talk, which has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2019 and the prestigious Costa Book Award, sheds a crucial light on the process and effects of our colonization.

“The ‘Americans’ are coming,” the strange boys says. Samkad is confident that he’ll be the best Bontok tribal warrior he can be – until an unknown boy enters their territory, claiming to be his long-lost brother. It’s 1899 and Samkad knows his culture, his people, and his environment by heart, as well as the Bontok manhood ritual – the ceremony that officially turns boys into tribal warriors – axes, spears, and all the big day Samkad has been waiting for. However, this unfortunate reality – of why the books Candy loved as a child only showed pink-skinned children in snowy worlds and never about her tropical Manila home – is what drove her to create her special, true-to-home genre and more specifically, her 3rd novel, Bone Talk.īone Talk tells the story of a young boy named Samkad, who belongs to the Bontok tribe of the Cordillera region. The next time you find yourself looking for a captivating, young adult read to pore over, head over to National Book Store, do yourself (and your kids) a favor, and grab a copy of Filipino author Candy Gourlay’s newest novel, Bone Talk.Īward-winning children’s literature writer Candy excellently weaves a tender, coming-of-age story with the rich culture of our Filipino tribe in the midst of the Philippine-American war – which is admittedly, a type of storytelling that is not usually seen on bookshelves.

Bone talk candy gourlay