Bone Talk - Candy Gourlay

Written by Candy Gourlay
Read by Ramon de Ocampo
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Release date: November 1, 2019
Duration: 05:44:59

A boy and a girl in the Philippine jungle must confront what coming of age will mean to their friendship, made even more complicated when Americans invade their country.

Samkad lives deep in the Philippine jungle, and has never encountered anyone from outside his own tribe before. He’s about to become a man, and while he’s desperate to grow up, he’s worried that this will take him away from his best friend, Little Luki, who isn’t ready for the traditions and ceremonies of being a girl in her tribe. But when a bad omen sends Samkad’s life in another direction, he discovers the brother he never knew he had. A brother who tells him of a people called ‘Americans’. A people who are bringing war, and destruction right to their home…

A coming-of-age story set at the end of the 19th century in a remote village in the Philippines, this is a story about growing up, discovering yourself, and the impact of colonialism on native peoples and their lives.

“Touching upon timely subjects, such as cultural assimilation and prejudice, Gourlay writes with graphic frankness about the realities of war and violence (“I could feel the soft heat swiftly dissipating, turning the warm, living flesh into cold, unyielding meat… my knees were dripping. Blood”). Steeped in Filipino tradition, this richly historic coming-of-age novel shows readers a rare view of the Philippines on the brink of American colonization. Ages 10–14.”

AudioFile…
Narrator Ramon de Ocampo takes listeners on a journey to a mountain village in the Philippines at the end of the nineteenth century. …. Many listeners will be unfamiliar with this period in history and the rich heritage of the native Philippine people, but de Ocampo makes Samkad’s first-person point of view sound vibrant and compelling. De Ocampo engages listeners’ empathy for Samkad and his rapidly changing world.”