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Fantasy: Filipino Fiction For Young Adults
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 21, 2024
Finally finished this short story collection of YA Fantasy and I loved it. I loved the Filipinoness of it while still retaining the kind of fantasy we know.
1. Residents of an Island off the Coast of Old Samboangan by Sigrid Gayangos - This short story feels a bit experimental and differs from the rest of the stories in the collection. It reminds me of In a Bamboo Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. We have several point-of-view characters and what connects them all is an orange plant that keeps getting passed around.
2. The Hunt for the Fleas of Maculot by Joel Donato Ching Jacob - a mix of high fantasy, adventure, quests, and the power of friendship. I love how the Filipino mythological creatures are incorporated into each characters and none of them are the traditional human. Instead, the enemies are the humans. Very interesting twist at the end as well.
3. Shatterbrain by Sage Alfar - my favorite short story in the collection. It feels more like a Western fantasy than a Filipino fantasy with all the magic and spells and familiars, but what I love about this story is how it tackles ADHD. ADHD is incorporated very well into the character's behavior and it affects the story as well, not like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson ADHD.
4. The Real World by Gabriela Lee - we step away from high fantasy and go into urban fantasy now. if you're a fan of high school romance stories with a pinch of fantasy, this story is for you. ironically, although it's more rooted into realism than the other fantasy stories, the setting doesn't feel like the Philippines, and feels like it's set in the U.S.
5. Sticks and Stones and Gold by Maia Gapud - can't be more Filipino than this. We have a duwende as one of the major characters in the story. I love how the duwende is used in this story, similar to how they're used in Trese, where characters make a pact with the duwende so they'd grant your wish.
6. Mela and the Prince of Flies - we don't see any of the typical Philippine mythological creatures here, yet it feels very Filipino. It's also an interesting perspective on beauty standards and how we perceive outsiders.
7. In a Strange Tongue by Kate Osias - also one of my favorite stories in the collection. unlike most short stories, we don't have a single event happening, but multiple. there are timeskips, yet we are still given enough time to fully get to know our main characters and fall in love with them and empathize with them. by the end of the story, we can't help but feel giddy for our main characters.
8. Skyface by Arby Medina - a very short story but a very creative idea. what if someone had a sky for a face? i'm not totally sold on the romance in the story, especially since it's so short, there wasn't enough time to develop the romance. it's a typical love-at-first-sight that I thought contemporary stories should be way past already.
9. Glamor by Katrina G. Gomez - another look into beauty standards and a step away from the high fantasy. we are once again back in the real world with a bit of fantasy sprinkled in. it incorporates some of the folk beliefs and we get a mention of Quiapo (although it's not explicitly stated). frankly, i can't tell if what happened in the story was really fantasy or just the main character's dream.
10. In Teresa by Vincent Gregory Yu - another favorite, surprising since it's set in the real world and the fantasy doesn't happen until the very end. but i was sold just from the high school romance part. the author also did a good job of making the main character's life shitty without it feeling contrived and obviously manipulated by the author just to mess with the reader's emotions.
11. The Adarna's Feather by Celestine Trinidad - I like this since it's high fantasy, adventure, and quests. But it feels like a children's story rather than a YA fantasy. feels like everything just lines up for the main character. I do love the ending though, and features a characteristic of diwata that not many Filipinos know about.
12. Kumintang by Vince Torres - like The Adarna's Feather, this also feels like everything in the main character's quest benefits him in the end. yes, he encounters mishaps but he solves them and gets rewarded, which plays a role in the next mishap. it feels less like the character using things at his disposal and more like the author just giving him what he needs for the next trial. like Skyface, the romance at the end is a bit unearned, especially since we have only ten paragraphs of the girl and the main character spent 90% of the story hating the girl. nevertheless, the prose carried the story and features interesting Filipino elements like lakans and anitos. the worldbuilding is very detailed and well planned out.
1. Residents of an Island off the Coast of Old Samboangan by Sigrid Gayangos - This short story feels a bit experimental and differs from the rest of the stories in the collection. It reminds me of In a Bamboo Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. We have several point-of-view characters and what connects them all is an orange plant that keeps getting passed around.
2. The Hunt for the Fleas of Maculot by Joel Donato Ching Jacob - a mix of high fantasy, adventure, quests, and the power of friendship. I love how the Filipino mythological creatures are incorporated into each characters and none of them are the traditional human. Instead, the enemies are the humans. Very interesting twist at the end as well.
3. Shatterbrain by Sage Alfar - my favorite short story in the collection. It feels more like a Western fantasy than a Filipino fantasy with all the magic and spells and familiars, but what I love about this story is how it tackles ADHD. ADHD is incorporated very well into the character's behavior and it affects the story as well, not like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson ADHD.
4. The Real World by Gabriela Lee - we step away from high fantasy and go into urban fantasy now. if you're a fan of high school romance stories with a pinch of fantasy, this story is for you. ironically, although it's more rooted into realism than the other fantasy stories, the setting doesn't feel like the Philippines, and feels like it's set in the U.S.
5. Sticks and Stones and Gold by Maia Gapud - can't be more Filipino than this. We have a duwende as one of the major characters in the story. I love how the duwende is used in this story, similar to how they're used in Trese, where characters make a pact with the duwende so they'd grant your wish.
6. Mela and the Prince of Flies - we don't see any of the typical Philippine mythological creatures here, yet it feels very Filipino. It's also an interesting perspective on beauty standards and how we perceive outsiders.
7. In a Strange Tongue by Kate Osias - also one of my favorite stories in the collection. unlike most short stories, we don't have a single event happening, but multiple. there are timeskips, yet we are still given enough time to fully get to know our main characters and fall in love with them and empathize with them. by the end of the story, we can't help but feel giddy for our main characters.
8. Skyface by Arby Medina - a very short story but a very creative idea. what if someone had a sky for a face? i'm not totally sold on the romance in the story, especially since it's so short, there wasn't enough time to develop the romance. it's a typical love-at-first-sight that I thought contemporary stories should be way past already.
9. Glamor by Katrina G. Gomez - another look into beauty standards and a step away from the high fantasy. we are once again back in the real world with a bit of fantasy sprinkled in. it incorporates some of the folk beliefs and we get a mention of Quiapo (although it's not explicitly stated). frankly, i can't tell if what happened in the story was really fantasy or just the main character's dream.
10. In Teresa by Vincent Gregory Yu - another favorite, surprising since it's set in the real world and the fantasy doesn't happen until the very end. but i was sold just from the high school romance part. the author also did a good job of making the main character's life shitty without it feeling contrived and obviously manipulated by the author just to mess with the reader's emotions.
11. The Adarna's Feather by Celestine Trinidad - I like this since it's high fantasy, adventure, and quests. But it feels like a children's story rather than a YA fantasy. feels like everything just lines up for the main character. I do love the ending though, and features a characteristic of diwata that not many Filipinos know about.
12. Kumintang by Vince Torres - like The Adarna's Feather, this also feels like everything in the main character's quest benefits him in the end. yes, he encounters mishaps but he solves them and gets rewarded, which plays a role in the next mishap. it feels less like the character using things at his disposal and more like the author just giving him what he needs for the next trial. like Skyface, the romance at the end is a bit unearned, especially since we have only ten paragraphs of the girl and the main character spent 90% of the story hating the girl. nevertheless, the prose carried the story and features interesting Filipino elements like lakans and anitos. the worldbuilding is very detailed and well planned out.
March 28, 2024
1. Residents of an Island off the Coast of Old Samboangan - 3/5. The worldbuilding has good potential; I just hoped there was more storytelling than exposition.
2. The Hunt for the Fleas of Maculot - 3.5/5. Unique story.
3. Shatterbrain - 1/5. dnf.
4. The Real World - 5/5. The story is very good! This is one of my favorites in this collection.
5. Sticks and Stones and Gold - 3.5/5.
6. Mela and the Prince of Flies - 3/5. I don't hate it.
7. In a Strange Tongue - 4/5. Bitin. Great worldbuilding. I wish it were longer.
8. Skyface - 5/5. It is unique and romantic, and I love it.
9. Glamor - 2/5. It had potential, but it felt unfinished.
10. In Teresa - 0/100.
"The evening news is drawing to a close, to be placed by those cheap teleseryes the maids love so much." Such elitism from a single sentence. Has this work even gone through a workshop? I can't believe UP Press published this. The writing is unbelievably painful for me to read, and the plot's too predictable. And where are the fantasy elements in the middle of the story? Do the following quotes help in moving the plot forward?
"Some days I think I can be a nun, but then Justin wouldn't allow that, and my pekpek would rather shut itself tight than know Justin's out there somewhere, beyond reach."
"Everybody knows Regina has a massive crush on Justin, but good luck getting those pimples off your cheeks, girlfriend."
"... but those hormones sure have a way of ballooning them boobs and booty."
"If Carmela hadn't introduced me to Justin at that soiree, Regine would have long pounced on him, and I'd be stuck with Taylor Swift on shuffle mode on my phone."
"... and everybody in Katipunan finds out? The Miriam girls will be all over the news like vultures storming a dead gazelle." Something tells me the author thinks gossip is all that women do. "There's supposed to be a huge sale in Megamall, so I guess that's where most girls are right now." Have you any women friends?
To think that these quotes are written by a man from the perspective of a high school girl. Does the author think that this is how a woman thinks? What does this have to do with the plot? None of the men face any consequences. This story pathetically fails the Bechdel test and is strongly misogynistic. The writer didn't even tread carefully on the topic of suicide.
What a problematic read.
11. Adarna's Feather - 5/5. What a great read! It's shining new light on creatures our grandparents perceived as monsters. Using Philippine mythological creatures to represent different individuals is very well done. I will most definitely be referencing this story in my literary tradition.
12. Kumintang - 5/5. I thought the title of the work referred to the Kumintang dance. It's actually a place in Batangas. The worldbuilding of this work is impressive, and it gives off a utopic vibe: our country in the present if we were never colonized. It's very romantic, too.
2. The Hunt for the Fleas of Maculot - 3.5/5. Unique story.
3. Shatterbrain - 1/5. dnf.
4. The Real World - 5/5. The story is very good! This is one of my favorites in this collection.
5. Sticks and Stones and Gold - 3.5/5.
6. Mela and the Prince of Flies - 3/5. I don't hate it.
7. In a Strange Tongue - 4/5. Bitin. Great worldbuilding. I wish it were longer.
8. Skyface - 5/5. It is unique and romantic, and I love it.
9. Glamor - 2/5. It had potential, but it felt unfinished.
10. In Teresa - 0/100.
"The evening news is drawing to a close, to be placed by those cheap teleseryes the maids love so much." Such elitism from a single sentence. Has this work even gone through a workshop? I can't believe UP Press published this. The writing is unbelievably painful for me to read, and the plot's too predictable. And where are the fantasy elements in the middle of the story? Do the following quotes help in moving the plot forward?
"Some days I think I can be a nun, but then Justin wouldn't allow that, and my pekpek would rather shut itself tight than know Justin's out there somewhere, beyond reach."
"Everybody knows Regina has a massive crush on Justin, but good luck getting those pimples off your cheeks, girlfriend."
"... but those hormones sure have a way of ballooning them boobs and booty."
"If Carmela hadn't introduced me to Justin at that soiree, Regine would have long pounced on him, and I'd be stuck with Taylor Swift on shuffle mode on my phone."
"... and everybody in Katipunan finds out? The Miriam girls will be all over the news like vultures storming a dead gazelle." Something tells me the author thinks gossip is all that women do. "There's supposed to be a huge sale in Megamall, so I guess that's where most girls are right now." Have you any women friends?
To think that these quotes are written by a man from the perspective of a high school girl. Does the author think that this is how a woman thinks? What does this have to do with the plot? None of the men face any consequences. This story pathetically fails the Bechdel test and is strongly misogynistic. The writer didn't even tread carefully on the topic of suicide.
What a problematic read.
11. Adarna's Feather - 5/5. What a great read! It's shining new light on creatures our grandparents perceived as monsters. Using Philippine mythological creatures to represent different individuals is very well done. I will most definitely be referencing this story in my literary tradition.
12. Kumintang - 5/5. I thought the title of the work referred to the Kumintang dance. It's actually a place in Batangas. The worldbuilding of this work is impressive, and it gives off a utopic vibe: our country in the present if we were never colonized. It's very romantic, too.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews