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Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday
Alon and Lila just graduated from high school and are spending their last summer together before going to college in Manila. One day, they encounter a strange man at the market proclaiming that doomsday is real and it would happen sooner than predicted—they only have summer left! As the days near the “end of the world,” Alon and Lila unravel their deep fears of inevitable change, a haunting past trauma, and a pure love that has always been there but never realized.
- GenresYoung AdultLGBT
213 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 8, 2022
She would confide in me whatever thoughts she had and I would gladly take the role of understanding her. Even in quiet times like this, we still stick to our roles--hers to express and mine to capture.
Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday is a queer young adult novel about two long-time best friends in 2012 who decide to make the most of their last summer together before going to college and, according to a prophecy, the apocalypse. Alon and Lila deal with bad memories and experiences, confront personal and familial issues, re-explore the town they grew up in, and prepare for a future they're uncertain they'll have all while slowly realizing there's something more to their relationship.
Alon and Lila feels like a book that should've existed long ago though I'm nonetheless very glad finally written. I think there's still a lack of locally-published books marketed to Filipino teens that are actually about Filipino teens, especially queer ones.
In this book, the characters face struggles I'm certain many have experienced: the responsibilities and expectations that come with being the eldest in the family, practicality vs passion in choosing a college course and career track, being unable to completely understand and connect to own parents (and vice versa), financial constraints hindering plans, strong typhoons and the destruction they leave, wanting to leave the province in favor of Manila, and being LGBT in a mostly conservative society. These different conflicts didn't feel forced and were all handled with enough care and nuance. It made the story deeper than I expected.
I appreciated how typhoons played a significant role in the story. Most Filipinos have had bad experiences with typhoons that struck the country. The author accurately described the fear, uncertainty, and danger while the storm ravages down to the loss, change, and tragedy it leaves a community. Though one thing I noticed is that the term super typhoon was used despite it being official in 2015, three years after the story.
Alon and Lila both felt like people you'd actually know in real life. As individuals, they're easy to sympathize with so their relationship became easy to get invested in. The romance in the book has no shortage of sweet and sappy moments but not without the angst and complications you'd expect from a sapphic friends-to-lovers story. Even though I felt the turn of their relationship was too sudden, I didn't think it was unnatural and I guess it made sense with the deadlines they were facing.
While I was contented and satisfied with the ending, I also kinda wished it was a bit longer than its 213 pages. I wanted to see more of Lila with her social circle, more mini-adventures after the award, and more flashback scenes of them at school. Or maybe I just didn't want to leave the characters as soon as I have to?
One of the reasons I loved this as much as I did is that I'm from Bicol, which is where the setting of the story is. I loved the little inclusions such as the description of the place, the baligang (!!), and the Bicolano terms. I'll be graduating next year and I think I've read this at the perfect time. I finished the book within hours after it was delivered to our house.
Alon and Lila is a wholesome and heartwarming story of love in its many forms: platonic, romantic, familial, and most of all, the love that comes after a journey of self-acceptance. It is an important story of young Filipino queer women and their experiences. I hope this eventually receives the hype it deserves and more books like this are soon published in the Filipino young adult genre.
"You can meet a bunch of people in your life whom you consider good, kind, and fun — and maybe they can fill up most of the spaces in your life. But there are only a few—maybe just one— whom you'd choose to let inside the small bubble that you normally keep for yourself."
September 23, 2022
Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday feels like an old friend I haven't talked to in a while, and a friend I needed growing up as a Filipino queer woman. It's all I've expected it to be and more.
Alon and Lila are two best friends in the quiet town of Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Discovering that doomsday might be coming, they decided to spend their summer together—reminiscing the past, going on little adventures, discovering secrets, and unraveling feelings.
Since I've read plenty of international queer books about coming out and discovering first loves before, it's what I also expected from this book. It's more than that—it's a book that touches on difficult topics such as family issues and trauma. Even though the book is centering around teenagers, sensitive topics were touched on tenderly and carefully. It feels sincere and authentic.
Like Alon and Lila, I also graduated from high school and was going to college in 2012. I understood the little jokes and related them to the time period of the book. Like Alon, I am also the eldest in my family and also had a difficult time connecting with my father. Reading from Alon's perspective felt personal to me. Her feelings and thoughts felt like mine most of the time, and I find myself wanting to let her know that everything would be fine.
I won't say much about the story itself because I really liked how I was surprised when I read it. I want you to experience the same feeling. Alon and Lila, despite their many flaws and polar opposites, are such a joy to read. Their dynamic is enjoyable, and their connection feels authentic. It feels like an honor to hold their secrets and know their stories.
Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday is a book I've always hoped for and dreamed of when I was a teenager. Even though I'm an adult now, it still felt reassuring. Alon and Lila is truly an important book, and I'm so happy and excited for all the Filipino queer children who will get to read it.
Alon and Lila are two best friends in the quiet town of Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Discovering that doomsday might be coming, they decided to spend their summer together—reminiscing the past, going on little adventures, discovering secrets, and unraveling feelings.
Since I've read plenty of international queer books about coming out and discovering first loves before, it's what I also expected from this book. It's more than that—it's a book that touches on difficult topics such as family issues and trauma. Even though the book is centering around teenagers, sensitive topics were touched on tenderly and carefully. It feels sincere and authentic.
Like Alon and Lila, I also graduated from high school and was going to college in 2012. I understood the little jokes and related them to the time period of the book. Like Alon, I am also the eldest in my family and also had a difficult time connecting with my father. Reading from Alon's perspective felt personal to me. Her feelings and thoughts felt like mine most of the time, and I find myself wanting to let her know that everything would be fine.
I won't say much about the story itself because I really liked how I was surprised when I read it. I want you to experience the same feeling. Alon and Lila, despite their many flaws and polar opposites, are such a joy to read. Their dynamic is enjoyable, and their connection feels authentic. It feels like an honor to hold their secrets and know their stories.
Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday is a book I've always hoped for and dreamed of when I was a teenager. Even though I'm an adult now, it still felt reassuring. Alon and Lila is truly an important book, and I'm so happy and excited for all the Filipino queer children who will get to read it.
December 7, 2022
Review to come.
March 22, 2026
A title like Alon and Lila’s Last Summer Before Doomsday cheekily plays into teen melodrama. Ingrid Valenzuela’s novel does go on to center teen angst, although with more preciousness, unloading the state of a young person’s mind when they stand on the threshold from childhood to adulthood. This fabled last summer sees its heroines keenly aware of this sense of finality, whether brought by cataclysm or college, making them determined to hold on to what matters most.
That grab for love is how romance comes into play for this coming-of-age novel. Inside a conventionally structured love story (third act break up included), we have two very trope-coded leads: Alon, a closeted honor student who is eager to start her new life in the city; and Lila, a secure tomboy who is secretly putting off college enrollment and set on staying behind. Valenzuela respects the formula but impressively adds upon it with her ability to write from the inside, resulting in a vivid, textured narrative.
Adding specificity to the story are the girls’ familial ties and the rhythms of life in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Readers like me, who are from the province and went to Manila for college, thereby beginning the metaphorical new world of adulthood by entering a physical new world, would likely appreciate how vividly and deeply the novel explores that crossroads .
Through Alon’s reasons to leave their hometown for good, we see the flaws of the province. Life’s hardships push the family members into far-flung, equidistant orbits, and that home’s coldness gives the why behind the Grumpy (Alon) to the Sunshine (Lila). The weight she carries runs deeper still. Even harsher, the institutional homophobia embedded in her school, where queer children are punished, and the life-threatening floods that overtake barangays and overwhelm meager rescue operations during typhoons like Ondoy.
Lila’s determination to have Alon return drives the more buoyant parts of the story. In the province, as Lila shows Alon and the reader, there is home. Birthday parties with simple handaans and happy guests. Fishball and other tusok-tusok at the plaza. Morning chore runs at the palengke and evenings looking at the stars. Daily bike rides to the beach, where they have the delicious puto bukayo:
The world remains grounded and deeply felt, rendered with care, with period-accurate flairs—group texts (GMs), Eraserheads: Anthology CDs—lightly scattered across its surface. I enjoyed relishing the feel of the world. Together, these elements animate Alon and Lila, painting a portrait of a time I lived through—its flaws part of what completes it, and what makes it nostalgic.
There are ways that the novel does verge on being overwritten. Alon’s straight arrow narration makes sense for her character in most of the story. In some standout instances thought, it can veer too clinical, even for an honor student. To describe a portable CD player as old, Alon says:
The most egregious for me is the novel’s many ticking clocks. For a 213-page book, creating urgency by racing against 3 different deadlines at various points just feels discordant, especially with how each is given an aggressive entrance for urgency’s sake, only to be then to be quietly abandoned down the line.
The flaws register more as minor pinpricks in an otherwise meticulously crafted narrative. I am more often in awe of how each detail and element slowly compounded over the pagecount to become a fully-formed, joyous, and lively story about two young women blossoming together in Pasacao.
My resonance with this novel comes from how much of myself I found in it—first in Alon, but eventually in Lila, too. I could point to a litany of specific Last Summer Before Doomsday details, compile a list to capture how wholly I saw myself here. But it feels enough to say that its central question—of being torn between the concretely expansive, almost infinite pull of Manila and the endless natural beauty of Bicol—remains lodged in me, a part of my heart that still thrums to this day. That question could only arise from the accumulation of all the other things Valenzuela gives her characters; I recognize it in myself because it was shaped by those same forces, too.
Final Thoughts
Alon and Lila’s Last Summer Before Doomsday is a coming-of-age novel that explores the conflicting feelings of the hurry into Manila and the pull of a home province, a frame of mind I experienced at that age too. Ingrid Valenzeula folds in many distinct elements (2012 Bicol provincial life, romance tropes, discrimination trauma, family dynamics and queer identity) in the prose, mostly coalescing naturally thanks to a sustained undercurrent of love. Its relatability endeared me; its hard-won queer joy elated me; its profound sense for home moved me.
--------------------------------------------------
initial review
YESSS I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING FOR MY BIKOLANA HONOR STUDENT GAY PROTAGONIST WITH BAGYO TRAUMA WHO LOVES THE BEACH (/srs)
full review to come
That grab for love is how romance comes into play for this coming-of-age novel. Inside a conventionally structured love story (third act break up included), we have two very trope-coded leads: Alon, a closeted honor student who is eager to start her new life in the city; and Lila, a secure tomboy who is secretly putting off college enrollment and set on staying behind. Valenzuela respects the formula but impressively adds upon it with her ability to write from the inside, resulting in a vivid, textured narrative.
Adding specificity to the story are the girls’ familial ties and the rhythms of life in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Readers like me, who are from the province and went to Manila for college, thereby beginning the metaphorical new world of adulthood by entering a physical new world, would likely appreciate how vividly and deeply the novel explores that crossroads .
Through Alon’s reasons to leave their hometown for good, we see the flaws of the province. Life’s hardships push the family members into far-flung, equidistant orbits, and that home’s coldness gives the why behind the Grumpy (Alon) to the Sunshine (Lila). The weight she carries runs deeper still. Even harsher, the institutional homophobia embedded in her school, where queer children are punished, and the life-threatening floods that overtake barangays and overwhelm meager rescue operations during typhoons like Ondoy.
Lila’s determination to have Alon return drives the more buoyant parts of the story. In the province, as Lila shows Alon and the reader, there is home. Birthday parties with simple handaans and happy guests. Fishball and other tusok-tusok at the plaza. Morning chore runs at the palengke and evenings looking at the stars. Daily bike rides to the beach, where they have the delicious puto bukayo:
“We buy two bags of freshly-made puto bukayo from one of the vendors passing by and immediately open the bag still fogged up by steam. We pick at the ball, removing the strip of banana leaf around it, and gingerly bite into the still-hot rice cake. Lila swiftly devours three out of the four, while I’m still savoring the caramelized shreds of coconut at the center of my first piece.”
—pg 113
The world remains grounded and deeply felt, rendered with care, with period-accurate flairs—group texts (GMs), Eraserheads: Anthology CDs—lightly scattered across its surface. I enjoyed relishing the feel of the world. Together, these elements animate Alon and Lila, painting a portrait of a time I lived through—its flaws part of what completes it, and what makes it nostalgic.
There are ways that the novel does verge on being overwritten. Alon’s straight arrow narration makes sense for her character in most of the story. In some standout instances thought, it can veer too clinical, even for an honor student. To describe a portable CD player as old, Alon says:
“...her device, which has been incredibly worn out over time, but still plays the songs with success.”
—pg 210-211
The most egregious for me is the novel’s many ticking clocks. For a 213-page book, creating urgency by racing against 3 different deadlines at various points just feels discordant, especially with how each is given an aggressive entrance for urgency’s sake, only to be then to be quietly abandoned down the line.
The flaws register more as minor pinpricks in an otherwise meticulously crafted narrative. I am more often in awe of how each detail and element slowly compounded over the pagecount to become a fully-formed, joyous, and lively story about two young women blossoming together in Pasacao.
My resonance with this novel comes from how much of myself I found in it—first in Alon, but eventually in Lila, too. I could point to a litany of specific Last Summer Before Doomsday details, compile a list to capture how wholly I saw myself here. But it feels enough to say that its central question—of being torn between the concretely expansive, almost infinite pull of Manila and the endless natural beauty of Bicol—remains lodged in me, a part of my heart that still thrums to this day. That question could only arise from the accumulation of all the other things Valenzuela gives her characters; I recognize it in myself because it was shaped by those same forces, too.
“In between long silences, Lila and I talk about the days ahead of us—what I would do once I get to Manila and what she’d busy herself with while I’m gone. Talking about college is different now—there’s none of that resentment that rushed me to leaving, or that anger that convinced me that I can turn my back on the people who make this province a home. This time, I;m not running away anymore—I’m following a dream.”
—pg 210-211
Final Thoughts
Alon and Lila’s Last Summer Before Doomsday is a coming-of-age novel that explores the conflicting feelings of the hurry into Manila and the pull of a home province, a frame of mind I experienced at that age too. Ingrid Valenzeula folds in many distinct elements (2012 Bicol provincial life, romance tropes, discrimination trauma, family dynamics and queer identity) in the prose, mostly coalescing naturally thanks to a sustained undercurrent of love. Its relatability endeared me; its hard-won queer joy elated me; its profound sense for home moved me.
--------------------------------------------------
initial review
YESSS I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING FOR MY BIKOLANA HONOR STUDENT GAY PROTAGONIST WITH BAGYO TRAUMA WHO LOVES THE BEACH (/srs)
full review to come
September 25, 2023
It’s the summer before going to college, year 2012. Alon and Lila are best friends since elementary at the small town of Pasacao, Camarines Sur. One day, they encountered a tattooed stranger who predicted that according to the Mayan calendar, the end of the world will happen on May 31, 2012. Alon and Lila became determined to make the summer a memorable one, as it could be their last summer on Earth.
I bought this book on a whim during the MIBF2023 as it is highly recommended by my good friend, teacher Joy. 😊 I am thankful that she encouraged me to read this book because it has such a refreshing voice!👏
I was curious at first that I read a few lines from the first chapter. I could not put it down after that. There’s something so irresistable about a story set in the coastal town of Pasacao. I admit I am not familiar with this place, but I easily imagined Alon and Lila navigating their town, eating street foods at the plaza, riding their bikes, swimming at the beach. I swooned while reading about the innocence of first love, and I held my breath at the storms literally weathered by their town. I imagined this book as a movie, with an impressive soundtrack. I did not anticipate I would be so drawn to a young adult novel, but this book has so much depth. It tackled natural disasters, trauma, and parental obligations.
There were times that I got extremely touched and teary-eyed while reading, and sometimes swooning like a teenager.🤭 I recommend this to all ages, and I hope this book gets even more recognized in our country. Lastly, I simply love the book cover. It has all the feels.💕
I bought this book on a whim during the MIBF2023 as it is highly recommended by my good friend, teacher Joy. 😊 I am thankful that she encouraged me to read this book because it has such a refreshing voice!👏
I was curious at first that I read a few lines from the first chapter. I could not put it down after that. There’s something so irresistable about a story set in the coastal town of Pasacao. I admit I am not familiar with this place, but I easily imagined Alon and Lila navigating their town, eating street foods at the plaza, riding their bikes, swimming at the beach. I swooned while reading about the innocence of first love, and I held my breath at the storms literally weathered by their town. I imagined this book as a movie, with an impressive soundtrack. I did not anticipate I would be so drawn to a young adult novel, but this book has so much depth. It tackled natural disasters, trauma, and parental obligations.
There were times that I got extremely touched and teary-eyed while reading, and sometimes swooning like a teenager.🤭 I recommend this to all ages, and I hope this book gets even more recognized in our country. Lastly, I simply love the book cover. It has all the feels.💕
Read
July 9, 2023alon and lila's story is as spontaneous as i've bought this book back in #MIBF2022. i only went to the event to meet my friends and wasn't planning to get anything, but here we are. funnily, this, too, revolves around two bestfriends doing unplanned summer adventures as they countdown to doomsday (aka moving-out-to-college-day). little did they know that the universe has its own unexpected twists and turns.
frankly, i found the plot and writing a bit cliché for my liking, but i've always kept in mind that i'm not the target audience for it. hence, despite of that, i still enjoyed reading this book. i loved alon and lila's individual character arcs, but i loved the growth of their relationship more. i was also impressed by how the author weaved in true-to-life stories of victims of calamities such as super typhoons. it gave depth, authenticity, and meaning. it encouraged resiliency and not losing hope.
overall, this was a good read. highly recommended for YA readers out there.
— KAT'S TIER RANKING —
☐ ult favorite
☐ perfection, not obsession
☐ liked it so much
✓ just a good time
☐ average feels
☐ not for me/disappointing
frankly, i found the plot and writing a bit cliché for my liking, but i've always kept in mind that i'm not the target audience for it. hence, despite of that, i still enjoyed reading this book. i loved alon and lila's individual character arcs, but i loved the growth of their relationship more. i was also impressed by how the author weaved in true-to-life stories of victims of calamities such as super typhoons. it gave depth, authenticity, and meaning. it encouraged resiliency and not losing hope.
overall, this was a good read. highly recommended for YA readers out there.
— KAT'S TIER RANKING —
☐ ult favorite
☐ perfection, not obsession
☐ liked it so much
✓ just a good time
☐ average feels
☐ not for me/disappointing
May 4, 2025
This truly felt like a book I needed when I was younger, navigating my queerness. Maybe this book would have helped me realize at that time na I am not alone and that someone could like me, even though I present myself differently.
But I’m still glad I got ahold of it. Now that I’m older and have a girlfriend (who actually let me borrow this book, hey you).
I feel very much represented through Lila as a masc presenting person. I loved that it’s not just a love story, but it also addresses relevant issues like how tropical storm Ondoy shaped the lives of people in Pasacao. As well as issues in the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, from the judgment of people like Ms. Ramos to truly becoming who you want to be not just because of societal pressure to amount to anything, and more.
Overall, it’s a lighthearted read, but packed with great representation and queer love.
But I’m still glad I got ahold of it. Now that I’m older and have a girlfriend (who actually let me borrow this book, hey you).
I feel very much represented through Lila as a masc presenting person. I loved that it’s not just a love story, but it also addresses relevant issues like how tropical storm Ondoy shaped the lives of people in Pasacao. As well as issues in the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, from the judgment of people like Ms. Ramos to truly becoming who you want to be not just because of societal pressure to amount to anything, and more.
Overall, it’s a lighthearted read, but packed with great representation and queer love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2023
Not what I was expecting story-wise but this is such a nice treat for the readers. I really hope this book reaches the right audience.
I like how this book discusses the trauma of living in a country being regularly ravaged by typhoon/storm and how the backstory is rooted from real-life events in the Philippines (bagyong Ondoy in particular.)
Alon and Lila, you go girls!
I like how this book discusses the trauma of living in a country being regularly ravaged by typhoon/storm and how the backstory is rooted from real-life events in the Philippines (bagyong Ondoy in particular.)
Alon and Lila, you go girls!
March 29, 2026
a very fun, cutesy spin on Philippine Mythology
November 16, 2022
Fun and easy to read. TBH I hate myself for thinking that Alon was a boy. It took me several chapters to realize that this book is LGBT-themed! Reading this book made me feel nostalgic about my high school years. I relate so much to Alon wherein I was caught by some teacher doing things that girls do not usually do with other girls. I loathed myself, I disguised it. But then, this book made me feel that what I have done in the past was valid and I am now more than ready to accept who I really am. I like boys and I like girls, too. :)
I was looking forward to the doomsday since I love end-of-the-world themes in movies and books and I expected much from it but reading from another point of view, I guess doomsday also symbolizes the hardships both Alon and Lila went through until they finally figured out what they really wanted, once they have expressed their feelings and the family problems they faced.
This book also reminded me of the terrors I experienced during the Typhoon Ondoy.
This review is so random idk if I am making sense but I really loved it. 3.5 stars!
I was looking forward to the doomsday since I love end-of-the-world themes in movies and books and I expected much from it but reading from another point of view, I guess doomsday also symbolizes the hardships both Alon and Lila went through until they finally figured out what they really wanted, once they have expressed their feelings and the family problems they faced.
This book also reminded me of the terrors I experienced during the Typhoon Ondoy.
This review is so random idk if I am making sense but I really loved it. 3.5 stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2024
Kung malalaman mo na end of the world na in 41 days, anong gagawin mo? How will you spend it?
Kahapon, 12 midnight, tumatakbo sa utak ko na katapusan na ng mundo. Unti-unting akong nagdi-disintegrate sa liwanag. Kadramahan ko lang ito. Pero mabalik tayo sa nobela, kanina ko lang ito sinimulan, at hindi ko akalaing matatapos ko siya sa isang upuan. Nag-a-alinlangan pa nga ako kung tatapusin ko ba agad, pero nahihirapan ako ibaba ang aklat. Mayroong gayuma ang nobela ni Ingrid Valenzuela na Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday. Gustong-gusto ko kung paano mag-narrate ang manunulat sa nobela, lalo na kung ito ay isang eksena. Vividly registered sa utak ko.
Para sa akin, ang ganda ng nobela, may regret ako, kung bakit ngayon ko lang ito nalaanan ng oras para upuan at basahin. Una kong na-encounter ito last year, sa PRPB, diniscuss namin ito, at kahit that time naka-set na sa utak ko na bibili ako ng sariling kopya at babasahin ito. Sobrang saya nung discussion na ’yon, dahil somewhat nakikita ko ang thesis ko noon sa poetics ng writer. Ngayong nabasa ko na ang nobela, talaga ngang nakaka-relate ako, lalo na kay Alon. Pero alam niyo, ang bawat bahagi ng nobela, lakas magpa-trigger ng nostalgia, habang nagbabasa, nagre-replay din sa utak ko ’yung ginawa ko nung 2012. Nung time na iniisip ko, magugunaw na rin ang mundo. Bukod doon matagumpay na ipinakita sa akin ng manunulat ang Pasacao, at in the future gusto ko rin pumunta roon at lumangoy sa dagat ni Lila at Alon. Gusto ko lang din pansinin, parang gusto ko nang umiwas sa mga karakter na may Lila kasi baka umiyak ako.
Naisip ko, mukhang mabait pa ang Alon and Lila, kaysa sa mga naganap sa Janus Silang, pero iba ang talim ng mga eksena kung saan talagang dini-discuss ng nobela ang queerness, relationship, at family. May pagkakataon na huminga ako ng ilang minuto para i-cater ang nalulusaw kong puso. Ang oa na ba ng review ko? Not until sabihin ko na, magandang gawing series ang nobelang ito. May kakayahan ang kuwentong ma-adapt sa ibang medium. Gusto kong mapanuod ang biking scenes, beach scenes, at pagtambay ni Alon at Lila sa iba't ibang bahagi ng Pasacao.
Mag-ready lang kayo sa mga dulong bahagi ng nobela. Hindi ko sasabihin kung ano mangyayari, pero maghanda lang kayo.
Share ko ang paborito kong nabasa sa nobela, sa isang chapter ito kung saan nakikinig si Alon at Lila ng Eraserheads Anthology sa CD player ni Lila:
“Please let this moment of bliss never end.”
Kahapon, 12 midnight, tumatakbo sa utak ko na katapusan na ng mundo. Unti-unting akong nagdi-disintegrate sa liwanag. Kadramahan ko lang ito. Pero mabalik tayo sa nobela, kanina ko lang ito sinimulan, at hindi ko akalaing matatapos ko siya sa isang upuan. Nag-a-alinlangan pa nga ako kung tatapusin ko ba agad, pero nahihirapan ako ibaba ang aklat. Mayroong gayuma ang nobela ni Ingrid Valenzuela na Alon and Lila's Last Summer Before Doomsday. Gustong-gusto ko kung paano mag-narrate ang manunulat sa nobela, lalo na kung ito ay isang eksena. Vividly registered sa utak ko.
Para sa akin, ang ganda ng nobela, may regret ako, kung bakit ngayon ko lang ito nalaanan ng oras para upuan at basahin. Una kong na-encounter ito last year, sa PRPB, diniscuss namin ito, at kahit that time naka-set na sa utak ko na bibili ako ng sariling kopya at babasahin ito. Sobrang saya nung discussion na ’yon, dahil somewhat nakikita ko ang thesis ko noon sa poetics ng writer. Ngayong nabasa ko na ang nobela, talaga ngang nakaka-relate ako, lalo na kay Alon. Pero alam niyo, ang bawat bahagi ng nobela, lakas magpa-trigger ng nostalgia, habang nagbabasa, nagre-replay din sa utak ko ’yung ginawa ko nung 2012. Nung time na iniisip ko, magugunaw na rin ang mundo. Bukod doon matagumpay na ipinakita sa akin ng manunulat ang Pasacao, at in the future gusto ko rin pumunta roon at lumangoy sa dagat ni Lila at Alon. Gusto ko lang din pansinin, parang gusto ko nang umiwas sa mga karakter na may Lila kasi baka umiyak ako.
Naisip ko, mukhang mabait pa ang Alon and Lila, kaysa sa mga naganap sa Janus Silang, pero iba ang talim ng mga eksena kung saan talagang dini-discuss ng nobela ang queerness, relationship, at family. May pagkakataon na huminga ako ng ilang minuto para i-cater ang nalulusaw kong puso. Ang oa na ba ng review ko? Not until sabihin ko na, magandang gawing series ang nobelang ito. May kakayahan ang kuwentong ma-adapt sa ibang medium. Gusto kong mapanuod ang biking scenes, beach scenes, at pagtambay ni Alon at Lila sa iba't ibang bahagi ng Pasacao.
Mag-ready lang kayo sa mga dulong bahagi ng nobela. Hindi ko sasabihin kung ano mangyayari, pero maghanda lang kayo.
Share ko ang paborito kong nabasa sa nobela, sa isang chapter ito kung saan nakikinig si Alon at Lila ng Eraserheads Anthology sa CD player ni Lila:
“Please let this moment of bliss never end.”
February 3, 2023
Alon and Lila are friends since forever then something happens like the world is about to end. I love how they confide with each other and they will be together at any situation. Hoping, there's more of the story and I praise the author. Please future works soon.
May 14, 2024
"If you think about it, everyday is someone’s version of the apocalypse"
As two friends were told that this is their last summer before the 'the end of the world'; together, they unravel the depth of past traumas, missed opportunities, the true meaning of 'home', and genuine love that has always been present, but nonetheless, ignored. This is a Young Adult book focusing on themes of loss, friendship, and enjoying life's immediate pleasures.
First and foremost, I genuinely enjoyed this book because of its reminiscent representation of Filipino culture and beliefs. It's nice to read about something that you are so familiar with and that speaks to you with a gentle caress, reminding you to be who you are and that you yourself are perfectly loved and deserving to be loved. I love the two protagonist so much that I want to hug Alon for her resilience even amidst life's pressures, and Lila for being so selfless to the point of sacrificing one's choice and dreams.
And although it wasn't the plot I expected to read- I though it would circulate more around doomsday itself, hence, expecting the tone to sound more hurried, rather than it being nostalgic (there are some scenes I admit to be foreboding, but it wasn't at all consistent). However, the more I paddled through, the more I grasped the essence of this book. It wasn't at all pertaining to the theory of doomsday itself, but the individual presence of doomsday in the life of Alon and Lila. And I love the fact that the characters' traumas was mainly centered on a natural calamity, Bagyong Ondoy ; vividly representing the dreadful experience and anguish of those Filipino victims struck by typhoons and other disasters.
Overall, there were a lot of 'awws' and 'oh noes' while reading this book. Great for those looking for a short, yet fulfilling read, and for those people who needs to be said that it is okay to not figure everything out- because who does? I'm rating this book a 3.90/ 5 stars ⭐️.
October 14, 2025
i actually took my time deciding if I'll get myself a physical copy of this book after returning to fullybooked just to get a glimpse of it again and again haha! salamat MIBF 😅 im glad i did brought it! ang bilis ko lang natapos, kasi as much as its difficult to read, its also comforting at the same time. its familiar, the anxieties surrounding them was in tune with our experiences, and the hope it gives is very much possible.. its within reach. even if its scary to actually face them.
i just think, queer people are one of the strongest humans out there. bukod sa external na forces, may mas malaking internal na problema tayong hinaharap araw-araw. and still choosing to love? i think being queer is something to be proud of. isa sa may pinaka malalaki, malalawak, malalalim, at matatapang na puso ❤️
i just think, queer people are one of the strongest humans out there. bukod sa external na forces, may mas malaking internal na problema tayong hinaharap araw-araw. and still choosing to love? i think being queer is something to be proud of. isa sa may pinaka malalaki, malalawak, malalalim, at matatapang na puso ❤️
September 14, 2023
"You don't have to explain anything you don't want to explain. But I just want you to know--you can love whoever and I'll still be your best friend. That won't change."
It's so nice to read a Filipino YA novel that feels so real and heartfelt. It also didn't feel convoluted and fairly comprehensible for its YA writing. Reading this opens up a lot of opportunities for the YA queer genre while memorializing the experience of Filipino calamity tragedies.
This is an important book for the queer teenager who enjoys a summer romance and coming-of-age novel. I believe there should be more of these kinds of themes for the YA genre since during my time, there were only a few of these queer novels that felt like a pipe dream comfort.
October 16, 2023
Super budol because of the beautiful book cover because why not? In some instances, JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER (i.e., the rigors in the illustrations, paper quality, attractiveness of the book).
It has the right mixture of queerness, coming-of-age trope, and the terror of doomsday/disaster. Pwede rin to read this as eco-critical but give me time to gather thoughts. I would have said I'm a big boy na to read young adult, but the milieu brought me back to college days.
This must be shelved in libraries; I am a firm believer that libraries must be filled with stories centered on queer experience. Your student/child might have to read this.
ANENT TO THIS: I'm glad that that book cover illustrator is @awkwardbutable, who is an NCTZEN (I'm 95% sure).
It has the right mixture of queerness, coming-of-age trope, and the terror of doomsday/disaster. Pwede rin to read this as eco-critical but give me time to gather thoughts. I would have said I'm a big boy na to read young adult, but the milieu brought me back to college days.
This must be shelved in libraries; I am a firm believer that libraries must be filled with stories centered on queer experience. Your student/child might have to read this.
ANENT TO THIS: I'm glad that that book cover illustrator is @awkwardbutable, who is an NCTZEN (I'm 95% sure).
October 5, 2023
Enjoyed it so much (I finished it in one sitting)!
It's a simple, light sapphic read about best friends turned lovers by the shore. Additionally, I also like that the book shed light on natural disasters' trauma on its survivors, environmental issues in the Philippines, and the folklore-ish beliefs of Filipinos. I too, was a teen on the verge of my life when the so-called 2012 end of the world happened, and then a child hit by Ondoy, too. It's nostalgic and a good call back to the past decade or so. A good starter read for younger sapphics, queers who want to see literature reflective of their experience!
It's a simple, light sapphic read about best friends turned lovers by the shore. Additionally, I also like that the book shed light on natural disasters' trauma on its survivors, environmental issues in the Philippines, and the folklore-ish beliefs of Filipinos. I too, was a teen on the verge of my life when the so-called 2012 end of the world happened, and then a child hit by Ondoy, too. It's nostalgic and a good call back to the past decade or so. A good starter read for younger sapphics, queers who want to see literature reflective of their experience!
June 11, 2023
Habang binabasa ko ito ay naalala ko noong 2012 ay medyo naging maugong na end of the world na nga raw. Hindi naman ako naniwala kasi sabi ko bakit iyong expiration date ng sardinas namin ay 2013.
Nakakaenjoy siyang basahin kasi parang nakikipagkuwentuhan lang ako sa estudyante ko tungkol sa mga issues nila sa buhay (mostly sa mga crushes nila) kahit gusto kong sabihin na mag-aral muna sila magbasa at magbilang.
Nakakaenjoy siyang basahin kasi parang nakikipagkuwentuhan lang ako sa estudyante ko tungkol sa mga issues nila sa buhay (mostly sa mga crushes nila) kahit gusto kong sabihin na mag-aral muna sila magbasa at magbilang.
June 12, 2024
Stumbled upon this book while I was mindlessly scrolling through Sh*pee looking for books to blind buy and I am so glad that I decided to check this out.
To say that I love this book would be an understatement. It felt like youth and summer love were jam-packed in a book. It reminded me of how my first love felt like :P adventurous, silly, but nevertheless, pure and genuine.
I look forward to reading more books like this one ^^
To say that I love this book would be an understatement. It felt like youth and summer love were jam-packed in a book. It reminded me of how my first love felt like :P adventurous, silly, but nevertheless, pure and genuine.
I look forward to reading more books like this one ^^
July 23, 2024
OUT OF THAT READING SLUMP !
thank god for easy & light reads like this but still so so warming and thought-provoking huhu
hindi siguro magtatagal alon and lila eme kaya gusto ko ng kasunod na libro na nasa college na si alon at may heavier theme on identity and growing pains hahaah
so so cute
wouldve been nice to highlight the portrayal of trauma brought by disasters more tho! - this gave this book depth!
thank god for easy & light reads like this but still so so warming and thought-provoking huhu
hindi siguro magtatagal alon and lila eme kaya gusto ko ng kasunod na libro na nasa college na si alon at may heavier theme on identity and growing pains hahaah
so so cute
wouldve been nice to highlight the portrayal of trauma brought by disasters more tho! - this gave this book depth!
October 21, 2025
Such a warm and comforting read! I always yearn for queer stories set in the province ++ during summer. Ewan! Hehe. Nagustuhan ko din kung gaano siya lapat sa experiences ko with my identity, as well as 'yung fear of growing up.
Finished this on a bad day after work and it made my heart feel a little better. Salamat po sa story ni Alon at Lila!
Finished this on a bad day after work and it made my heart feel a little better. Salamat po sa story ni Alon at Lila!
February 1, 2026
it was a good book, however the pacing was kinda slow and it didn't really stuck to me. it was a typical coming of age story and i liked it, however it just didn't hit the spot as good at i ought it to. still a good book for people who wanna read wlw books tho !
December 30, 2022
it was a nice read and i could rly relate w the college struggle in the book but then i feel like i js wasnt the target audience for this
August 1, 2023
Kilig <3
August 17, 2023
Masterpiece of contemporary Philippine fiction
September 23, 2023
just like fanfiction fr i wish i was still in this phase of love where everything is so innocent 🥹
October 7, 2023
Small town, two best friends, doomsday prophecy.
Loved this story of friendship, realizations of “moving up” and exploring one’s identity ☺️
Loved this story of friendship, realizations of “moving up” and exploring one’s identity ☺️
June 2, 2024
They paid 80 pesos for an existential crisis
June 25, 2024
Cute and sweet coming of age book. Quick and easy read.
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