I enjoyed this but it didn't quite hit the 5 star mark for me. The setting, plot and premise were superb but I didn't connect with the characters as much as I would have liked. Luki was my favourite but the male characters maybe less so. ( )

Young Samkad is so excited to become a man through a ceremony performed by his village's elders. But bad portents put off the ceremony until they can find the son of her mother's best friend, born the same evening as Samkad. Meanwhile, Samkad's closest friend, little Luki, insists that he can show he's a man by doing something 'manly' like fighting an enemy warrior. While Samkad scoffs at this idea, danger is far closer than he realizes...

Set in the 1890s in a mountaintop of the Philippines, this book transports the readers to a different time and place. Unfortunately, it's a time of limited masculinity, in which manhood is defined by fighting in wars, beheading enemies, and killing wild animals. Little Luki tries to fight these strict gender roles, as she desires a life more traditionally given to men than women, but she is routinely laughed at and 'put in her place' by the elders and others. I know this is likely historically accurate, but I didn't like it one bit, and I hated even more that this is in a book for children, reinforcing false stereotypes they are already hearing.

The book does make the reader think about American interference/imperialism, although that is not as big a plotline as the cover jacket would make you think. Of the four American characters, one is intentionally cruel and manipulative, two are lackeys, and one is repeatedly touted as a good guy by everyone who meets him. By the end of the book, a short chapter is given to how the latter is basically Americanizing everyone by giving them Western clothing, teaching them English, etc. Not really sure what the moral is supposed to be. Obviously, the author is bound by history, but this ending felt odd.

Meanwhile, the book is very graphic in its violence. Some of the scenes of fighting, death, and animal sacrifice were too much, especially the dream Samkad has of the beheaded dead having flames coming out of their necks and trying to grab him into their hellish underworld. I think that literature for kids can -- and should -- deal with difficult topics, but I don’t think it was handled here well. For example, Samkad almost sees his own father beheaded before him, and his father ends up dying in the next chapter from wounds sustained during fighting and there's a moment when Samkad's dog is almost sacrificed to the spirit world, as happened to his father's dog growing up. I know that sounds like a lot of "almost" but keep in mind that another young warrior is beheaded earlier in the book and that the same dog was previously beaten so badly that her eye is swollen shut and a lump forms on her head. I found this a lot to deal with as an adult, and I'm not sure children should have to process so much in one book.

The writing style itself wasn't exactly my cup of tea either, especially in the beginning. There seemed to be far more descriptions of plants, rocks, etc. than I prefer. I'd rather character development (which, for all the talk of this being a coming-of-age story, I didn't see a lot of change or growth in Samkad's personality, just in his circumstances) and/or plot. (To be fair, plot certainly does end up coming along in this book and a great deal happens in a short period of time.) All this descriptiveness combined with the machismo at the beginning of the book almost made me put it down early on and not pick it back up.

There's also a few clunky sentences here and there when the wording made things unclear, such as when the results of bringing the babies to the Second Best Valley is noted before the older children actually even go to Second Best. Samkad also has a vivid memory of the night he is born (specifically stated as him remembering this, not being told this), while later he notes how there was a time in his early childhood where he was without permanent memory (which is is more accurate).

That all being said, this book has a lot of rave reviews from professional reviewers so obviously it has struck a chord with many. I'm just not one of those folks. ( )

Samkad is ten and the village elders are ready for him to have his ceremony to become a man. His best friend Luki is wondering what that will mean for their time together. War is all around. There is an ongoing conflict with another group. And apparently as Sam finds out over the course of the novel, the Americans are at war in the lowlands. His father leaves to retrieve Kinko, a "brother" to Sam, and they arrive back just as some other American soldiers arrive in the village. The American soldiers ply with gifts and lie to the people of Bontak.
The scenery description is stunning.
Survival seems harrowing at times in the context of the conflicts. ( )