"Evocative, universally resonant adventure set among a remote Filipino tribe"
Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2018
This immersive coming-of-age epic is set in the late nineteenth century, when an age-old Filipino culture first encounters the brutal warmongering of white men.
Samkad cannot wait to become a man through undergoing the ‘Cut’ rites of passage observed by his Bontok tribe (later ignorantly mispronounced by American occupiers as “Bone Talk”), though he fears losing his best friend Luki as a result, for Luki is a girl and their relationship will be forbidden, even though they share the same ambitions - to become a warrior, to fight the Mangili. Samkad’s absorbing journey to manhood is intensified when a white stranger arrives in his village claiming to be his brother, a stranger who tells tales of a people called Americans. Then, when the Americans arrive, bringing war and destruction to the Bontok’s remote mountains, nothing will be the same again. Not for Samkad, nor for his family and culture.
By turns universal and unique, historically enlightening and emotionally powerful, this relatable, resonant coming-of-age adventure boasts an abundance of heart, atmosphere and action.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: |
The Philippines, 100 years ago. A boy called Samkad wants to become a man. He is desperate to be given his own shield, spear and axe. His best friend, Luki, wants to be a warrior too - but she is a girl and that is forbidden. Then a new boy arrives in the village and everything changes. He brings news that a people called 'Americans' are bringing war right to his home . . .
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Bone Talk and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Bone Talk features in the following genres: Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Gritty Reads, Historical Fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Bone Talk is available in Hardback, Paperback, Ebook
Bone Talk was written by Candy Gourlay and published by David Fickling Books
Bone Talk has 252 pages
£8.09
