Beautifully crafted, this story draws on different spheres – political, social, spiritual and emotional – in the way of a true classic. Years ago in a homestay's balcony overlooking the handsome Maligcong Rice Terraces was when I briefly met the author through my friend innkeeper. Gourlay has built a compellingly believable world of a people in an evocatively depicted world – in this case, it looks to me like the Cordillera’s Igorot people – on the cusp of being drawn into the state as the colonising world arrives with gusto. Native Americans, African tribesmen, Japanese aborigines are also exhibited as a contrast to the high technology on display.

This novel creates intrigue to a forgotten war, one that is pushed aside by the big boys - WWI and WWII. I have never read a book about this period of time before or in this part of the world so when I started it did take a while to get in to as it was quite a culture shock.I only took breaks because the plot was making me nervous, and the accounts with the white colonizers was making me fume.

I thought this book was ok, and to be fair, when I finished this book it didn't leave me with any feelings.Samkad’s story is told so sensitively, so lightly and so truthfully that you are completely transported (heart in mouth) to another time and world– until Samkad’s concerns are your concerns and you’re with him every step of the way. Spain loses the Spanish American war andrelinquishesCuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, andthe Philippines to the US. Complications arise with the appearance of more Americans soliciting help from the village amid sightings of their blood enemy, the Mangili. But Francesca had not been to the Philppines (for example, her early sketches had seagulls – there are no seagulls in the Philippines!

I am extremely intrigued by the attention paid to individuals within groups breaking away from what they are perceived to be, particularly in relation to what Samkad comes to understand about individuality and identity, and how values may be personal to those that hold them. In Shine, I wasn’t planning a dual narrative, but was struggling with a back story that was too juicy to cut. This sumptuously realised, age-old story of colonisation transports in time, culture, landscape and history. With its vivid description and clear words, the story makes me feel as if I'm on the highlands of Bontok, too. In the meantime, we’ve got a well-cast young adult novel opening up a largely untold tale of the USA’s empire alongside an empathetic image of an Indigenous community still marginalised in Philippines life.She was right, a wonderful and quick introduction to the history of a part of the world I am completely ignorant to. You stand there with them, where the symbols and signs they relied upon no longer make sense, become unreadable, as if the gods have turned their backs on them. But, with passing time and impending danger, Samkad learns that he must put others before himself, that the security of his culture and people is of far higher importance than his manhood.

She hascertainly achieved her aim, creating this tour de force, a compelling, absorbing tale,which seeks to open minds, ask important questions and bring the diversity of theworld to readers - all things books should do. The characters all felt two-dimensional and there was an absence of emotion which, if included, could have really enhanced Gourlay's unique perspective. Bone Talk is my first story with a historical background and I was keen to represent the history and the people as best I could without doing them harm.Gourlay shows the contrast between the two boys--one who grew up in the village with his father, and the other who was sent to another region and "Americanized". At the time there were still headhunting tribes, and my story is told from the point of view of Samkad, a ten year old boy who is looking forward to becoming a man when he will be given his own shield, his own spear and an axe to chop off the heads of his enemies. We are thrilled to welcome author Candy Gourlay into The Reading Realm today to discuss Bone Talk, Shine, and Is It A Mermaid? Can you tell us a little bit more about the inspiration behind the story and the process of working with Francesca Chessa, the illustrator? Without the Carnegie Shadowing Book Club shortlist reading challenge, I'm not sure I would have found this novel on my own.