THE SACRIFICE
Author: Rin Chupeco
Date released: 2022
Category: Horror
Synopsis: An island oasis turns deadly when a terrifying legend threatens to kill off visitors one by one in this haunting novel from the highly acclaimed author of The Girl from the Well and the Bone Witch trilogy.
Pristine beaches, lush greenery, and perfect weather, the island of Kisapmata would be the vacation destination...if not for the curse. The Philippine locals speak of it in hushed voices and refuse to step foot on the island. They know the lives it has claimed. They won't be next.
A Hollywood film crew won't be dissuaded. Legend claims a Dreamer god sleeps, waiting to grant unimaginable powers in exchange for eight sacrifices. The producers are determined to document the evidence. And they convince Alon, a local teen, to be their guide.
Within minutes of their arrival, a giant sinkhole appears, revealing a giant balete tree with a mummified corpse entwined in its gnarled branches. And the crew start seeing strange visions. Alon knows they are falling victim to the island's curse. If Alon can't convince them to leave, there is no telling who will survive. Or how much the Dreamer god will destroy...
The UnReel Take:
Story: 8.0
Writing: 10
Characters: 9.0
Setting: 9.0
UnReel AR: 9.1
Bottom Line: Y'all, this book was so good! The Sacrifice is a contemporary YA Horror set in the Philippines, though it treads the line between horror and dark fantasy, so I think you can safely read it if you are, in fact, a wuss. This book has a "sun-drenched horror" vibe, which I love, since so many scary stories are set in dark, dingy places. I’d like to thank the author for introducing me to the terrible awesomeness that is a balete tree (you’ll see).
Alon is a fantastic main character. It's a pet peeve of mine when you're in a character's head and they have these long inner monologues, ruminating on information they already know for the sake of catching the reader up. Alon doesn't do this and is actively cryptic AF when interacting with others. Now, I'm not saying this book took me totally by surprise, there were twists that I saw coming early on, but there were still plenty of surprising moments.
Despite being a horror, there’s laugh-out-loud moments as Alon watches the cast and crew behave like complete fools. Askal, the canine sidekick, is inarguably the best part of the book and I would die for him. There’s also a sweet love story added to the narrative without distracting from it. I think this subplot will be especially popular with people who prioritize books with representation. I thought it was funny how the characters kept trying to label Alon and Alon was just like ...."kay."
The writing is straightforward but immediately engaging which is my favorite kind of prose. Poetic lines are great, but there's something about an author building an atmosphere with clear, concise writing that I love. One of my best friends is Filipino and I know a smattering of Tagalog, which was useful here because Chupeco often includes it in the dialogue. (Admittedly, I googled a lot as well.)
There is a discussion in this text about how locals can be exploited by outsiders looking to cash-in off regional history/mythology/tragedy/etc. This included differentiation between "outsiders" and "trespassers," which was valuable. I don’t require social commentary in everything I pick up but this made sense in context and was posed in a thought-provoking way. There is some casual bigotry shown, just FYI. I'm not sure if you'd call it racism, it read more as condescension towards indigenous people. "The casual bigotry of low expectations" type stuff. Like, a media executive implies that $10,000 USD is a "lifetime salary" for Alon and, while I'm not an expert on the exchange rate between the USD and the peso, I don't think that's even close to true. There's also a character, "Hawaiian Shirt," who mixes up Alon and Askal's names, despite having known them for weeks.
So, given the fangirling above, why is this only a 9 out of 10? The primary antagonist was underdeveloped, which really stood out given how thought-through the rest of the story was, and the romance felt rushed. Neither of those is a deal breaker, but they did keep The Sacrifice from hitting that 10/10 mark.
Ideal Reading Location: Definitely a beach. On an island, if you can swing it.
Drink Pairing: Lambanog, a traditional Filipino distilled coconut palm liquor. If you can’t get your hands on any, a pina colada will suffice.
Maybe your experience will be different!