by Nitoy Gonzales

THE STORY

APOKOPO APANG HAPARIPI SAPA IPISKUPUL.

Ito ang secret code na nakita ni Andro sa poster para sa Clubs Day ng kanilang paaralan. Akala niya magagawa niyang tuklasin ito kasama si Miyo. Na dapat ay kasama din niya sa paghahanda ng booth nila sa Comics Club. Pero parang may iba kay Miyo, at may mga lihim pa itong hindi niya alam.

Matuklasan kaya niya ang mga lihim na ito? Read reviews: Goodreads

WHAT I LIKED

What I love about this book is the witty dialogue between Andro and Miyo that I found myself always wanting to read their conversations. The codes Andro tried to decode were also a lot of fun since the words were funny and silly to pronounce.

As for the art, it is superbly done. Not because I am a fan of Al Estrella but trust me when I say that when he does the illustrations, he just nails it. Sometimes, his art is so good it brought the surprise punch of hilarious.

But you might ask, “Do I have to buy Supremo to understand Pangkat Papaya?” No and yes.

No, because this is a stand-alone book (although it has some sort of “origin” sub stories found in Supremo). But also, yes, because the two books are awesome, exciting reads.

HOWEVER…

I don’t know if it was just me or the pace of the story, but it took me a couple of pages before I got into Pangkat Papaya mode.

tl;dr

Pangkat Papaya is a great book that highlights the value of honesty, friendship and belonging. The story has a heartwarming ending that will probably make you running to your brad, BFF, etc. If you’re tired of those “popular” fantasy and magic stuff on those children’s lit shelves, here is something fresh, funny and Filipino. ☁