Randy Ribay's young adult novel, Nest of Tongues, is a suspenseful, unique story of teenage Filipino siblings in the Bay area who happen to be vampires. Full of Filipino folklore, Ribay weaves an intricate tale that takes place throughout the course of only one week. At the start of the week the main characters, Lily and Caleb, are flying at night to feed on an animal when they discover the body of another vampire that had been brutally murdered. Once they tell their grandmother, Lola, she jumps to discuss the threat with the local elder supernatural creatures. It is revealed that a figure called a Bayani is the culprit and it is coming for Caleb next. The rest of the story is a race against the clock as everyone tries, in their own ways, to protect Caleb. In their attempts to solve the mystery, family secrets about their mother are spilled and they can never be the same again.
The best part of this story is the family relationship between Lily and Caleb. Siblings typically have a complicated bond and the siblings in this story are no different. They are written with such care and compassion for each of their insecurities and hopes for one another. Ribay was able to do this well because each chapter changed the POV of the storyteller between the siblings and at times, from the Bayani, too.
I enjoyed learning about the Filipino cultural beliefs and how Tagalog is spoken by young people today. Ribay did not shy away from the horror aspect of this genre so I would suggest it to readers 14+ who can handle graphic descriptions of gore. The ending surprised me and there was enough story unresolved which, I'm hoping, means that there will be a follow-up story some day. Even if Ribay does not continue the story, the setting, plot and question of what makes some thing good vs. evil lingers in my mind for a long time.
Watch author Randy Ribay discuss his perspective on writing this story in the interview conducted by The Booklist Online:
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