The Boy, the Mountain, and the Serpent Who Ate the Moon
by Caris Avendaņo Cruz
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 1, 2025
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Today is publication day for Cruz's second novel. I finished it yesterday thanks to a digital review copy provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I did like her first novel, but this one a bit more. I don't think that is because the lead character here is a boy, since Bayani Caluag is not sympathetic for most of the book, and he is unlike I was at the age of 12 (although some from my family might disagree). He is brash and impuslive, where I was shy and reserved. He wants to do what he wants, whenever he wants; play outside all hours of the day and into the night. As this story begins he has been grounded for staying out too late while playing hide and seek with friends. He had apparently fallen asleep in his hiding place, or else just lost track of time. He rebels against being grounded, and finds a way around that with help from his younger sister Isay (Isabella).
As with her first book, this is set somewhere in the Philippines, maybe in an area around Manila, but probably another time, or otherwise fictional, with a few landmarks not as close together as in the story. Bayani lives in Santo Cristo, near an industrial district (Sitio Ibayo) which is now mostly underwater due to the rising seas. The town has been plagued by numerous unexplained disappearances for at least twenty years, as well as suffering a thick "Hamog" (dense fog) every evening, plus the vision of a mountain only at night, never during the day. Bayani eventually discovers the nature of Mount Bangungot, but not before many dangerous encounters with several mythical creatures, and meeting some of the Lost. Bayani gets his chance to subvert his being grounded when Isay and his mother are getting ready to attend the Pistang Bayan ceremonies, and the prusisyon (procession) to honor the dead and missing. Bayani is able to convince his mother to let him escort his sister, promising to come home early. That did not work out as planned, since Bayani once again does not want to be restricted in his activities.
Bayani, Isay, and their friend Aaron, run away from the prusisyon, or I should say Bayani runs away, the others following him even though they know they should not. They find themselves in a dark alley, now enclosed by high walls, and they cannot find the way they had entered. Bayani says they should climb over the wall, where they will probably be in somebody's backyard, then they can find their way home. That is not what they find. Instead they are in a jungle, but they eventually come to a bridge over what they assume to be the Ibayo River. They are wrong again. Once across the river, the bridge collapes upon itself, rolling up its planks and walking away. When he tries to wade back across the river Bayani discovers it is something other than just water. They eventually meet some of the Lost, a group whose leader is Senyor, but neither he or any of the others remember their real names. It is the first instance of things not being what they seem. If they are lost then they must be victims and need to be helped. Then the myths enter the story, the first being a Kapre, a giant, tree-dwelling being that appears to be comprised of dirt, rocks, and vegetation. Senyor's plan for a long time was to secure the Kapre's heart, since he was sure it would grant his wish. That might work, but only if the wish was the right one.
I won't detail much of the rest of the kid's adventures, other than mentioning a few of the other beings, and other Lost, they encounter. They had heard stories about some of them so they were afraid when they encountered the manananggals, vampire-like creatures whose bodies have been cleaved in two, the upper half having bat-like wings so they can fly. Whether or not the things that are only legs are the other half of the manananggals is not clear. Others who may have originally been human, members of the Lost, are known as Dahiligs, a Filipino word meaning a slope, ramp, or other inclined surface. They dwell in cliffside caves. When Bayani refuses to help Senyor in his quest for the Kapre's heart, the kids are driven toward the cliff and told to climb down the ladder made of thick vines. The vines don't hold, Isay falls into the Glassy Sea below, and Aaron is carried off by Esma, the priestess of the night, the leader of the manananggals. Bayani is able to make it down to a narrow ledge where he meets the Dahiligs. Isay is rescued by a Kataw, a merman who is rowing a glass boat on the Glassy Sea. Aaron is carried across the sea and deposited on a beach where he meets another group of Lost. Their individual adventures, what they learn along the way, and what they are able to teach those they meet, makes for a tense but eventually satisfying story. The most important thing was to cooperate, or else all would be trapped there.
If Bayani had been more perceptive he might have realized the Kapre, whose name he later learns is Kalasag, was not the evil thing Senyor made him out to be. Kalasag had helped them by assuring their candles would stay lit, and as long as that was the case they would not be Lost to the Dark. Most of the other Lost had faded to mere shadows, only their eyes and teeth visible. Many do not like the candle flame, since they fear it will attract Laho, the serpent that sleeps at the bottom of the Glassy Sea. There is one man Isay meets who is even worse than Senyor, arrogant and abrasive, self-centered and condescending. Yet even he is treated the same as everyone else at the end, when it would have been justified to let him stay Lost. Isay turned out to be my favorite character. Aaron was better than Bayani too, and I think I would rate Kalasag over Bayani, but he eventually learned his lesson, and the Lost returned to Santo Cristo, and Sitio Ibayo may be resurrected from its climate apocalypse as well. It was written and marketed for children and Middle Grade readers, but it can be appreciated by any age. With her improvement in prose style in her second novel, Cruz is an author I hope continues writing, being published, and being discovered by readers. Recommended.
Related Link:
Cruz's debut novel, Marikit and the Ocean of Stars.
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