CENTRAL COLLEGES OF THE PHILIPPINES 1

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION

The Girl between Two Worlds

By K.M. Levis

A Book Review
Presented to the
Faculty of Senior High School
Central Colleges of the Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements in EN11-III
Reading and Writing

Submitted by:
Jhelby Eleanor M. Reyes
Submitted to:
Reynaline Ann S. Corcuera

March 23, 2018

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Background of the Author …………………………………3

II. Vocabulary Words …………………………………4
III. Setting (time / place) …………………………………5
IV. Character List …………………………………6
V. Plot …………………………………7
a) Introduction …………………………………7
b) Rising Action …………………………………7
c) Climax …………………………………8
d) Falling Action …………………………………9
e) Denouement …………………………………9
VI. Theme …………………………………11
VII. Motif …………………………………12
VIII. Symbols …………………………………13
IX. Remarkable Lines …………………………………14
X. Conclusion …………………………………15
XI. Reference …………………………………16
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I. BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

Kristyn Maslog – Levis

She born in Philippines and based in Sydney, Australia. She has been working as a
freelance journalist both internationally and locally for over 15 years. Her work has been
published in various publication, including “The New York Times” and “Al Jazeera”. She
worked as a TV reporter for ABS – CBN before finishing her master’s degree in
communication under the ASEAN scholarship at Nanyang Technological University in
Singapore and a radio broadcaster with SBS in Sydney, where she still occasionally does
voice – overs. She currently work as the Creative Director for 3C Digital – social media and
digital marketing specialists for small businesses.

Kristyn is also an avid photographer with several photos published in various magazines
and exhibited in a couple of local and international exhibitions. She’s also an award winning
photographer and an avid mummy blogger. In 2011, Kristyn self – published her first
children’s picture book based on a story her mother used to tell the when they were kids. In
2013, Kristyn self – published her second children’s picture book based on their life as a little
kids in a Philippines.
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II. VOCABULARY WORDS

1. defied
- to make (something) very difficult or impossible
- to refuse to obey (something or someone)
2. chipped
- a small piece that has been broken off from something larger
- a place where a small piece of something has broken off
3. infamy
- the condition of being known for having done bad things or for being evil
- an evil or terrible act
4. deter
- to prevent (something) from happening
- to cause (something) to decide not to do something
5. gingerly
- very cautious or careful
6. emitter
- to send (light, energy, etc.) out from a source
- to make (a certain sound)
7. distressing
- unhappiness or pain : suffering that affects the mind or body
- a very difficult situation in which you do not have enough money, food, etc.
8. temperamental
- unpredictable in behavior or performance
- of or relating to someone’s usual attitude, mood, or behavior
9. lineage
- the people who were in someone’s family in past times
10. tapered
- a long waxed wick used especially for lighting candles, lamps, pipes or fires
- a sleeder candle
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III. SETTINGS (TIME / PLACE)

Alyssa’s House
– Karina and her friends sleep over in that house. Before they start chitchatting, Mark
came with a bird dying and ask Karina to heal and give life again that bird and Karina use
her ability to heal animals. After that scenario, In the middle of the night they heard the
sound of flapping huge wings swirling close by the window. And Karina called her
grandfather asking for his help to get away the creature outside Alyssa’s house.

Karina’s House
– Karina met the clan leaders there and make a plan together.
Karina encounter a tiyanak and attacked her and by the help of her grandfather she was
saved.
Karina was trained by her lolo for only three months, for her to build up her powers and
for her to strengthen her powers for her to be ready if their enemies attack them.
They have been attacked by the dark clans in the middle of the night.

Jason’s House
– Karina stays there for a night because she was disappointed with the clan leaders about
her mom being alive. Also she encounter the manananggal there that was Jason’s Mother.
Karina, her friends, family and clan leaders plan on how to get away her mother in
Jason’s house. She found out that her mother was there through the help of her rat. They
came there to get her mother and they were attacked by the dark clans. And at the end of
the night they save her mother out there for three years.

Old cemetery
– The battle between dark clans and light clans happened here. And Mirasol’s body was
buried one of the giant trees there.
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IV. CHARACTER LIST

a) Major Characters
Karina – the daughter of Marie. That has a supernatural powers after her sixteenth
birthday.
Marie – she is the mother of Karina. She is the heir of engkantasia who ran away
from their world. She lost after they migrated from Philippines to America.
King Magatu – the grandfather of Karina and a father of Marie. He is the king of
their world Engkantasia.
Jason – the son of Mirasol and a manananggal. The boy that Karina loved.
b) Minor Characters
Patrick – Karina’s father.
Mark – Karina’s boy bestfriend.
Alyssa – Karina’s girl bestfriend.
Melissa – Jason’s friend that is jealous of Karina.
Serra – the leader of the Serena tribe, the kingdom underwater.
Kamudo – the leader of the Kapre tribe.
Gulat – the leader of the Tikbalang tribe.
Yukoy – the leader of the Syokoy tribe. The kingdom underwater
Pili – the leader of the Duwende tribe.
Mirasol – the mother of Jason and the manananggal that take revenge to Karina’s
Family because of her anger in Karina’s grandfather.
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V. PLOT

a) Introduction

The day after Karina’s sixteenth birthday, supernatural things start to happen around her
and she has no idea why. Her mother, who disappeared after they migrated from the Philippines
to America, speaks to her in prophetic dreams. Stranger still is the old man who turns up at her
house one day and claims to be her grandfather, even though Karina’s mother had told her he died
a long time ago.

Karina discover that her mother is an engkanto princess who ran away from Engkantasia.
Karina is now of age to take the throne and must do so to prevent the war between Engkantasia
and human world. She must learn to control her powers and fight a range of weird creaturestrying
to kill her and her family. To make matters worse, she finally meets a boy she likes and there’s
something about him she can’t quite figure out.

b) Rising Action

Karina was disappointed with the clan leaders about her mom being alive. So she ran
away from their house and called Jason if she could stay at his house. When they came in Jason’s
house Jason assure that Karina is not disturbing his night and it is okay because he and his mother
is only in their house. After that Jason accompanied Karina to her room. Her room was on the
other side of the garden.

In the morning, they eat breakfast together. In the afternoon, they go swimming. In the
evening they watch a movie until 2. When Karina preparing to sleep she turn on her phone and
received a different messages from her family and friends that give her a goosebumps and setting
her heartbeat to panic mode and felt that she is in danger. So she took her bag with her clothes
and look at the mirror seeing her mother’s reflection saying the word “run”.

She go outside and heard the sound of flapping huge wings swirling close by, so she step
back and felt a trickle of hot liquid on her skin. She ran back inside, locked the door and moved
away from the windows. She peeked outside to see where the huge creature direction is and
moved away the window with her whole body trembled. She wash her wound that is burning and
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wait until the sun was up. When she the orange streak of dawn, she texted her father to picked her
up, giving instruction not to sound the horn when he arrive. She took her things and left the house
through climbing the trees near the fence.

c) Climax

In the middle of the night, Karina woke up and she see her mother sitting near the
fireplace and staring at the dying embers and she ask if they can go outside at the terrace for some
fresh air. They reminisce the moments were Karina was a little child. After some time she held
her mother’s hand and she sensed that there was a danger coming closer to them, they go inside
where the others are waiting. The ground shook beneath them and something was digging its way
up. Her Lolo said that they are being attacked by the dark clans and should get ready.

King Magatu instructed Patrick to go to garage with the kids and Karina said they should
get their weapons for self-defense. The sounds and howls of creatures was heard in their place,
they have been wishing that the neighbors didn’t hear any of this. Karina was instructed his father
to go away with her friends but before they could reach the car the shield has been close made by
king Magatu and clan leaders for them to be safe. King Magatu thinking the place that they can
fight somewhere deserted, Karina heard the thought of her grandfather and thought the old
cemetery a couple of blocks from the local university. It was the perfect place to fight in the
middle of the night, in the blink of an eye everyone found themselves in the middle of the
graveyard.

When they were in the graveyard, the dark clans start their first attack and the battle
between light clan and dark clan started. Marie and King Magatu was fighting Jason and Mirasol,
and light clan leaders has their own opponents. King Magatu read Mirasol’s mind, he showed this
to Marie, Karina and clan leaders the pains, love, confusion and anger of Mirasol’s mind. When
Karina realize that Jason was a half-engkanto, she convince Jason to realize that he is a half-
engkanto that means he is not bad at all and so Karina succeeded. Jason protected Karina from
her mother, he convince her mother to stop all her plans and he said all his really feel in this
world. But her mother did not convinced at all and when his mother attack at Karina he protect
Karina and fight his mother. Jason’s Mother died and light clan won in the battle.
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d) Falling Action

In the morning after the battle, something was going to change for everyone. Karina
sensed her grandfather’s confusion between right and wrong, what is black and what is white.
After the battle, King Magatu sat down next to Mirasol’s body, took her hand and said his
goodbye before he let her go. Mirasol’s Body remains under the giant tree in the graveyard
through the help of Karina’s favor because others wanted to burn Mirasol’s body. Karina sensed
her Lolo’s conflicted emotion about her mother’s decision to take on the throne and was torn
between the needs of the kingdom and the happiness of her mother.

They walked together to the backyard holding each other’s hand. As they were in the
backyard, the mood shifted as if one of the family member has died and the looked in their faces
was worst. They were with the clan leaders, Karina’s family and friends looking at the portal
slowly opening and they say they goodbyes and cried. As Karina’s family saying goodbyes at
each other and giving a one last hug, Karina said goodbye and pushed her mother away from the
portal and stepped in. Everyone’s faces was shocked because of the tricked that Karina planned.

e) Denouement

Jason always visit his mother’s grave frequently, bringing her flowers and talking to her.
Realizing that he did the right things for the both of them. Reminiscing his mother’s past
memories and telling what happen to his stepfather and what he reason out why his mother is not
there. He tell to his stepfather that his mom ran away and said goodbye to him before leaving.
And healing his pain through visiting his mother and have a conversation that all he said is the
truth.

He tell him what happened to his training and controlling his power to kill and destroy
animals when he was starting with communicating in the nature. He took the flowers out of the
car, when he walked toward the old tree he felt a very strange feeling that another presence
nearby and it was something dark and sinister. He saw a shadow flicked through his vision, a
woman with long dark hair standing over his mother’s grave and she smelled like his mother and
change his arm into claws and followed her tracks sniffing her scent but he lost her when he
reached the train line. He went back to his mother’s grave and see the footprint that the old
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woman left and he heard the faintest of heartbeat. He remembered his mother’s special ring she
wore it on her finger all the time and never took it off.

He looked around to see if there were people in the cementry, thankfully it was empty.
He sat on the ground waiting for the orange and reds of the horizon to fade, and think if it is a full
moon tonight and hope that it wasn’t. Finally darkness fell, he transform his both arms into claws
and dig his mother’s grave faster. As he was going deeper and deeper the sound of heartbeat
becoming clear and he was so nervous on what he found out. He knew to himself that before he
saw her come out of the grave he realize that the strange feeling was coming from his mother and
he saw his mother being alive from dead.
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VI. THEME

The theme of the story is to tell the readers and new generation the Filipino beliefs
especially those who didn’t grow up with Engkantos and Aswangs because they grew up in a
cities. Not only locally but also internationally in order for our culture and beliefs to be known.
This has a big part on our culture because some of us encounter this creature especially on
provinces. This is a great chance to be known in the whole world. Reading this book give them a
brief knowledge about the creatures that is only found here in the Philippines.
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VII. MOTIF

Filipino folklore and pinoy mythology. It represent the whole story because in the story
the characters is from our beliefs that there is a mananangal, kapre, tikbalang, duwende, sirena,
syokoy, wakwak, tiyanak, etc. So it represent as Engkantasia the worlds of the engkantos and
also the Human world.
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VIII. SYMBOLS

Necklace – Symbolise her Mother’s power. That gave to Karina for her to be safe.

Ring with black rock – Symbolise a healing rock that is use to heal human afflicted with
illness from Engkantasia.
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IX. REMARKABLE LINES

1. “If your grandfather knows anything, I don’t think he has any choice but to tell you
the truth after what you just did. This is not an ordinary thing to keep from you.”
- Allyssa (chapter 3)

2. “Your mother only ever wanted for you to have a normal life. But I knew that was
never going to be possible. I need you to know that she did everything she could to
delay this. But all this is inevitable.” – King Magatu (chapter 4)

3. “You must understand that her powers will keep manifesting if she doesn’t take
control of it. She is not only in danger, but she could also be a danger to everyone
around he.” – King Magatu (chapter 4)

4. “Karina, you are still so young. It wasn’t fair to disrupt your life. But there is no other
choice. It’s not only your life that’s on the line. Your world and mine will collide in a
disastrous battle if nothing is done in the next couple of months.”
– King Magatu (chapter 7)

5. “I’ve experienced so much and I can’t let Karina pay for my mistakes. If I go with
you now, we can immediately organize our army and force the dark clans to go back
to our world.” – Marie (chapter 21)
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X. CONCLUSION

I wanted so bad to like this book. The cover was beautiful and I was so proud to see a
fellow Filipino release a fantasy young adult novel, which is relatively a niche genre. I actually
wanted a book or read a story with this kind of plot. So when I saw this on a bookstore shelf, I
immediately picked it up and bought it. The whole story did not disappoint and it was an easy
read.

What this novel has going for it is that it makes it easier for the Filipino reader to
sympathize with the mythological creatures thus transported to the United States, being the
foreigners instead of the local. However, this creates a disjunction because the real world to
interact with is farther and less concrete.

Last thing I am so happy to read this for me that didn’t like reading English books this
one is good for me. I like reading this but sometimes I fell asleep when I’m reading this book. So I
am going to read the second book when it comes out.
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XI. REFERENCES

Internet

 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8275484.K_M_Levis
 http://kristynmlevis.com/index.php/k-m-levis-writer/

Application

 Merriam Webster Dictionary