The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

 

I finished listening to unabridged audio version The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco, which is well narrated by Pun Bandhu over the President's Day Weekend. This is my fifth read for 2025.

The Sacrifice falls into the young adult genre with horror/fantasy elements mixed into the novel. The novel itself is set in the Philippines on an island named, Kisapmata, that most of the locals won't go near due to the island being haunted by a Diwata. Diwata, according to what I discovered from performing a Google search, is defined as follows:

Diwata "refers to a fairy, nature spirit, celestial being, or mythological god/goddess. It's rooted in Filipino mythology and folklore, often associated with natural elements like mountains, forests, and bodies of water."

Diwata in The Sacrifice essentially means a 'God'... And, yes, there is quite a bit of natural elements associated throughout the novel itself as well. I enjoyed the Filipino folklore/mythology being referenced in a novel. I would actually have enjoyed learning more about Filipino folklore/mythology in this novel... Bring it on!

The basic premise of The Sacrifice is that a Hollywood film crew arrives on the island to film the unusual happenings that have been observed/noted over the years on Kisapmata. The Hollywood film crew wants to capture any unusual phenomenon and turn it into a reality television show/series. Things go south fast from the very start of the novel! The main character is Alon, a nonbinary teen, that is a local and tour guide for the Hollywood film crew. Alon knows the history of the Kisapmata and is the only person willing to discuss the island's history with the film crew. As we come to realize over time, there's a lot more to Alon than what there appears to be on the surface! 

Alon also has a dog that seems to understand more than what a dog would normally understand. Alon and another teen named, Chase, have an attraction to each other. Chase is the son of one of the television executives for the television show. Chase happens to be a successful social media influencer and is going through a rough break up with a girlfriend. The attraction Chase feels for Alon is palpable, but doesn't go very far beyond an attraction as it isn't the primary focus of the novel. 

The main focus of The Sacrifice is all that is going on on the island since the arrival of the film crew. The crew members are essentially held hostage on Kisapmata by the Diwata. Communications to the mainland have gone down and a storm is preventing rescue teams from moving in to take the film crew off the island. Most of the crew members start having hallucinations. Alon has to play interference and protect most of the crew members from the Diwata. Film crew members start turning on each other as the novel moves forward. All things come to a head at the end of the novel.

Also worth noting, Rin Chupeco is a new to me author. Since reading The Sacrifice, I've learned that she is of Chinese-Filipino decent, is pansexual, lives with her partner, and two children. 

I am always on the lookout for novels written by Pacific Islanders or Filipino-American writers as my husband was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States as a young child with his family.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco from Amazon's website:

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 Filipino 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…

I am giving The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!