Lakambini Sitoy is one of the popular Filipino writers. Her debut novel, Sweet Haven, was published in October 2011. It received a lot of compliments from those who read the book due to her incredible way of describing scenes and setting, creating a very clear picture for the readers. Sweet Haven was also complimented for the familiar settings and people Lakambini Sitoy used in the story. However, Sweet Haven is not the main focus here—it's Lakambini Sitoy herself.

I have never been one to read books by Filipino writers. I love reading—I read whenever I can—but my choice of books ranges from dystopian to fantasy; young adult books are my favorites. Anyway, having said that, it is quite obvious that I have never read any of Lakambini Sitoy's works. In all honestly, I am still very reluctant to read books by Filipino writers, but I did do a bit of research on Lakambini Sitoy. Based on her profile on one of my favorite sites—goodreads.com—she earned numerous awards due to her open-mindedness. She tackled topics like sexuality and the like, which we all know are very sensitive topics for the generations today. Because of this, a lot of people acknowledged her, and I must say that I am also very impressed and I respect her for this. As someone who takes the issue about sexuality very seriously, I want to give Lakambini Sitoy a big salute for being brave enough to use this topic for her book. It shows that she is not blind when it comes to subjects like this. Some authors nowadays are so afraid of being criticized for writing books with such themes, but Lakambini Sitoy was not one of them. I am relieved that there are still people out there who aren't afraid to open these subjects to the public in terms of writing. There is a certain quote Lakambini Sitoy wrote that I really like: "There he goes, hello, good-bye, dissipating in the azure sky, bleached of all meaning by the sun and wind." ― Lakambini A. Sitoy, Jungle Planet and Other Stories It's hard to explain why I like this quote, but what caught my attention most is the way she uses her words. This isn't the only quote I read—there are actually quite a lot of quotes that are nice—and I noticed how skilled she was when it came to chosing the right words and comparisons. The way she writes makes the story and the images clearer to the reader—it is probably only one of her many talents and skill. I am someone who loves word; I like twisting and turning them until they form the perfect necklace. I know how hard it is to find the right words to describe a certain thing or person or event. I know that writing about sensitive topics like sexuality is harder than it looks because a lot of people will comment on it in a way that will make you doubt your work. Lakambini Sitoy is not afraid to write, and that is how a real writer should be.