Bookshelf: A fresh take on CHamoru myths and legends

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

The island’s tropical heat greets Eli Cruz when he lands on Guam. Growing up in the States with an entitled attitude that attracts brawls, Eli is a stranger on his native island.

Juss Phil, aka Phillips V. Cruz Jr.

He expects nothing more than a quiet existence on island amid his grandfather’s

watchful eyes, but “the jungles whisper old stories, the ocean hides ancient secrets and the island remembers things the world has long forgotten.”

Juss Phil’s “Tales from the Forgotten Shores” narrates Eli’s adventure into the wonderland filled with mystical creatures and haunting visions. This fantasy fiction breathes new life into CHamoru myths and legends, bridging reality with the supernatural.

In its unnumbered pages filled with delightful prose,"Tales" introduces Eli to Sirena, the taotaomona, Gadao cave man and the ill-fated two lovers. In his encounters with these unfamiliar figures, he discovers that Guam legends are not just tales; rather, they are part of the island’s ancient past, guiding his journey “from lost to found, from silence to story.”

Finding the truth about who he is, Eli embraces a “new identity woven from ancient roots and fresh beginnings.”

Juss Phill is a Guamanian author and former educator. His first book, “Milky Skies and Other Poems,” is published under his full name, Phillip V. Cruz Jr.

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