Day 11 – A book you hated

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

I do not actually hate this book. There are good books but no bad ones enough to elicit hate, even the Twilight series. There just books with poorly written plots or characters. And I consider this book as one of those.

Ann Brashares is best known for her young adult series, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I have read those books and quite enjoyed them way back. So when I saw this book, I thought to myself that it might be good. After all, it is tagged as an adult book, and the premise in the summary is interesting enough.

And that’s where I got it all wrong. From the first few chapters, it felt like another young adult book due to its overly written prose of the characters’ love and feelings. It’s just too much and I think that it would be better if the author left something for the reader’s own discernment.  In short, the writing was so detailed that it became so uninteresting. I was so bored that it’s a miracle I even finished the book.

Also, I felt that the attraction between Daniel and Lucy is too shallow. Even during their first encounter in their past life, I could not quite believe that Daniel fell in love with her the moment he saw her in the burning house. I mean, call me a non-believer of love at first sight, but I really think that it is a very superficial thing. And then there’s Lucy obsessing over Daniel without even knowing anything about the guy. I just think that their love lacks enough substance.

I also had a problem with the perspectives. The book was alternating with time elements and with Daniel and Lucy’s point of view. But then I cannot discern which voice is which. The writing style is very much similar that without the help of the names, I would have a hard time knowing whose narration it was. Daniel’s lack the masculinity and felt way more sensitive and contemplative than Lucy’s. He was so lost in his past that he could not appreciate his present life. Lucy’s perspective, on the other hand, is too shallow. She is so much engrossed with her feeling with Daniel that I wanted to skip pages so badly.

All in all, I think this should have been a young adult book for it would appeal to those who want mushy romance books. It’s like Twilight without the vampire stuff. This book would have been more appreciated by younger and more innocent readers. I would have liked it if I read it when I was a freshman or sophomore high school student. I guess, this book is just not my cup of tea. 

Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series

This is the 6th installment of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This is a tough decision to make since I love every book in the series. But I have to pick so this is what I chose. As for the reason, I actually have a lot.

First is that of all the books, The Half-blood Prince is the one in which the trio seemed to act their age. The readers had a glimpse of how the trio face their adolescent years. It’s very interesting since it’s a bit light-hearted compared to the other books with all their first time experiences on romantic love. Of course we all know that the ending was grim.

Despite their petty teen problems, this is when the trio starts to mature and understand more about the enormity of the challenges. This is when they start to prepare themselves for what is ahead of them. We can really see the change and development in each of the characters. 

I also love this book because we come to understand more about Voldemort and the extent of his evilness.   That’s one thing I really hate about its movie adaptation. They left out the whole story of how the horcruxes came to be. There were so much revelations in this book and we saw that good lies in the heart of even the most wicked people. There’s Regulus and Draco. 

In this book, we see the funnier and lighter side of Harry. I particularly enjoyed the part when he drank the Felix Felicis. Also the growing tension between Hermione and Ron was exciting since it was very apparent how the two actually have feeling for each other. The Ginny-Harry pair up is more passionate and romantic in this book than the movie that is why I like it so much. People who haven’t read this book wouldn’t know about Harry’s and Ron’s tattoos. Haha.

Oh well, this post is already long. I must stop now. And yep, that’s it.

Fun, dorky, and entertaining.

Been reading this book while waiting for my downloads to finish. And damn, I just cannot stop laughing. Seriously, Vizzini is one hell of a writer. His writing is so natural and simple. None of those highfalutin words and cheesy lines from typical young adult books. This book is quite vulgar and is filled with curse words plus a slight touch of perversion but they all mixed in so well. It’s hilarious and adorably dorky. I think it’s such an underrated book. Hope to finish it soon and make a full review later. 

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

It’s been quite a while since I made a book review. Pardon me for my lack of time due to school work. And since it’s vacation, I finally had the chance to knock off some books from my to-read list. Here’s one good book I finished a while ago.

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What do you do when your sister, the closest relative you have, dies? How can you survive, when you believed in a promise that was shattered with her sudden death? A promise that led you to believe that she will never leave you like your mother did. How do you deal with the pain and the loss?

Lennine Walker is the typical younger sister. Unlike Bailey, the older one, Lennie is the companion pony, the one in the sidelines. She was the boring band geek clarinet player. She was never the center of attraction. That spot was solely for Bailey, the outgoing one, the actress, the sister who’s full of life. That is, until one unfortunate day when suddenly, it all ends for the older sister.

Now, although the two maybe opposites, they were quite close. Very close indeed, due to them being abandoned by their mother. Lennie and Bailey do not know much about their mother excpet for the fact that she is a wanderer. And so, as they were left to grow with only their Gram and Uncle Big, they don’t have anyone to turn to but each other. So how was Lennie supposed to go on with her life without her big sister, Bailey, who was always there for her, the one who knows what to do?

And in the picture comes Toby and Joe. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend. Like Lennie, he was enveloped with such grief due to Bailey’s death. Toby was the boy who understands Lennie’s sorrows and struggles. To Lennie, Toby is the only one who she can share her emotions with. But up to what extent? And then there is Joe, the new boy at school. This is the charming one, the boy with sunshine written all over his face. The guy every girl wants to be with, the talented musician. The guy responsible for Lennie’s heart to pound so hard it might burst. Joe was the one who can make Lennie forget about all the sadness in her heart with just one blissful kiss.

And so the story goes. Just like any other love triangles, Lennie was torn between Toby and Joe. She was certain that she is in love Joe. He sends her reeling the sky and beyond with every touch and kiss. His music connected with hers. The passionate guitarist and the soulful clarinetist. The perfect match. Through him, Lennie can bury all the memories of Bailey, even for a while. But then there was Toby, who needs her, the guy who craves her company. He is the one person who exactly knows how big an impact Bailey’s death was. They found memories of Bailey in each other. Lennie was drawn to him due to sympathy and loneliness. But there would always be that big guilt looming over her everytime that they are together. So really, who should she choose?

I also love the fact that the book was sprinkled with a dash of poetry in every other chapter. Each chapter ends with a handwritten poem by Lennie found in random places. In the book, Lennie is the silent type. She doesn’t easily share what she feels to others. Instead, she writes it down, anywhere, and just throw it away in random weird places. It may be on a takeaway cup, a tissue, a newspaper, anywhere. I think that it is her way of letting her emotions out.

The Sky Is Everywhere is not the typical sad book. Yes, it deals with grieving and loss, but not with the tear-jerking, too depressive manner. In fact, there are a lot of humorous exchange between the characters. To me, it was a very honest interpretation of coping. Nelson wrote in a way that readers could see and feel how the characters were so torn about lamenting and moving on with life. In this book, we can see different views on how people manage with grief. It was a good read since the main character isn’t the perfect saint. In her journey of sorrow, she makes mistakes and fails to see what is right. But then with every mistake comes the realization of how wrong she was. The book really shows how a teenage girl grows as she comes face to face with the fact that one of the closest person to her heart had gone away. The readers get to laugh, mourn, cry and fall in love just like the characters. It is written simply and is a very easy read. Overall, I would give it a 4/5.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Bartlett is an average teenager, who wants nothing more than to be liked by everyone in his high school. He has everything any kid would probably want in their lives. He’s rich, he has a very understanding mother who is very supportive of him and he is also very intelligent. But Charlie has one quirk. He has a certain passion in making trouble. At the beginning of the movie, he got kicked out of private school due to making fake driver’s licenses for his friends. And so his mother decided that putting him to a public school might help.

His first day in his new school didn’t go so well. He was bullied by this kid, Murphy, for looking like a weird kid in his suit and attaché case. But Charlie also met Susan Gardner, the principal’s daughter. Charlie, still not letting go of his dream to be everyone’s friend, thought of turning things around. He befriended Murphy and made him his business partner. Together, they supplied students with psychological medications coming from different psychiatrists who Charlie has consulted due to his “problems”. These problems were just made up with symptoms Charlie has read from various psychology and psychiatric books. He wanted to help these kids who felt alone and left out. To Charlie, this is his best shot to popularity. Everything worked well and Charlie was suddenly loved by everyone in his new school. He also got close with Susan and eventually, they became couples. 

And so the movie goes as Charlie and Susan got to know more about each other. They realized that they had the same family problems. Charlie’s father was sent to prison and as a result, his mother got into a deep depressive state. As for Susan, her mother had an affair and left. Her father, in turn, became an alcoholic. Same problem, different scenario: One parent who left them and another with serious psychological problem. This brought Charlie and Susan even closer to each other.

But then problems arise when one of Charlie “clients”, Kip, went and got himself overdosed with drugs that Charlie prescribed. This made Charlie end his entrepreneurship and also made him realize his wrongs. So he decided to make things right and talked Kip out of his depression and suicidal tendencies. He made Kip understand that life, no matter how fucked up, is still worth living. It is then that Charlie found out about the play Kip was writing. His new goal was to make Kip’s play happen and so began another wacky journey, as Charlie help Kip convince the principal to agree with the production of the play.

This movie is a good watch as it mixed comedy and reality very well. There is an ample amount of funny moment and yet there are some deeper and more serious issues behind the hilarious characters. We see that each of them have troubles in their families, and we also see how they try to cope with these things. Like many other movies, it teaches us that there are more things in life than being popular. That wanting to be liked by everyone is alright, depending on how we use that attention. This movie also tells us that no matter whom we are - popular, rich, jock, emo, weird, nerd, or whatever - there are problems that we tend to hide from everyone, problems that we cannot bear and have no choice but to keep it inside because of fear.  I think this movie would appeal well, not only to Psychology students, but to everyone as it really tackles much about how each person deal with their issues in life. It’s a quirky, light and easy watch but very much substantial. I give it a 9/10.

Once a bitch, always a bitch. Bitch nung high school, bitch pa din ngayong college.

Some people just never change. They only get worse. Haha.

No Kiss List.

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Naomi and Ely have been bestfriends ever since they can remember. They live across the hall of the same building. They went through everything together and they are practically tied to each other. But then as every best friend story goes, one fell for the other, big time. And in this case, it’s Naomi. Yes, she is in love with Ely. 

You see, it’s not just a girl-fall-for-the-bestfriend-who-don’t-like-her-that-way-story. The twist is that the guy best friend isn’t actually a straight guy. Add in the fact that the girl has boyfriend, who happened to make a mistake of kissing the gay best friend. See how it works? Plus, this No Kiss List that Naomi and Ely made had a little flaw. Naomi can’t be mad at Ely since her boyfriend is not included in the list. So how do they patch up this crack in their friendship? Will it go on and fall apart or will they be able to go past the storm and get together again? 

I find this book very hilarious and a light read. Every chapter is written using various characters’ point of view. In each chapter, the character would narrate about what is happening and share about his/her insight about those things. It this way, the reader would be able to know the story from different angles. It’s not just a one-sided perspective. The readers would be able to sympathize well with all the characters since they are given a piece of the character’s mind. 

All in all, I give this one a 7/10.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

If you’ve seen the movie The Truman Show, and have read The Hunger Games, this book would be a nice combination of both. The story revolves around Thomas, a teenage boy who has no memory of anything except his name. He was taken away from his family when he was very young to be part of an experiment. His memory was wiped away just before he was thrown in place called Glade wherein he and the other boys try to solve the Maze surrounding it to escape the place and go back to wherever they came from. 

It is another dystopian book like The Hunger Games in which people try to manipulate these teenagers to “test” their capabilities and look for the best. But in the midst of finding the solution to the maze, Thomas learned something that might jeopardize his relationship with the other boys in the Glade. He can solve the Maze. He is destined to know the solution. He must face the demons lurking in the Maze and be brave enough to do what he must. And just when they finally escaped, something bigger slapped them in the face as the Creators told them the truth.

If you read this book, you will realize how selfish people can be when the whole human race is in danger. We’ll see how humanity falters in desperate time. We would question whether the thing we do are wrong or right. Is it okay to use other people and make their life miserable, take their youth, just to save the other human beings? Up to what extent are they willing to test these kids just to satisfy their little experiments? Is it really for the greater good or is it just a selfish act made so they can live longer than others?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“It’s just that I don’t want to be somebody’s crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don’t want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it too.”

I’ve been wanting to read this book for quite a while now, but I just don’t have enough spare time. So when I got the chance a while ago, I finally finished it in one sitting.

Even at the very beginning, I thought Charlie was very adorable and insightful. I could imagine everything that he was saying and at some point, it feels as though I was reading my own life on page. Charlie’s letters are very unique, telling people about his adventures of friendship, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, music and love. Charlie has this special way of seeing things and understanding how such things are. He is very smart and honest to the point that other people find him weird and strange. He is someone who can go along all day with just observing people, trying to find the good in all of them. He is the kind of person who would always think first about how others would feel rather than himself. He would always try to make the people around him happy, without thinking about his own.

His story had a shocking twist which I did not expect. Although I somehow guessed that something happened to Charlie, because he seems to be troubled at times, I was not prepared with the actual incident. His story would help us understand why some people tend to be the way they are. I, personally, can relate to his issues and dilemmas in life especially about having difficulty in doing something for myself. It is a great story where everyone, teenagers or adult alike, can learn and pick up little wisdom about living.