Book reviews: Love letters to the dead by Ava Dellaira

'The Universe is bigger than anything that can fit into your mind' - May

Laurel was given an assignment by her English teacher on her first day of class. The assignment of writing a letter to a dead person. But, she never turned it up, not until last day of school.

She wrote letters to Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and several others which has passed at young age just as May did.

She wrote about her life, new friends, love life and mainly about how the death of her sister, May affected her.

On the night that May died, was after movie night. They went to their usual spot, where the old train tracks cross over the river.  They were sitting in the middle of the bridge, when Laurel said something that she felt never should have been said. May then stood up and started to cross back to land on the metal edge of the track, like a tightrope, and within moments, after she turn her back to look at May, and as their eyes met, her body sailed over the darkness below her.

Book reviews: Nightfall by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski

“Stop. This is not useful. Pull yourself together.”

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Imagine yourself living in a place for 14 years of days without nightfall, and as the sun began to set, you will have to pack and leave. 

Why do you need to pack? 

Why do you need to leave?

For people in Bliss, since their ancestors founds the island, they had been doing just that, and no one ever really questions the motive behind the traditions that had been practiced for years.

As the people awaits for the furrier boat to take them to Desert Island, the place where they will spent the next fourteen years of their life, they were handed letters from the Okrana, letters with instructions, as how to arrange the furniture in their home, what and where to hang on the wall, and how many plates needed to be set on the dining table. Marin and her twin brother, Kana had been preparing just for that, as the darkness slowly crept into town.

And the moment the furrier boats set sails in the island, they found out that a boy had been missing. He was a close friend of the twin, and the twins could be the only two that know where he was. And the two decided to embark on a quick quest to find him while the others waiting to board the ship. They found Line, the boy, of course, but they had taken a minute too late to the harbor, and they were left behind by their families and neighbors.

They discovered the secret about Bliss, and later, about Kana. They also found out the real reason why they needed to leave the place. During the fourteen years of ‘days’, humans inhabited the place, but as nightfall, the hibernating monsters began to wake and dominate the island. Since the start, they had set rules, displayed on the statues placed around town, but Marin, Kana and Line had broken them by failing to leave the place with the others.  They were hunted by the monsters, the rightful owners of the place, as they search for a way out from there.

“I regret many things. But there was no taking you back to this cave. They would have killed you.”

Book review: It's not the end of the world by Judy Blume

"Divorce.. It's the end of the world." - Karen

Everything changed for Karen when her parents had a big fight and her father stayed out all night and the days after. Karen tried to make excuses for the reason why her father didn't come back home but to no avail, it ends with a divorce. 

Karen tried to fix the situation with the insight of her parents getting back together if they’re given the opportunity to spent time together again after the fight. She plan for a natural encounter for both parents but before she take action, her rebellious brother run away from home and her father did went back to their home to discuss about her brother disappearance. But, he didn't reconcile with his wife and their fight gotten more intense than before. That were the time that Karen realize that both of her parents had made the right choice of getting on their own way and there were no use of trying to fix the damage.

The story portrays the inner thought of the children (or teenage to be exact) in the process of understanding and adapting to the situation whereas their parents are going divorce. It let us see into the mind of the divorcee’s children. Hanna kept it as a secret from others as she thought that they may think of her differently if they know the truth, and she also has been having denial of her parent’s divorce and take measures to get them back together, but with Val’s help, she finally understood and slowly adapting to the situation. 

"Why did the man put Band-Aids in his refrigerator? Because it has cold cuts!" - Amy

Book reviews: How it ends by Laura Wiess

“Get you head out of a book, Hanna. You don’t live in a novel.”

Living at a farm house at the countryside (I supposed), deer hunting was a common practice at their neighborhood, especially to those who own their share of land over the forest. But Hanna and gran’s family kept their land as a sanctuary for the wild life and even provide foods for the does during winter to keep them at their land and not fall into prey to the hunter during the opening season.

When she was little, Hanna was left at her neighbor’s house when her parents had a conflict, and that was the time that she grow attached to the Schoenmakers couple, the one that she addressed as gran and grandpa in the story. And even when her parents get back together, she still went for routine visits over the Schoenmakers place.

To protect the bright and small Hanna from the trouble of the world, gran told her a lot of story that ends with happy ending. The story that Hanna loves the most was about how gran and grandpa first met and it was a love at first sight. It was like a fairy tale and to make small Hanna happy, gran make up a lot of lies without intending to do so. But, the truth remain sealed until later..

As Hanna grows up, she ceased down her visit to the Schoenmakers’ place and falls into the usual flow of a teenager life. She had a crush and after years of chasing after the same boy, she had her chance when her crush finally turn to her and ask her to be his girl. But, their love life doesn’t goes as what she imagined it will be. The boy was not loyal to her and it was a hurtful relationship, but believing in fairy tales and happy ending, she endures it.

As life goes, the Schoenmakers grew older. Gran was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and grandpa has heart problem. Gran need to be put on a wheel chair and was unable to move. Later, she even has difficulty to talk and can only communicate by eye movement.  

Being caught on not doing her mandatory community service on time, Hanna made a proposal to her counselor to serve her time at the Schoenmakers home and it was approved. She looks after gran afterschool when grandpa goes to work and help around with the housework.  When gran was well, she was a member of 5 book clubs and she had a collection of novels at her house. Back then, Hanna used to borrow books from her and they will discuss about it after Hanna finished it all. But, after having the disease, unable to read as she normally does, gran turned to audiobook instead of the normal hard print books.  Hanna turns the radio on for her every day, and on one of the occasion, she was drawn to the audiobook as well.

Throughout the visit, they’ve been listening to an audiobook entitled ‘How it ends’, which was a life story of an orphan. Turned out, the story was the real life story of gran and grandpa at which was totally different from what Hanna had been told before. Affected by her past, gran was not fond of the hospital (Doctor) and she made an agreement with grandpa to end their life when her last batch of medication finished.

Grandpa shot gran and he on the first day of the opening season after gran’s medication finished. Hearing the shotgun’s sound, Hanna immediately knows something was not right and ran to the Schoenmakers’ home. But she was late and both gran and grandpa was dead. She found the audiobook on the porch with a stick-on-it note saying: Hanna, this is how, and why.

Hanna was the only one that heard of the audiobook and understands the real reason behind the couple’s suicide.

The incident affected Hanna and she finally broke up with her boyfriend and chose to be together with another man that deserves her better.

“I pray you will realize that a happy ending is not the same as happily ever after and that fairy tales are fiction, but love, true love is trustworthy, steadfast, and reliable, is not”
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How it ends was a great book revolving around Hanna and gran's life, and it was told by both person point of view. I love how Hanna's life and thought was well describe in the story. And as for gran or grandma Helen, I never expect her life to be that tragic. Her life as told in the audio book was totally different from what I thought she was earlier in the story.
Whenever Hanna turn on the audiobook, I was so horrified with some of the story that I wish Hanna will faster finished the chapter that they were listening to and go to her part of the story. But, afterward, I also anticipate the sequel of the audio book as much as Hanna do after finishing each chapter.
Although this was a great story,  I feel that the part where gran and grandpa ends their life was a little disturbing. The description was too vivid for me and I didn't expect them to end their life that way. @.@

Book Reviews: Playing with the grown ups by Sophie Dahl

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes" - Antoine de Saint Exupery, The little prince

The story started with a phone call. The call that needed Kitty to go back to England as something happened to their mother. On her journey back home, rivers of memories flooded through her mind. The memory of her mother and her life.

The story was about Kitty's life and mainly about a daughter who adore her mother above everything else in the world. Kitty was born without a father, her mother had an affair with a married man and gave birth to her. Her mother was a painter and they live a simple life in the countryside with her bestemama and bestepapa. When she was 8 years old, her mother had another man in her life and given birth to a twin. However, the relationship only lasted for some time before the guy left them again.

Their peaceful life in the countryside abruptly changed when her mother had a sudden attraction toward a Hindi's teaching headed by a man named Swami-Ji. Their life course changes periodically according to Swami-Ji's forecast.

Kitty went through hardships in her boarding school and had a glamorous life along side her mother afterward. Turned out, her mother were not well and while her mother were getting proper treatment at the hospital, she and her younger brother and sister were taken care by their grandparent back at the countryside.

At the last chapter, the condition of her mother after they went back to the countryside were not mentioned, and I thought that the call mentioned earlier was about the death of her mother, that's why Kitty rushed back to her mother's side. But I was wrong as she was pretty much alive when Kitty reached England.

At last, Kitty get to meet her mother again and she get to hear the long awaited apology from her mother.

The story is mainly about how Kitty feels as she grows up with her mother as her idol and role model. Trying to become just like her mother, she dressed way too elegantly for her school and as expected, a lot of people thought that she was eccentric and she does not have a big circle of friends. Her feeling were described in the story and although she adore her mother very much, she was soon tired of the attention given on her mother and the drug problem that her mother has. Kitty doesn't grown in a normal family as others did but at the present, she is married and living a normal life with her husband.

:)

Precious

"Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light" - Vera Nazarian

The 5 years books' collection.

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it" - P.J. O'Rourke

My Beautiful Creature's series <3 Lovey<3

"I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense" - Harold Kushner

Little Black Dress series

"If one cannot enjoy a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all" - Oscar Wilde

Mitch Albom and Jodi Picoult

"Books support us in our solitude and keep us from being a burden to ourselves" - Jeremy Collier

Judy Blume <3

And others. And many more to come in the future. <3

"A book is a fragile creature, it suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the element s and clumsy hands. So the librarian protects the books not only from mankind and also against nature and devotes his life to this war with forces of oblivion" - Umberto Eco

The Writing Circle by Corine Demas

I finally finished the book that I started last year. Lol.  It took me a year to finish one novel. ;p

The Writing Circle

Author: Corine Demas

The story is about a group of people that shares the same passion of writing and call their little union as the 'Leopardi circle'. 

And the plot revolves around each of its character, telling us how one life can be different from one to another and yet closely interconnected to each other

Nancy is a new addition to the group and is working on her first story based on the life of her father. She is engaged to the man he loves and is seen getting married to him at the end of the story. The story that she was working on was 'stolen' and manipulated by 'Gillian' (an old member of the circle), and after giving in to the unexpected aids of the other member, she regain her story back.

And there is Bernard and Virginia, who was married and divorced. They both re-married again and despite the fact that they are divorced, they still can sit side by side normally to discuss about their writing. The other 3 members of the circle are Gillian, Chris and Adam.

What I love about the book is that it opens the window to a writer's world. We see what they see and we get to feel what they feel. 

 But, overall, this book is not my favorite genre of a novel. And I found that most of the characters are divorcee. Huh, I dislike that fact, there is not much happiness in their world, or its just me who can't absorb it from the story. 

And even if it's just a fiction, the author made me feels as if there is no long lasting happiness in the world. The only part that make me excited in the story was when Gillian secretly publish a novel based on Nancy's precious manuscript. And only then did the whole circle, apart from the plagiarist works together to help Nancy.

Nevertheless, it was a good read! <3

Bookworm Gee.. Ciao! <3

Book Reviews: For one more day by Mitch Albom

I read one of Mitch Albom's five people you meet in heaven before and I instantly fall in love with him and his book the moment I finished that first story.

Mitch's book was simple yet meaningful and full of emotion involved.

I adopted his second book "For one more day" at Popular's book fair last week and it was a great bargain. The book was on sale for such a cheap price that ignoring it would be unforgivable. I finished the book in one day time and here is my review on his story. Enjoy. :)

FOR ONE MORE DAY - Mitch Albom

"Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever?"

It was a story about a guy. 

A daddy's boy turned to mama's boy when he was eleven and

A guy that loses everything after his mother died. 

He blamed himself for the death of his mother, 

and for not being there for her when the tragedy happened.

He was so full of guilt and regret that he get involved with alcohol and abandoned his job. 

He leave his wife and kid, and 8 years later, he received an enveloped containing the wedding photos of his daughter.

He was so sadden that his only daughter was ashamed of him and does not inform or invite him to the wedding.

Feeling that he was alone and life was meaningless, he decided to take his own life.

He had an accident on his way to his hometown (where he wishes to end his life), but he survived and he walked back home. He then went to a water tower that he used to climb with his friends when he was young and jumped off it. But, even after that, he survived.

With all the cuts and bruises on his body, he walked back to his old house. 

And surprisingly, he found his mother there. 

He spent the whole day with his mother, accompanying her to meet with her 3 customers, which held a very significant role in their life.

It seems that, " When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times"

He get his one last day with his mother, and his mother helped him get back to his feet.

For more detailed story, do read it yourself.

"One day spent with someone you love can change everything"

Bookworm Gee. Ciao.

November Rain

Wink wink!

Hello November people! :)

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Mr October has packed his bag and leave us all.. and he will come again next year for his yearly visit.

So, we lefted with two more months before Christmas Day and New year..

Time sure is moving fast and in a blink it's gonna be new year again. :)

For this time being, I want to forget about the future and look back at the past for a bit..

Last October would be nice except for the surgery posting exam.

 I screwed my papers and probably would need to repeat the papers on next posting. *Sigh*

What to do. Things happened and all I can say is let bygone be bygone and brace up for the worst case scenario. >.<

And after exam, we have a week of holiday.. and....

Initially, I've listed down a number of things to do on this holiday...

Well.. all the while I were studying for last paper's exam, I will get random ideas of what to do on the coming holiday..

But, as per usual, not all things goes as planned.. and yeah.. memang banyak janji janji palsu toward own self.. *Facpalm*

Lemme just list down some of things that I planned to do this holiday.

1. Register for a driving class

2. Bake a cake

3. Finished my novels

4. Study for coming medicine posting

And out of the four: I have yet to accomplish one. *Facepalm* again.

I failed in registering myself in a driving class as I have no one to send me to the academy, as the only brother that I can depend on is busy with his work. *sigh*

I kinda pushed myself for this for the past few weeks because I will start working next year and knowing the busy life of my chosen career, it will be hard for me to not own my own transport. But, memandangkan tidak berjaya, what to do lah.. I will try again next holiday. Hehehe

Bake a cake.

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I had been postponing this plan ever since last Last holiday.

I was planning to bake cupcakes at first but after seeing Sis Stella baked a cheesecake, I was motivated to make one too. Then, just before holiday, she made a chocolate fondant, and it was tempting too.

So, I was juggling the 3 choices in my head and at last minute I decided to make the choc fondant!

I prepared all the things needed to make the awesome cake and will start on the Choco fondant project tomorrow. Yeah! So, this is confirmed to be accomplish punya mission. Hehe

Novels oh novels..

Well, I left 4 of my novels at home to prevent me from reading it over the medical books last holiday.

Now that I have the time to do so, I hope that I can finish at least one of it.

I'm half way through 'Beautiful Chaos'. 4 more days before class start, I can do this!

Yeay! :)

Study for coming medicine posting??

Uh oh.

*Smile*

Yeap. Haven't do so yet. hee..

4 more days of holiday.

Good luck mi self in accomplishing the missions!

Signing out..~ ET

Anne Frank: She was one of a kind

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" ... in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. 

I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. 

I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquilty will return again." - Anne Frank

Found this quotation on the net and decided to share it with you guys. I read her book, Diary of a young girl by Anne Frank  many years ago and although I can't remember the details of her story, I still remember how her story affect me. It was a good read and highly recommended for those book lover out there. :)

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A lil bio of Anne:

Anne Frank (1929 - 1945), Dutch Jewish diarist; born in Germany. Diary of a Young Girl, entry dated July 15, 1944 (1947)

USHMM.org

Frank and her family were hiding in Holland when she wrote this. On August 4, their hiding place would be raided by the police, and they would be sent to German and Dutch concentration camps. All of them except Otto Frank, the father, would perish; Anne died in Bergen-Belsen, a German camp, just two months before the liberation of Holland.

USHMM.org

Source: in_spite_of_everything_I_still_believe. (n.d.) Columbia World of Quotations. Retrieved June 15, 2012, from Dictionary.com

http://quotes.dictionary.com/in_spite_of_everything_I_still_believe

Book Reviews: Beautiful Chaos

Hello!

Sorry for the long absent.

My latest possesion! *Grin*

The third book from the Beautiful Creature series!

I had the first and second book, and buying the third series seems like a must when you possess the first and second part of the story.

I had been planning to buy this book with my 1 Malaysia Book vouchers, but the book was magically hidden when I had the vouchers  and mysteriously appears only after I spend all of it. *Sigh*

So.. In the end, I still need to spend extra money for it. 

But! But..

Since the book was in my 'must have' book list, I bought it anyway without any bad conscience. 

And I was pretty much lucky as Popular was having sales on the day that I decided to adopt this novel back home. :)

Rebate 20% for member. Woots!

The original price was RM36.95, and I was only charged with RM29.55 after the discount.

Saved RM7.39 on it. <3

A lil review on the series~

Ethan has been living his whole lives in the small town of Gatlin, from which he wished he could escape from. However, his once dull live changed when a girl moves into his town and school. The girl, Lena is a caster (The one possess power, including the vampire, werewolf and etc). Ethan was in love with her and a magical connection soon developed between them. 

In the caster world, there was the dark and also light forces. And each of the caster power will be determined when they are 17 years old. So, this Lena is going to be 17th soon and the story is mainly about Lena trying to discover herself out and Ethan in discovering the secret laid underneath the 'dull' town. And also the journey and adventures they went through to prevent her from falling to the dark force. 

<3 <3

Thats it! I'm gonna spend my day lazying in my cozy room reading this! 

Will blog again soon. see ya. :)