The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando

Every time I see this in random book blogs that I'm following, my attention is always drawn. I like books like this! I mean, I know it's not a revolutionary monumental literature but it has something that satisfies me. Fun. Adventure. Wit. Drama. Friendship. Life.

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Mary Gilhooley and her tentatively named group of "Also-Rans" joins the annual scavenger hunt held for high school seniors by the previous winner.

She is graduating high school and soon leaving for D.C. (it's where she's going to college). After losing the slot for Georgetown to Carson (a jock who got in instead of the nerd), Mary wants to prove that it's just circumstantial that her life seems suck-erish (at least in her own perspective).

She's willing to do everything to win and take the Yeti (yes, the trophy is some sort of a Yeti figurine) with her to D.C. and not let it go to Georgetown with Carson.

And with all the drama going around. 

The love of her life, the boy she's been secretly in love with since the beginning of high school is rumored to break-up with his current girlfriend. Why? Is it because he has developed feelings for Mary? Also, why is her best girl friend Winter acting weird?

Her best friend Patrick is getting more and more confident in expressing his love for her. How will Mary turn him down?

Will they succeed the hunt with all these major drama?

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Okay, I did a minimalist kind of review. There is so much more that I want to share and believe me, it's not for the sake of being a total spoiler but because this blog is not called loexiebooksummaries for a reason.

I just completely immersed myself with this interesting novel. It's very hip if you ask me. The way it was crafted was with much thought.

I loved Dez. I loved the Yeti. I loved Leticia Farrice. I loved every character! It makes me want to participate into something as cool, traditional and well-thought as the scavenger hunt in the book. One of the many books I wish they turn into a movie.

This book is so light. Very amusing and fast-paced. I don't think I really have anything bad to say about it because my objective was to kill time and I wouldn't have it any other YA. I didn't want to be too emotionally shaken. And so, everybody happy.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

When hearing the title or seeing the orange butterfly, I always get the idea that this book is some teeny-bopper love story. It wasn't. This book has been making waves and I just had to see what it's about for my sake. I was entranced. I was thrilled. I was melancholic. I was in love. I was hopeful. I was devastated. It made me feel too much and that's why it deserves the Michael Printz award/stamp.

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 Gemma Toombs, her mom and her dad are in Bangkok Airport. They are about to catch their next flight to their next destination. It's a school vacation and they're traveling the world to buy and sell paintings. Her mom is a curator while her dad is a stockbroker. They come from London.

Gemma decides to stray away from her parents for a while to get coffee. In the small coffee shop at the airport, she notices this attractive-looking guy who's been following her around in their recent trips. He has this air of familiarity in him but she can't really point out what it is.

When she looks for money in her purse, she realizes that she's short then the mystery guy volunteers to pay for it. They sit together at the same table and talked. The guy's name is 'Ty'.

Our protagonist gets dizzy. Ty leads her around the airport. There are several happenings in between; Ty changed her clothes, he feeds her this cream-filled chocolates, she was dragged around in different airports and then she was zipped and locked inside a suitcase.

When she regains consciousness, she realizes she's in the middle of a red desert where there's no civilization. She immediately develops this huge amount of hatred towards her captor, Ty.

She realizes she's in Australia. She tried to escape several times and Ty never fails to come to her rescue.

Ty addresses his love for her. Gemma is disgusted and confused.

One day she gets bitten by a snake and the only way for her to survive is to get to civilization.

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If you don't want to be genuinely sad for no reason but the story of this book, don't read this.

There's always this effect of being emotionally invested when we encounter beautiful broken characters. I have got the chills from this Tyler MacFarlane dude, you know! But like Gemma, I loved him too. I was ripped. I don't know if I like him better to be saved or locked up. Fortunately, the heroine did the right thing. The author did the right thing with this story!

It made me think who was really crazy. If a person is brought up in a certain way and was made to think like he does from experience, I don't really consider them to be crazy. I think Gemma was the crazy one, she always felt like she needed to go when going wasn't really a choice. She could have been smarter from the very start and used his feelings against him. I don't really blame her anyway. 

He loved her too much that he kept her for himself but he loved her enough to let her live even if it meant letting her go and sacrificing his freedom.

The part where I'm totally decided that this book is unfathomably too good for any adjective:

  "But I'll tell them of your other side too. The side I saw sometimes when you spoke softly to the camel and when you gently touched the leaves of the saltbush; only taking what you needed. And the times you rescued me. I will tell them how you chose prison rather than let me die. Because you did, didn't you? You knew, right from when that snake bit me it was all over. When I asked you to stay with me on the plane, you did it knowing you were turning yourself in. And I am grateful, Ty, don't get me wrong. But I gave up my life for you too, once... back in Bangkok Airport. And I had no choice.

Wifey by Judy Blume

Bought from BOOKSALE for 60pesos. As I started reading, I thought to myself... "WTH! I thought Judy Blume was on the Young Adult genre?!"

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Sandy is an unhappy New Jersey upper-class housewife. She is one of those girls who is brought up to marry more so likely for convenience than love.

One day, a boy riding in a motorcycle stopped in front of her house and jerked off. Sandy called the police immediately. The police thought Sandy was just having a wild imagination but called her back a few days after to confirm some evidence they found.

Sandy's husband Norman is your typical elitist country-club-lovin' man. He pushes Sandy real hard to go into the sports he's interested in like tennis and golf. He accuses her of being depressed because their two kids are at camp for the summer and that they're growing up.

Sandy doesn't like her husband anymore because he is insensitive and demanding. Their sex life is not going on very well and she wants more.

A few more times of the mystery guy calling on the phone, visiting and jerking off and the rest of the story zooms in on Sandy sleeping around with her sister's husband then her best friend's husband and then her first love, Shep.

Before they move houses to Watchung, she takes their dog to the vet. She sees the motorcycle helmet of the vet, a stripes and stars design, similar to the mystery jerk-off maniac.

She and Norman talks about their plans for the future.

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At the beginning of the story, I had so much sympathy for Sandy. She has so much to bear and there's no one looking after her. She receives not enough love from her husband. But after everything, when the book is nearing to the end, I kind of switched sides with Norman.

Norman was right. She has nothing to complain about. Their life is perfect! It's just her insecurities working. She felt that she wasn't loved the right way so she went to bed with the whole town? She single-handedly ruined every marriage of the people she cares about, especially her own marriage. Her sister and her best friend does not know and the only person Norman knew she slept with was Shep.

In the end, Norman forgives her and he promises to try to lick her down there just like she said Shep did.

UNBELIEVABLE!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I remembered my mom telling me that this was one of her favorite books. If I'm not mistaken we were on a plane ride home (to which country I don't remember, both are home to me). So when I had the chance to download it from iBooks, i did!

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The story revolves around Elizabeth Bennet and her family. The time and setting is on the turn of the 19th century in England. The Bennet family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty and Mary.

One day, a gentleman, his best friend and his sister arrives in town. Mr. Bingley, a rich man just bought an estate nearby and will be attending the ball from which most of town will be attending as well. He meets Jane Benett. Jane is described as the most beautiful of the Bennet sisters.

While Jane and Mr. Bingley danced two times, Mr. Darcy on the other hand rejected to dance with Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet was so proud of Jane, she starts spreading gossip that her daughter is about to marry soon. Elizabeth expresses hatred towards Mr. Darcy because of his seemingly arrogant manners.

Jane is invited to Mr. Bingley's estate but because of the rain and the refusal of Mrs. Bennet to lend her a carriage, she fell ill riding a horse and was soaked in rainwater. Mrs. Bennet couldn't be more delighted of the incident as Mr. Bingley insists on Jane staying while she's sick. Worried sister Elizabeth came to her sister's rescue and soon she's invited to stay as well.

Jane gets better and they all come home safely. Mr. Bingley and his crew soon leaves town and modest Jane is left pretending that she's fine when she herself thought that Mr. Bingley liked her as much as she did.

Mr. Bennet's clergyman cousin Mr. Collins arrives, he is the heir to Mr. Bennet's estate. Mr. Collins decided to marry one of the Bennet sisters. He is left with the choice to marry Elizabeth. Elizabeth refuses him and soon he marries Charlotte Lucas, a family friend.

Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy again when she was invited by Charlotte and Mr. Collins to visit their home. Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, asks her hand in marriage but she refuses it as there are a lot of things about Mr. Darcy that she needs to know about.

 Mr. Wickham had spread tales about Mr. Darcy that were incriminating. Also, Elizabeth knew that it was Mr. Darcy that discouraged the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley.

Are the accusations true? Is Mr. Darcy a horrible arrogant man? Then why has Lydia run away... with Mr. Wickham! Who fixes it all? Will there be any marriage happening for the Bennet sisters?

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I'm in love with this classic. I just love how conservative it was. It isn't just a romance novel. It's got everything you could call out on every family, friends, community and society. It deliberately serves the readers the egos of every character. My time was not wasted, I thought I'd hate classics like this. I was wrong.

Dare to Love by Jaci Burton

I am so ashamed that I've started reading romance novels like this.

Oh well.

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Lucy Fairchild is the heiress to her father's prominent law firm. She comes from the "elite" and when she meets Jake Dalton, a construction worker with big dreams, her life will take a swift turn of events.

But her father does not approve. There is someone else he'd like for her to marry. Alexander Sheldon, a successful man much like the Fairchild's is very much interested in marrying Lucy.

Who will Lucille "Lucy" Fairchild choose?

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I didn't really like this book. It was too cliche and unbelievable (in a bad way). It lacked depth and meaning. It was like it was there to take someone away just for the sake of taking someone away.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I have always wanted to read this book. Alas! Now, I have.

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Hadley Sullivan is forced to take a flight across the ocean to attend a wedding she never dreamed being a part of. To attend a wedding of her father and his new wife.

She arrives at the airport 4 minutes late and missed her plane. And so she signs up for the next one.

While waiting, she meets this cute Brit boy named Oliver who's incidentally on the same flight and seat row.

They bonded real well in the plane on the way to London. They got to know each other, their problems with their dysfunctional families.

Will they ever meet again? Why is Oliver carrying a suit with him? Is he attending a wedding too? Or worse, a funeral? Will Hadley survive the wedding since she hates her father for just leaving them for his new love?

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I'm not going to lie, I'm a real sucker for the romantic. Though I wasn't satisfied with the plot (maybe I just wanted more exaggerations or something more dramatic? Ugh. What's wrong with me?). I must say that I very much enjoyed reading this one.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I cannot believe I bought this book months ago, I mean "months ago", really. And just left it there in that corner of my shelf to perish (metaphorically, of course) and collect dust.

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As you dive into the magical universe of this novel, you'll get dazzled with every cinematic moments it will put you through.

This is a story of two people competing, two people who are put against each other. The objective of the game is endurance. Not who's better. No verdict either by their mentors, the victory lies within who remains fighting.

But, there is no actual fight. No, this novel isn't about violence.

It is about magic.

Prospero the Enchanter (stage name) or Hector Bowen, received a package. It wasn't a typical package. It was his 5-year-old daughter, Celia.

Celia got his natural talent in magic and soon Hector was up to another challenge of dueling students of his own against a student of his friend Alexander.

Hector is so sure he will win this time, why not when it's from his own flesh and blood.

Alexander went to an orphanage (though not really described as an orphanage in the book but rather an institution of some sort) and he picked a boy whose name is Marco.

The duel is set in a circus.

Le Cirque de Reves (The Circus of Dreams) is propagated by Chandresh Christophe Lefevre. Chandresh hired the perfect set of like-minded people in terms of aesthetic production.

Marco and Celia got themselves hired soon enough and soon enough as well they create tent after tent of magic full of mystique.

But how long will this battle go on? How long do people around not notice what's happening and when they do, are they safe from it? How long can Marco and Celia hold on?

Read it if you dare to be devoured completely.

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As I've said before in twitter, such sophisticated literature this book is. Very cinematic. Very passionate without it having too much graphical provocativeness. It is sensual in the classiest manner.

One thing I know about passion, be it love or hatred, if you restrain it... it gets nothing but stronger.

I love it. I love Chandresh, I think he is gay. Tsukiko is also a lesbian, I guess. Such unique characters, all very different but they seem to be treating each other like family, in a sense.

If you ask me, Mr. Barris and Tara Burgess gets married eventually.

I had fun being the reader, the one who enters Le Cirque de Reves in the book and exiting it with a card on my hand with Bailey as the captain of this beautiful dream.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I am actually quite ashamed to say it but I am a Harry-Potter-book-series virgin! There, I said it. PHEW!

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Harry Potter, a boy whose parents are killed by a dark wizard named Voldemort is left to his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon Dursley's care.

Growing up with such horrible mother and father figures together with a spoiled bully as a cousin, Harry's life was nothing but discouraging and sad.

One day, he receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Rubeus Hagrid picks him up from his mean family and acquainted him better to the world of wizards.

Being already famous as the boy who survived the Dark Lord's attack, he had already made friends before entering Hogwarts.

In Hogwarts, he got into the Gryffindor House, which is what he wanted. He familiarized himself with the teachers and Albus Dumbledore, the school headmaster.

Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione involved themselves too much with the Sorcerer's Stone that has been kept hidden within Hogwarts. Someone wants to steal it and only Harry can protect it before it might be too late.

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Nothing beats a good book about a revered hero, some excellent company of characters and a lot of magic!

Ligo na u, Lapit na me by Eros S. Atalia

Sa wakas at nabasa ko na din. Kainis lang dahil hindi pala ito ang unang libro, trilogy pala at the moment ang buhay ni Karl Vladimir Lennon J. Villalobos. So kung hahangarin ko man maging historian ng fictional life nitong lalakeng 'toh, hahalughugin ko pa ang National Bookstore sa buong Metro Manila makabili lang ako ng kopya.

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Ito ang college life ni Intoy (si Karl Vladimir Lennon J. Villalobos). Nag-aaral siya sa UST at dito niya nakilala ang kauna-unahang babaeng nagpa-ibig sakaniya, si Jen (Jennifer Evangelista ayon sa movie version ni Direk Erick Salud).

May kangkangan-portion-mala-Friends with Benefits-kind of friendship sila ni Jen. Para bang Prestige card holder ka ng SM Malls, imbis na 'yung ordinary Advantage Card lang. Ginagawa nila ito pero hindi sila, may agreement na beforehand na walang inlove-an.

Biglang ginulpe-de-gulat ni Jen itong bida natin na siya ay buntis at hindi si Intoy ang ama!

Biglang nawala si Jen, hindi na nagpakita o nagparamdam. Ano ang nangyari? Basahin ang libro!

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Natuwa ako sa witty narrations ni Mr. Atalia. Nauna ata itong book niya bago ang hollywood movie ni Mila Kunis at JT. Wow ha, copyright infringement. Hehehe

Mabuhay ang contemporary Philippine literature!

BLOGS NG PINOY

Party by Tom Leveen

I cannot stress to you how good this book is. This, my friend, is my type of book! BOOKSALE has been a real sweetheart to me, got this for only 60pesos. Read it last night, slept, woke-up, read it some more, had lunch then finished it just a little while ago. It's 1:30PM right now.

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11 high school students, all going to this end of the school year party. Different reasons, different goals.

1. Beckett:

A troubled pasty girl who is rather shy and keeps to herself. She plans on going to the party to see if anyone recognizes her. She's going to the party for a last goodbye. You see, Beckett is planning on dropping her senior year and just work for a living. She's been living by herself for 5 months now. Her mother dead due to cancer, her father left earlier when her mom was still alive. This party is her last chance of redeeming her teenage life she deserved to have.

2. Morrigan:

Your typical teenage girl who is mischievous and got a lot of angst towards her parents. Except, she has deeper issues with them than the others. Her parents don't quite know how to make Morrigan feel loved and taken care of. It's the reason why she does a lot of her naughty antics, to catch their attention. This night of party is an opportunity to mess with her parents once more. She sneaked out of her bedroom through her bedroom window and had her BFF Ashley pick her up. With her parental issues and an ex-boyfriend who doesn't want to sleep with her, this night will indeed be a long one for Morrigan.

3. Tommy:

He and his group of five. They're all about brotherhood and having their backs for each other. Tommy is looking forward for the time of his life tonight. This party means everything to him but one of his bro Josh who is killing the vibe by being all depressed and stuff is making them agitated. Josh was dumped by Morrigan because he doesn't want to have sex with her yet. He wants it to be special and though he doesn't drink or smoke, he never bothered the gang with lectures about it. He's cool like that. So whatever happens, Tommy and the boys will have to look out for Josh.

4. Brent:

Skater boy, that's who Brent is. He and his best friend Max already graduated high school and this party is their last chance to see everyone before having their lives figured out either by college or work. Excited for the party, he is quite annoyed by Max's enthusiasm and decision to finally talk to his 3-year crush, Beckett. The decision was solely made after Max having his 13th cup of coffee that was free from his Lucky 13! promo card, you drink 12 cups of coffee and the last one is free. The night was rendered special and it couldn't be any more annoying to Brent for his best friend had 3 years and instead he relies it now to the last night of high school.

5. Daniel:

One of the 5. At the party, Daniel's goal was just to have a good time but the drama unfolds in front of him. His boys keeping a watchful eye on Josh, a possible catfight between Ashley and Beckett & drunk Morrigan yelling to her parents on the phone. Everything of that and more, all the while checking Ashley out.

6. Azize:

His name pronounced as ah-zeez, an Arab boy from Turkey whose family migrated to America is working his last shift at the pizzeria. He is a good student and a hard-worker. Of course, as any of the teenagers in the vicinity, his plan was to go to the party too. Being different made it hard for him to make friends with anybody but this night, he is hopeful. But then he got himself into something awful at the party, Anthony, a popular school jock attacked him for no logical reason.

7. Ryan:

Another dude from the gang of 5. Ryan is the player of the group. He sleeps with everybody, that is his reputation. After having sex with Bethany who is said to be fat, he lay in the bed naked and alone for a while. A few minutes later, Morrigan arrives throwing herself at him. He refuses with all his might but Josh enters the room and it paints a very different picture. Soon enough, Ryan is facing this dilemma with Josh.

8. Anthony:

Anthony, very good with his sport but the last few seasons were a failure. He's at this party with a clouded mind. His brother just arrived from the army, his brother was amputated. The situation made Anthony depressed. Taking swigs on the bottle of Jack Daniels his friend Morrigan brought, he then became violent. He went on and picked a fight with Azize. Blaming the Arabians for what happened to his brother. When Azize was very much injured, something in him says that he should make things right.

9. Josh:

After seeing Ryan and Morrigan in a very vulgar position, he went out and left the party. Josh who is very enraged is starting to lose control. Unusual events on the road unravel but the very point of this scenario is he just really wants to know if it's definitely over between him and her or if he still has a chance because he would do anything to have her back except have sex.

10. Max:

Max who tried to stop the fight between Anthony and Azize is now sitting a little far away from the party. Losing hope on seeing Beckett arrive at the party, a voice suddenly speaks to him while the cops and the ambulance arrived. His best friend Brent told him that 13 is an unlucky number but now he's sure that it don't work on him that way.

11. Ashley:

Blonde and cute, that's Ashley. Her night is a total hassle because she had to take care of drunken Morrigan and make sure she gets home safely and that eliminates the idea of her having fun and getting drunk herself. This night she finally have the chance to ask Beckett why she never kept in touch with her and Anthony for the past couple years.

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I just love things that intertwine. People will have the sense of familiarity as the story goes on with every character. I cannot fathom how good this book really is. I love it very much.

The characters were so genuine. I believed every bit of their tale, flaws and desires. I liked every one of them too. Wow. They all seem to be good people despite their group of friends or issues. I think maybe we are all good people in this world that are just tainted badly of our problems.

I have nothing else to say but hunt this book down and READ IT!

Suck it Up by Brian Meehl

The story is about Morning McCobb, a 16-year-old orphan who's accidentally turned into a vampire. He was then abducted by his kind and enrolled at Leaguer Academy, a vampire boarding school in the mountains managed by the President of the International Vampire League (Luther Birnam).

Upon graduation, a student is assigned to a random vampire couple living life normally in civilized society.

When Morning was about to pursue his only desire to read every comic book in the world and live boringly with his designated couple, Mr. Birnam gave him an option he can't refuse.

With his physical looks that screams geek with nerd as the big side dish, he was a potential living-life-in-the-open vampire. Luther Birnam's goal was to have a chance for the vampires to live with respect and recognition.

After Morning agreed to the idea, they went to New York City to find the sought-after publicist of the freaks, Penny Dredful.

He ended up staying with Mrs. Dredful. Penny's aspiring journalist daughter Portia who was unwelcoming to Morning found a way to enter a film school scholarship by exploiting every detail of Morning's journey in a documentary.

Will Birnam's plan work? Will Portia's evil scheme succeed? How will the Loner vampires who live by the old ways react? Will vampires ever live with humans in harmony? 

Well, only you can find out. Right?

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I wasn't really impressed by the book although in summary or book reviews, it sounds so interesting and full of awesomeness. I guess this one's really for the boy readers? I don't know.

Some might enjoy this, I'm pretty sure. But not me. Something about it is off. It's not that it's not convincing, if Twilight convinced you, anything will. It's the narration, maybe? Lack of depth of the characters or plot flaws?

Anyway, this is my first review since the last and here's to hoping the next one's my kind of book.

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

I don't know how I got into erotic fiction but UGH. Just one time, I've read a tweet about this book and now, here we are.

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Eva Tramell goes to her first day of work at the Crossfire building. She meets Gideon Cross, the very hot and sexy owner of the Crossfire empire.

Since then on, like in the Fifty Shades of Grey, the relentless pursuit for one another began.

And their love story began from a hot steamy sex.

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I'm not really in the mood to review this one because it's an exact copycat of Fifty Shades. The characters were just altered!!!

I'm a bit confused and disappointed because while the Fifty Shades Trilogy were a fanfic of Twilight, Bared to You is the fanfic of the Fifty Shades Trilogy. Though this one is a better version because there were no "beating", I didn't feel the point of Eva and Gideon.

Because they suddenly loved each other and were oh so serious to the ends of the world JUST BECAUSE of that one-time limo sex.

Shallow.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This was my first ever John Green book and since then my life mission was to read every John Green book there is. This book by far is the best.

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Hazel Grace Lancaster, a girl with cancer goes to support group in the basement of an episcopal cross-shaped church.

She meets Augustus Waters. The very attractive, sexy, intelligent boy who seems to be mesmerized by her as well.

They gradually became close. Even shared their favorite books.

When Augustus learns that Hazel already spent her "Wish" for a trip to Disneyland, he uses his for a trip to Amsterdam, Holland. They went there to meet the author of Hazel's favorite book.

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I just really want to end my review like that. This might seem like a poor review but this is all I can muster. I'm currently in a coma of emotion. The book is so amazing. I've never read something so inspiring yet so depressing. The effect of this book is so magnanimous, I literally got sick. I've had the flu.

Anyway, I really recommend this book. Words will never be enough to express such awesome masterpiece. I will forever keep this book because I want the next of 30 generations of me to read it.

It's Not that Complicated: Bakit hindi pa sasakupin ng mga Alien ang Daigdig sa 2012 by Eros S. Atalia

Tagalog ang libro kaya nararapat lang na Tagalog din ang book review, diba?

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Kwento ito ni Intoy(or Karl, or Dude) na iniwan ng ka-Friends with Benefits niyang si Jen. Etong ating bida, nainlab pala talaga kay Jen. Tapos, biglang nawala si Jen sa buhay niya. Ni ha ni ho, wala. At matapos ang isang taon, hindi pa din talagang tuluyang naka-move on itong si Karl.

Hanggang sa nagpasama itong si Tina sakaniya sa SSA(Sunday School Atheists) para sa ginagawa nitong thesis. Si Tina ang babaeng type ng boss ng boss ni Karl at ito rin ang dahilan kaya natanggap siya sa advertising company na tinatrabahuhan nila.

Si Tina ang ubod ng ganda, ubod ng puti at ubod ng sungit na babaeng pinapantasya sa opisina pero kinakatakutan din. Bitch nga ang tawag sakaniya dito.

Pero teka, bakit parang madaming pinapahiwatig itong si Tina kay Karl? Bakit parang nagugustuhan na niya si Tina, eh diba si Jen nga talaga forever and ever? At bakit bigla siyang isasama ni Tina sa Boracay?

Hep, hep, hep! Basahin ang libro. Haha.

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Gusto ko sanang ihalintulad ang librong ito sa Fifty Shades Trilogy dahil sa sobrang dami ng sex at very mature nga ang libro. Kung mababasa ito ng magulang ko, hindi ako papayagan siguro. Pero para ikumpara ko ang mga librong iyon sa librong ito ni Ka-Eros, eh parang nambabastos naman na yata ako sa lagay na iyon.

Ang librong ito ay madaming pinaparating na aral para sa henerasyon ngayon. Ang Henerasyong Artipisyal. Pati pag-ibig, nagiging artificial. Nagiging makabuluhan ang lahat ng bagay at pangyayari kung palagi kang magpapakatotoo. Iyon ang natutunan ko.

Bukod sa aral, nakakatawa talaga! Promise! I swear! Hanggang ngayon, trap pa din ako sa mundo ni Karl, Tina at Jen. Sige na nga, Mang Andoy, Benson at Mang Pedro na rin.

P.S. Para sakin na-inlove din si Tina kay Karl. At oo, virgin pa siya. At oo, mas gusto ko na sila nalang sana nagkatuluyan.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

As I've said on twitter, I live for literature like Jellicoe Road!

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Jellicoe Road is a story of 17-year-old Taylor Lily Markham who goes to a boarding school in Jellicoe. As the seniors of their school graduates, she was suddenly chosen as the next leader of all the six Houses within their school.

Being the new leader, she now has to follow through traditions. Every year, a territorial war among the Townies and Cadets occurs.

With her best friends Raffaela and Ben(also a leader of one of the six Houses), she faces every negotiation the three camps should resolve.

As the story builds up, she discovers one by one this big past that affects everyone especially herself. Why did her mother left her at 7/11 on Jellicoe Road? Why Jonah Griggs backed out on her 3 years ago when they had the chance? Her true feelings for the new leader of the Cadets. Who really is Hannah(the lady who picked her up from 7/11)? And what are these manuscripts Hannah wrote? Is it real and what is its relevance to everything? Last but not the least, who started this tradition of territorial wars?

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You probably now have an inkling as to where the story will lead you to, with my incessant questioning I doubt you don't.

One thing that will really capture you when reading this book is the warmth of friendship it tries to convey. It is so real to the point that you wish it were true or that you are one of the characters. I love the plot, the storyline, it's all amazing. Original. I have never really encountered something like Jellicoe Road in terms of structure. The structure of this one is flawless. Everything and everyone, they're all connected.

It makes me wish I live in a small town that has a road that's similar to Jellicoe. All the memories and friendship are its very treasure. Friends are the people you can always count on when you doubt yourself and a place where everyone's somehow connected is heaven.

Killing Britney by Sean Olin

This is a story about Britney Johnson who's just been coping from the death of her mother. With a troubled boy named Adam her father opened their home to, death of more people in Britney's life has begun.

First her boyfriend.

Next, Karl Brown.

Next, best friend Melissa Brown.

Then, her father.

Who could the killer be? Is it Bobby Plumley, the boy who's still so obsessed with her? Is it Adam? Or is it someone else?

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A thriller book. It was irritating and annoying how the plot deliberately misleads one. It was fun, still. But I won't read it again.

Diana v. Charles by James Whitaker

First published in 1993. This book must have made a big sensation in the UK back then. It sure made Mr. Whitaker a rich man as well. Also, this might have been pricey in the early 90's but not to me at this present. Got it for only 60pesos at BOOKSALE!

To the more nerdy side of me, I would like you to know that besides obsession with books, I'm also obsessed with monarchy and royals. My first royal biography read was Andrew Morton's Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words (Completely Revised Edition) which I also got from BOOKSALE.

James Whitaker is the very ruthless and demanding royal reporter. Here, in this book he fearlessly retells all of his knowledge between the marriage of both Your Highnesses. This was the time when Princess Di was still alive. I must say, the facts inside at times were biased to the Princess but nonetheless they were true. I believe them.

It's a pretty good book to read if you're such a geek like me and the lessons it might teach you is invaluable. Plus, we can see in here how the Palace works at times of desperation. Either ways, this book is a must read for royal fanatics out there!

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

In the last of the trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed starts with the middle of the honeymoon. The couple traveled around Europe then got back to their lives as newlyweds in the real world.

Ana had a conflict with Christian because of her decision to keep Steele as her last name.

Ray gets into an accident.

Anastasia discovers she's pregnant and Christian was very shocked and mad.

Mia was kidnapped by Jack and Ana will do something heartbreaking in order to save her sister-in-law.

Will she survive? Will the baby survive? Will Christian accept to be a father?

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It's very hypocritical now if I say this wasn't worth my time. I read it through the very end, obviously there's something. Though I might agree to some bloggers who said that Ana's character who seemed to be against materialism is somewhat materialistic in reality. She loved the luxury. I mean, who doesn't?

The character build-up is contradicting, that's all.

Every reader here knows that Christian Grey was the reason, to the very end, he was why. He was why people stuck to reading this. He was the kind of lover women wanted. Though a real Christian Grey might not be as desirable in reality as in the book, we needed Anastasia as guinea pig to get us through the romantic parts. 

He was the right kind of tool James had to create for the hopelessly loveless. He was perfect because he had it all. The character had the power to make Ana feel so much wanted, the audience felt so much wanted as well. Ana didn't have to be such a bland character, she was made for everyone to relate to. For every girl to be Ana while reading it. I wanted much more out of her. It lost its touch.

You can't presume readers to believe that there's an intelligent 21-year-old virgin who is said to be very beautiful and surrounded by suitors, works in a hardware store and doesn't have a laptop or a cellphone. And honestly, besides the 3-time divorced mom and a step-dad Ana's still emotionally attached to, the first sentence before this one are the only facts you will ever know about Anastasia Steele.

The ending of this one was left hanging by the author. We'll see but I doubt it. 

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

In the first book of the trilogy (Fifty Shades of Grey), Christian has pushed Ana too far. Ana decides to break-up with Christian and the story continues to the next.

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Five days after the break-up and Ana is very much depressed. Having lost a lot of weight and all, she needs to get on with her life and work.

Upon going to her first day of internship at SIP, she receives an e-mail from Christian regarding their plan to go to Jose's exhibit. Ana is alarmed since she has no choice of transportation in order to attend. She accepts Christian's plan and they meet.

After the exhibit, they have dinner and talk about their relationship. Christian Grey wants to get back together and try again.

Alas, they did get back together. With Grey's past and demons unraveling before Anastasia's eyes, she remains with him.

Christian proposes and the life of their marriage lies on to the next, Fifty Shades Freed.

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I don't know what to say about this Fifty Shades Trilogy. At least with the Twilight Saga, the world Stephenie made is new, original, exciting and full of history. With this one, it's pure romance and sensation. Because of too much love, the characters lose their good judgement. I think any sane reader will agree to that. If the guy's too jealous and possessive and wants to beat the shit out of you(which is stated in the book), I'm sure as hell that's not love.

I know that the emotional side of Christian Grey is to be considered as to how you judge his new venture with love for Anastasia, but it's NOT sending a positive message to the people who'll be reading.

I guess this is definitely one of those that you'd read, just to get over with it.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Wow. This book's phenomena is certainly not surprising. As a teenager, I'm not very proud that I've read it. My parents would never have allowed me to. But I was curious. I have my book-lover friends who've read the whole trilogy and they loved it! I just gotta get on this bandwagon.

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Anastasia Steele interviews the very rich, powerful, young and handsome Christian Grey for the university newspaper as her best friend Katherine Kavanagh can't make it due to flu.

The very first meet and they're both set on fire.

A few more meetings, either by chance or intentional, they enjoyed each other's company very well.

But it has its downsides.

Grey offers Ana a contract she finds very disturbing. A contract of commitment. One she definitely must refuse but can't.

This broken and beautiful man, a damaged past, is violent in sex. He is not capable of love.

Or is he?

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This is the adult version of Twilight, I mean seriously. Every bit of detail in the romance genre minus the vulgar and salacious sex, is Edward and Bella. Even Mia, Christian's sister, also like Alice!

What the book lacked on originality atoned on the sensation. You can't help but wish that somehow somewhere, Christian Grey has a heart. The ending of this book, my my, any reader would want to read the next immediately.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Such a timeless book. To think, it was 1993 when this book was first published, 2years before I was born! And what a sensation it has put me through!

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With Jonas as the protagonist, the story starts anticipating the month of December. In this artificial universe, every December is the birthday of every children. From the first year where they name each baby(Naming, as they call it) and hand them one by one to a Family Unit up to the age of 12-years-old where the annual recognition of growth stops, this community celebrates for two days with such glee at the Auditorium.

When Elevens turns to Twelves, each child is given their official niche in society. Jonas starts worrying what role he will get because there's none particular that he's much invested in.

The December he's been waiting for has finally arrived. Led by the lady Chief Elder, the transitions of ages went on. After Jonas' lively and animated best friend Asher received his badge as Assistan Director of Recreation and sweet and gentle Fiona(his close friend and crush) assigned as Caretaker of Old People, the Chief Elder seemed to have skipped Jonas out.

At last, after every Eleven has been called, she calls Jonas. She apologizes to the audience and Jonas and went on to explain. Jonas is The Reciever-to-be.

The Reciever's job is to keep every bit of emotion like sadness and agony so the whole community is spared of them and that when things is out-of-order, the wise Reciever is present for instant advice.

Having only one Reciever for each generation, Jonas becomes the apprentice of the current one. Their sessions began and the secret of their world he never knew was made known to him.

He started seeing colors, having intense feelings like love and pain, then he starts to wonder about the credibility of the world he's in.

Jonas was motivated to make a change and right the wrong.

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Having been published since the early 90's, I must say that after reading this one, it's still as new and original to me as any other book I've read. Sure, there are countless similarities to The Hunger Games but that book is younger and that The Giver is still the most demanding of the two.

It demanded so much from me! It made me think. What kind of world it is without hurt and sorrow? What is peace if we don't know war? And the very important one, how does ANYONE live without love?

Lois Lowry is one for the Revolutionary!

Once was Lost by Sara Zarr

This one seemed to have the same paternal character as the last one I read which was Claiming Georgia Tate. Pastors and their preaching! So many stories you could make out of them.

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Samara Taylor, a 15-year-old girl is experiencing a summer that's quite disappointing. Her father Pastor Charlie is busy with church work and her alcoholic mother Laura, is in rehab for her 4-week-program.

Sam is left to fend for herself, with her needs being neglected at home, she deals with it alone. Her situation only worsened when 13-year-old Jody Shaw, a church choir soloist and Sam's friend, went missing. Her father being the pastor has no choice but to be there for the Shaw family every step of the way. He becomes their official spokesperson.

She is left to spend most of her time with best friends Vanessa and Daniel. Eventually, when Pastor Charlie's hectic job severed, she was sent to live with Vanessa's family for a while.

Sam who got more confused and depressed develops doubt to God who she's believed in her whole life.

Will she have her faith back? What is the real intention of Nick Shaw(Jody's bro) towards her? Why is Erin, the youth group leader, so close with her father? When is her mom coming back?

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Judging on the cover, this book was really not what anyone will expect it to be. I thought it was some cutesy teenage love story with lots of kissing and whatnot. I liked this one better than the said misconception.

It's a nice story, is all I can say. There are a few unresolved situations that are very thought-provoking. Like Erin and Pastor Charlie. It makes you think about it, it's annoying how much thought one can have about whatever they were. They were indefinite, it's up to the readers and their morals.

Finished this in less than 8hours and a good book will never be a waste of time.