Black Painted Fingernails by Steven Herrick

The cover and title is so interesting. I think a book with nail polish and a pretty girl involved will lure any teenager to read it.

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James Spalding, naturally stereotyped as the responsible live-to-please-my-parents nerd is on his way to the countryside to fulfill his student teacher job. While he fills up the tank of his Mercedes Benz (parents are rich, dad is a surgeon) at a gasoline station, an attractive-looking girl with Black Painted Fingernails comes up to him and successfully imposes receiving a lift.

Though hesitant at first, James began to unravel the murky details of his hitchhiker's life. As they got to know each other on this incredulous journey of trust and instant romance, clarity soon finds them.

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The book has its moments. A little bit cinematic, with quirky little details injected to some scenes, it is undeniably not just trying to tell a story but making readers contemplate as well.

I appreciate the journey. It may not be the best but it's a good book.

Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

A friend from Vienna (paging Ate Maj) often instagrams Cecelia Ahern books and so I got curious as to why she liked it so much.

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After a 33-year-old woman named Joyce Conway goes through a miscarriage (she lost a lot of blood), she bluntly steers her life around. What she did was, she cut her hair real short, decided to divorce her husband for good and went back to live with her old and forgetful father while she tries to find herself.

Joyce started acquiring memories of Justin Hitchcock.

Justin Hitchcock is a recently divorced man who is giving lectures at a university in Dublin. Though he has a huge phobia of needles, he was successfully coaxed by Dr. Sarah Fields (a co-lecturer and a potential date) to donate blood. He wanted badly to know the very person who benefits from receiving his blood.

When Justin meets Joyce for the first time at the hair salon, there was a very indescribable and strong force that draws her to him.

Through back and forth plane rides from Dublin to London, the story of the illogical pursuit of finding someone you never really knew or met, of finding love, begins.

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You know, I've already read a lot of YA novels who evokes strongly of mature or sensitive content. It just makes me think about this one, a novel whose target audience are of the middle-aged (since the characters are somewhat within that bracket). This book is light, an easy and safe read. How ironic, isn't it?

It was a fine book to pass the time. Although, I was looking for something stark to whisk me away. Still... thanks for the memories Cecelia Ahern!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Well this has been a long-overdue book review. I've been busy with school lately but yes, it's not an excuse because there's always time to read and ergo, to review also.

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In the little town of Henrietta, Virginia is where Blue Sargent and her quirky clairvoyant family lives. Growing up without a father and being the only one in the family without a psychic ability (although she is said to have the special power of intensifying energies around her), Blue battles everyday life with trying "not" to fit in with the world but her family.

Blue has always been warned that her true love will die soon after she kisses him.

Richard "Dick" Campbell Gansey III together with his two best friends Adam Parrish and Ronan Lynch are Aglionby Academy's most adventurous-mystery-addicts. Dick is trying to locate Glendower's (a Welsh king)  remains/whereabouts and wishes to awaken it in exchange of any wish-come-true.

Glendower is said to be located within Henrietta inside its ley line (a pathway of the souls to another place). With that, Dick and his gang bang soon contacts the Sargent's residence to have themselves checked (or asks for help to find the ley line).

And the courageous story of friendship, mystery and maybe love begins!

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A really mindboggling ending. I don't know if I should search the net (I probably will) and see if there are any fortunate beings on this planet who have decoded what it all means.

1. Ronan said he got Chainsaw (pet Raven) in his dreams. How was that possible?

2. Blue and Dick. Are they for real now or what? If they're dating, that would suck, not being able to kiss. Also, how is Adam taking this nugget of fact?

3. And then, what really happened to Adam?!

To each his own and depends on your philosophy.