Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine

I've seen this one at a blog post where it was somewhat captioned... 

"Best YA books you have never read!"

I have a compulsion for things that are wonderful. This book was worth it.

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The setting is in London and the life of Rowan Clark after the death of her beloved brother Jack is told.

A mother that is still depressed, an absent father and a 6-year-old sister named Stroma to take care of, Rowan who suddenly matured goes through life like grace under pressure.

Until one day when a boy gives her something that he insists is hers, the course of her story changes.

That something which she never knew she owned or had is a negative photo of her brother Jack.

Where did that negative film come from? Is her brother sending her a message? Who is this guy who gave her the negative? Where is he from? Who is this new girl in school named Bee?

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Wow, I tried my best to make this review as minimal as it can get. The more you tell all about this story, the more you give away the things readers should get themselves.

My opinion about the book is that the story is constructed in a way that will keep anyone going. It's a good book. Borderline on almost being unrealistic to being a-little-bit-believable, then again what can I say when most of the time truth is stranger than fiction.

I love Stroma! What a cute and precocious little girl. Sorry to the romantics out there but in my opinion, Harper Greene will not come back anymore. My interpretation is that he'll go places, live the dream, meet a lot of girls and all the while still holding Rowan in his heart but never planning to go back. I don't know but I'm just the kind of person who thinks that people who are unattached will always be unattached.

And it is far more romantic to remain where you are, away from the one you once loved who already built a life without you.

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason by Kristine Atkinson & Joyce Atkinson

It was around either 2009 or early 2010 and I found this lost on the Sale table at National Bookstore in SM Southmall. I found out that it wasn't part of the "sale", I got rigged alright. It costs 719pesos! But the book itself seemed so interesting. It was an art and a mystery at the same time, so I bought it anyways.

As the book emphasizes so on the cover, it is indeed a Journal. This is the diary of Amy Zoe Mason. With this beautifully Altered Book(it's suppose to be an old book with torn yellow pages so someone altered it to be a journal and sold it), she writes the happenings of her life. From her kids Susan and Alex to her very attractive husband Bob, she makes an art out of it.

She releases the artist in her by scrap-booking and attaching email print-outs and self-confessions.

But wait!

Who is this Vanessa Garamond?

Why is she suddenly in their lives?

Why does Amy feel so vigilant about her?

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I love this book, to be really honest. It might lack some out-of-this-world-oh-my-goodness-I-never-saw-it-coming flair but it's STILL very engaging.

A vintage and sophisticated book. The art inside is so beautiful. Your eyes are fed well with every page. With Amy's fortune cookie messages and other quotes inside, I fell for it immediately and decided that the money was worth it. My copy of this book is very much mint conditioned!

I love how she tries to erase the words she typed on the typewriter by overlapping it with x's. You can still read it if you look closely, her cussing is so human.

Vanessa with Auburn red hair at the end: Hilarity!

This is my first re-read and reminiscing with this one is still quite a pleasure!

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle

I know it's not yet Christmas but I can't help it. I've had this book for more than 2months already and that's just about the farthest I can withhold the yearning!

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The book contains 3 interconnected stories.

Story #1: The Jubilee Express

by Maureen Johnson

Jubilee Dougal, daughter of two crazed-Flobie-Santa-Village-collectors is named after the Flobie Santa Village building no. 4, which is Jubilee Hall. FSV is a miniature Santa Village which you buy and collect.

That night before Christmas, Jubilee is left at home killing time until she gets ready to attend her over-achieving/mathlete/jock boyfriend Noah's annual smorgasbord.

A swift turn of events occurred and she's suddenly aboard a train from Virginia to Florida to spend the holidays with her grandparents. While both parents in jail  for being involved in a riot at the Flobie Showroom, both also became part of the nationwide instant amusement called the Flobie Five!

In the cafeteria area of the train (snack car), with cheerleaders that were mostly named Ambers and Madisons and a long-haired-exotic-looking guy named Jeb, the train suddenly stopped.

It couldn't go any further due to the strongest-snowstorm-in-five-years dilemma, snow was just everywhere. They are currently in Gracetown and Jubilee decided to get out of the train and go to a more suitable place. She ended up at the Waffle House.

She meets Stuart Weintraub and their love story begins.

Story #2: Cheertastic Christmas Miracle

by John Green

The story starts with Tobin, the Duke(Angie) and Korean best friend JP watching their James Bond marathon. With Tobin's mom announcing that they can't get home for Christmas due to the snowstorm and Keun who's-also-Korean-and-the-Waffle-House-Manager-for-the-night calling, they begin their adventure!

Keun in deep need of Twister to hopefully entertain 14 stranded cheerleaders, forced the three to get on with their way to the Waffle House in spite of the weather.

Through the journey, Tobin realizes something he never did before. Could he be harboring feelings more than the platonic friendship he has with the Duke?

Story #3: The Patron Saint of Pigs

by Lauren Myracle

 Addie who was the girlfriend of Jeb spends Christmas with a broken heart. Having been the one to cheat on him by kissing someone else out of frustration, she realized how much she still loved him. After cutting her hair short and dying it pink, she tells her BFF's Tegan and Dorrie all her dilemmas.

Upon the discovery that she might be a self-absorbed/self-centered person, she tries to prove her best friends wrong by picking-up Tegan's pre-ordered teacup pig at Pet World across Starbucks where she's(Addie) working at.

Everything ends at Starbucks where she meets Jeb for the first time since the last.

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This is definitely the most time-consuming book review yet. I excluded a lot of characters. I didn't even include Tin Foil Guy who I think is the star in this one!

The Horn Book did not kid when they said that this is brimming with holiday spirit. In a very inexplicable way, I really felt that it was Christmas. Also possesses this generous amount of romance!

This might be the teen version of the movie Love Actually or any other movie that has interconnected characters like Valentine's Day. The experience between watching a film and reading a book with a theme like this is different in such ways. With watching the film, you kinda get where it's heading, you get an idea early on... while on the book, there's so much mystery, it's like planting assorted seeds and witnessing them grow to their final forms.

I absolutely enjoyed Let it Snow!

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I clearly did not know what I was in for when I picked out this read. All I know was it was some ambitious book trying to portray the future.

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Our protagonist is Anya Balanchine, a mafia princess.

In a future set in New York, nearly a hundred years from now where water and paper is rationed, coffee and chocolate is illegal and a strict curfew of 12AM on all minors, the story of Anya begins.

Having been the daughter of  notorious mafia emperor and chocolatier Leonyd Balanchine Sr., her life has always been on the danger zone. With both dead parents, she faces life with such maturity and the words of wisdom her dad had told her while growing up.

With a 12-year-old sister Natty(Nataliya Balanchine), 19-year-old brother Leo(Leonyd Balanchine Jr.) who's in a special mental condition and a dying grandmother, Anya who is only 16 is left to fend for all of them over the years since.

In her Junior year at Holy Trinity School together with her BFF Scarlet Barber, she meets Goodwin Delacroix. Goodwin or Win is the son of Charles Delacroix who is the new DA.

Anya who always has her gaurd up falls in love with Win.

Will she pursue it? Will Charles Delacroix approve it?

What will happen next and what are the things that already happened that I overlooked hence, is not in this short review?

It's better read than said.

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My goodness, this book is jam packed. Such a fast-paced novel with no shortage of characters and themes. This book contains the following: elite private Catholic school, Star-crossed lovers, futuristic setting, mafia, food poisoning, troubled-children's facility, politics, prom, genius sister, lawyers, chocolate business.... and more!

What else did this book forget to include?

I finished this less than 24hours... and my, such a whirlwind it was.

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It ended so open-endedly, the swift manner it was told and then you're suddenly cut-off, frustrating!

Can't wait for the sequel, Because it is My Blood.

Man in the Dark by Paul Auster

Another treasure I discovered at BOOKSALE. Only 60pesos and no one even seemed to give this one the time of day. I must say, this power I have is definitely to my advantage, to know a good book when I see a good book.

August Brill, a 72-year-old man, narrates a story to himself every night due to insomnia. The activity, he claims, is the only thing that gets him through the dark when his mind is at its most active.

This night, he narrates a story about Owen Brick.

Brick, a magician, sent to another parallel dimension of America in 2007 was given a mission. This America is at war with itself. A secession has happened.

He was ordered to kill the man who is making this universe, this horrible place. The man who was telling himself the story. In order for chaos to stop, Brill must die.

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This is absolutely one of the most original stories I've read. Very indie. A book with no target-reader. Just unadulterated literature to the very core.

Paul Auster, a seasoned writer, recipient of the Prince of Austrias Prize for Literature(just one of the many awards he has), changed my perception in the field of selecting books.

Let's face it, everyone gets scared of reading books. The feeling that we might not be good enough or bright enough, the fear of not being able to comprehend a story.

I think as any fear the mind solely creates, there's nothing to be insecure as long as it's on the subject of entering a universe an author created. You will never feel that you're in the wrong place, he is opening this world to you through pages, through paragraphs and set of words.

If it's a book, you are always welcome.

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Something I found in the book, very thought-provoking.

Based on this 16th-century Italian philosopher named Giordano Bruno: if God is infinite, and if the powers of God are infinite, then there must be an infinite number of worlds.

Salingkit by Cyan Abad-Jugo

I found this book at bestsellers in SM Center, Las Pinas. It was with the Young Adult section, together with all the foreign books. I was drawn to it right away.

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Kitty Eugenio, a Depeche Mode fanatic and a high school student goes through this part of her life where most of the actual happenings conceived nothing but pain and confusion.

Having lost her father, mother working in abroad and living with relatives, she narrates in her diary the events of her life.

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My two sentence book review might be some sort of a laughing stock but that's all I can produce. This is mainly a book for teenagers to be familiarized with the EDSA Revolution.

I like the book, I'm interested in historical events. I'm happy to know that there is hope in Philippine literature. It's seldom how a book, especially YA can even likely be published here.

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

I'm very much quite familiar with Elizabeth Scott, in fact my first book-review in this blog is Love You Hate You Miss You. I've also read Living Dead Girl(and I think every YA reader should give that book a try).

One thing I can tell you about Mrs. Scott is that all her books are phenomenal. Some may not fully agree to the word phenomenal because it's SUCH a big word... but when I said "phenomenal", I meant out-of-the-ordinary. I meant uniquely crafted and refreshingly tasteful.

Every Elizabeth Scott book has that same trademark element that only said author possesses.

And though The Unwritten Rule has the most simple story compared to the other two that I've read so far, it isn't an exception to the Elizabeth Scott branding.

The storyline is SO "typical" that it got captivating.

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Sarah is the main character and she narrates throughout the book about her forbidden feelings towards her since-kindergarten-best-friend Brianna's two-month-old boyfriend, Ryan.

Though it really was clear that the girl who Ryan wanted was Sarah, he got confused into getting with Brianna who is said to be nothing but unbelievably gorgeous and superbly confident.

The conflicts here is both between Sarah and Brianna & Sarah and Ryan.

Now, it's a ding ding ding for you if you got the logic behind the title and yep, The Unwritten Rule is you don't have feelings and you don't date your BFF's "boyfriend" or any other one for that matter, ever.

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I'm going to leave my review up there like that. The story is so relate-able(relatable?), it hasn't happened to me yet but I know a lot of my friends who went through that. IT IS a book not only for the teenagers, pathetic for an adult to even consider reading this but the circumstances are honestly universal in the most veritable sense... and I can see that it will somehow enlighten anyone who's a Sarah at the moment.

Brianna who is a multi-faceted character will annoy readers but they will also get where she's coming from.

The book's message is to fight for love. To me, that's what it was. You fight for it and don't ever consider losing anything if you're sure at what you feel. Touchy feely, yes... but we can get too caught up sometimes and we settle for second best.

And the people who truly loves you will want you to be happy no matter how much it might hurt them.

"My mistake I didn't know to be in love, you have to fight to have the upper hand."

(Yes, I just quoted a Taylor Swift song. The title is White Horse)