Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Russel discovers that he's not the only gay person in their little town. He agrees to a meet-up with a boy he came across online. This boy turns out to be Kevin, the uber attractive jock that he's been crushing on since forever.

Suddenly, Russell finds more people within the LGBT gender. They form a support group and disguises it as the Geography Club.

And what about the outcast Brian Bund? Does he belong to Geography Club?

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This is one of my favorite gay teen fiction. Geography Club has a sincere and friendly atmosphere in it that charmed me enough to overlook the plot's lack of intensity. The narration was very clever.

I can't wait for the movie version!

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden, an incestuous love story of Maya and Lochan, portrays the struggle of two people who has no one else to rely on but each other. Growing up with a stuck-in-the-past irresponsible drunkard mother and three younger siblings, our protagonists' tale dramatically unfolds to an unexpected end.

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This Tabitha Suzuma novel has a high rating on Goodreads. I don't know what or how to feel. The story is alien to me, the situation is many things. It is repulsing, endearing, vomit-inducing, romantic, etc. I am confused. Terribly.

The message of course is, 'romantic love may be universal'. It made me over-analyze the psychological aspects though it didn't fully convince me as an excuse to their 'love'. To me, it wasn't enough to push the two of them past the familial boundary. Call me a prude. Forbidden is a book that lives up to its title.

As if the whole book wasn't controversial enough, the ending just had to be unspeakable. With its unconventional love story, the Vatican will surely forbid young readers to read Forbidden (or not if they all react similarly as I did).

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Porto Vergogna is a spec of an island in Italy where The Adequate View is located. Pasquale Tursi whose father died just recently inherits this isolated hotel.

The ambitious Pasquale is working on his minuscule beach when he realizes that The Adequate View has a surprise guest! A beautiful American actress who is terribly sick landed on the young man's turf.

50 years to the future in the city of angels (LA), Claire Silver is on the brink of quitting her job when an old Italian guy and a 30-year-old man shows up at work.

In the hopes of encountering a good movie concept this time, Claire decides to hold on a bit longer. When her boss Michael Deane arrives, he is instantly in terrible shock upon seeing this old Italian guy.

The four of them takes a journey (literal) that will soon define who they are and how their lives turn out to be! 

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This book is an explosion of flavors. I got Italian/American culture, 60's celebrity gossips, humor, wit, midlife crisis, riveting and heavy drama, frustrated writer, porn addiction, plastic surgery PLUS so much more! You can tell that this seasoned author has had a lot of experience in life, either that or he's just an excellent narrator of other people's comic tragedies. I'd prefer to believe the former.

It took a while before I finished Beautiful Ruins, maybe it's because it was something far from what I usually read. I loved the book, there were boring parts but oh the nostalgia and catastrophe rammed in one interweaving story. It is so diverse and unexpected.

No wonder Emma Roberts and Taylor Swift decided to read it too.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch

And yet another treasure found from BOOKSALE! Can you ever believe my luck?

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Jakob Kuisl is the official hangman of Schongau (a town in Bavaria). There has been a sudden commotion in Schongau. A boy has been found dead and incidentally has the witch's mark on him!

The town goes berserk as rumors of witchcraft spread.

Martha Stechlin, a midwife who brought Jakob's children to being, is the main suspect. She was immediately held in captive and due for stating a confession that would determine whether she will be burned at stake.

Meanwhile, Johann Lechner (court clerk) is provoked to act upon the matter swiftly for he does not want things to get out of hand as it did seventy years ago. Half of the women of Schongau were burned at stake seventy years ago, everyone was accused of being a witch.

The hangman strongly believes that Martha is innocent. Although he understands what the court clerk's intentions are, he couldn't help but meddle in the case.

Together with his daughter Magdalena's swain (Simon Fronwieser, the town physician's son), Jakob delves in deeper in this medieval mystery crime!

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I like it as much as I didn't like it. I have mixed feelings about this international bestseller. The prolonged agony of reading this book is tiresome. It was all too much but all too little. I don't really know what I want from this, really. It's just that, though I've enjoyed the medieval feel of it and having to encounter words such as doublet, tankard & wench, I needed something more emotional. The title as well is a little too misleading. Halfway through, I was thinking 'ooh, Magdalena is the witch! She is!'.

It's not a disappointment. It was still worthwhile.

She's Dating the Gangster by Bianca B. Bernardino

This was recommended to me by Tanny!

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Athena Dizon just arrived from Korea and recently got enrolled in Southwell High School.

Kenji, Southwell's very own gangster-looking bad boy heartthrob, meets Athena.

Coincidentally, Kenji's ex-girlfriend (whom he is not over yet) is named Athena 'Abigail' Tizon.

Somehow Kenji manages to persuade Athena into helping him get Abigail back. Unfortunately, the two develops feelings for each other.

Will Athena date this gangster for real? Join in the bandwagon and read on!

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A one-hit Wattpad success this is! She's Dating the Gangster is a crossbreed among Meteor Garden/Boys over Flowers, Romeo & Juliet and A Walk to Remember. We had our generic falling-for-the-bad-boy hate-love relationship plunged into a fast-paced whirlwind of events. It was all too unbelievable for a 144-page book but the charm and the pull of the story was evident.

This book is a total hit with the Pinoy youth. I just hope the production companies are smart enough to recognize this and buy the movie rights already... and fast!

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Only an author with the name of "rainbow" can make such a marvelous love story like Eleanor & Park.

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Eleanor, an eccentric and chubby redhead encounters a Korean boy named Park in the school bus.

Although their first impressions of each other were negative, their friendship improves while the story progresses. They easily became fond of each other despite the conflicting circumstances they are in.

Soon enough, they are falling in love!

Now why is Eleanor reluctant of their blooming relationship?

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The ending is just... I have no words for it! I was impatient because I had to read 58 chapters of Eleanor & Park, it was that long. I want to finish it fast, I want to know what happens in the end immediately. I almost gave up but something told me it would be worth the eye stress.

And I tell you, it was well worth every eye cramp! I could live another 58 chapters for that ending. Those endings make my life meaningful.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

It was early 2012 when I first read The Finishing School by Gail Godwin. According to some of the people from the Goodreads community, The Finishing School is a complete rip-off of Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

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Miss Jean Brodie, a sophisticated and cultured teacher of Marcia Blaine school, has decided to consume her prime years to prepare her chosen girls into becoming the creme de la creme.

Marcia Blaine is a conservative Scottish school for girls. Miss Mackay, the headmistress, has made it clear several times that she does not approve of Miss Brodie's unconventional methods of teaching.

Miss Jean Brodie and her set of girls faces the trials that befalls them. But the joyful years won't stay for long because soon, one of Miss Brodie's precious girls will betray her.

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While I've enjoyed reading The Finishing School, I cannot blame people if they think the book's concept was borrowed. There may be numerous similarities between the two novels but I dare announce, they are not at all the same.

There are many sociological/philosophical subjects tackled in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Subjects like Calvinism was deeply discussed. What I hated about the novel is how flat the narration was. I couldn't quite point a finger on it. Was it the sequence or the pace of the story that made it bland? I wasn't completely overcome with emotion when major points of the plot was revealed. You just know it when you should have.

What I love about this book is Miss Brodie and Sandy. The multi-faceted Miss Brodie, a hypocritical and delusional woman, is a kind of character that is hard to execute in a novel. Together with another conflicting personality like Sandy who is insightful and high on morals, I would say that this is definitely a story worth reading.

Lastly, I have watched the incredible movie adaptation in Alan95Haitch's Youtube channel. Maggie Smith and Pamela Franklin was a perfect match!