Wordless Wednesday

Pulau Ubin, Singapore
(March 13th, 2006)

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle

ISBN-13: 9780374303648
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: April 2010
256 pgs
Source: Library



Madeleine L'Engle was the author of A Wrinkle in Time, and though I have yet to read it, I am looking forward to it since I have read so much rave reviews on it. I went to the library for this book but couldn't find it, instead I found And Both Were Young and thus here we are.

Anyway, I started off with the introduction page written by Madeleine L'Engle's granddaughter, Léna Roy, who shared with us that And Both Were Young was in fact L'Engle's first young adult novel. She was inspired to write this book after she was being dropped off at a boarding school instead of living with her parents when they were seeking a cure for her journalist father, who had inhaled mustard gas during WWI in 1930 (L'Engle was twelve-year-old then).

So basically this story is about the life of Philippa "Flip" Hunter during her studies at a Swiss boarding school. Flip travels to Switzerland with her artist father after her mother's death in an automobile accident, and along with the journey is another woman who is hoping to take the role of the late Mrs. Hunter but Flip didn't like her. She thinks she is bossy and arrogant, and she is absolutely dismayed and infuriated with her father for listening to her demands at times.

Feeling homesick and not to mention a loner and self-conscious at heart, she struggles to fit into the school life and making friends. She later knew a few girls whom she called her friends, but deep in her heart she knew she could not compare them with a boy named Paul, who she has met by chance before her admission to the boarding school. They became good friends quickly, and as their friendship grows, Flip no longer feels so miserable and with Paul's encouragement, her self-confidence began to grow too. The thing is, Paul is not a student at their boarding school and Flip has to keep their friendship a secret.

Then there is Madame Perceval, who is Flip's art teacher and kind of a mentor to Flip. Through her guidance, there is a change of mentality in Flip as she has became to be a more confident and ambitious young woman. It is also through Perceval that readers will get to learn a little more of Paul, as he has a tragic past but I will not go further as it is best for you to read it yourself.

At first glance, And Both Were Young may seem like a teenage romance story, but let me assure you there are certainly more to it. Madeleine L'Engle had written a delicate story that revolves around identity, growing up, the joy and misery of adolescence and of course, love. The romance between Paul and Flip is subtle, yet that does not disminish the effect and the attraction they have for each other.

There isn't much glimpse of WWII, though this story takes place after it but readers will see how this has deeply affected the girls at the boarding school, in particularly to Flip's friends. All in all, this is a wonderful read. Now that I have gotten a 'taste' of Madeleine L'Engle's writing style, I will be sure to check out her other books in the near future and needless to say, A Wrinkle in Time will be the top of that list.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

During the war when her father had been in Europe, her mother was still alive; and then in the dark days after her mother's death Gram had come to live with them; and afterward, whenever her father had to go away for a few days without her, at least Gram had been there. Now she would be completely on her own.

(Pg 14, And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!  Last week was a good one for me for reading and blogging-got lots of things accomplished!

Books I finished last week-

Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk

Monster, by Walter Dean Myers

Rules, by Cynthia Lord

Dark Summer, by Iris Johansen

Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves

 

Keeping Corner, by Kashmira Sheth

Up this week-

Little Be-Bop, by Francesca Lia Block

Rainbow Boys, by Alex Sanchez

The God Box, by Alex Sanchez

Speak, by Laurie Halse Andersen

Luna, by Julie Ann Peters

The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chobsky

Most of the above books will be reviewed on my new blog, Second Childhood Reviews, which I started as a special site for the children's and young adult books I read.  Besides the book reviews, I'll try to have parent and teacher resources about the books as well.  Come check it out!

Happy reading this week!

Challenges Update (and Library Loot)

I felt like a slacker when it comes to finishing the reading challenges I had signed up for the year. Anyway, I am happy to say I have completed the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge, hosted by Home Girl's Book Blog (previously known as J. Kaye's Bookblog).

I committed to read 12 books and here's a list of what I read:

1. Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles


2. Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick


3. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles


4. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles


5. Half World by Hiromi Goto


6. Hate List by Jennifer Brown


7. Heartbreak River by Tricia Mills


8. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols


9. The Worst of Me by Kate Le Vann


10. All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab


11. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson


12. Mia the Magnificent by Eileen Boggess

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And here's the part where I failed when it comes to Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge which is hosted by the lovely Candace of Beth Fish Reads.

I'm ashamed to say I have only read two books of this series:

1. Living Dead in Dallas


2. Dead Until Dark

I think my main reason for not completing this challenge is due to my reading mood. I'm not a fast reader in general and plus, I tend not to read books of the same series in a row, no matter how interesting they are. Perhaps I have left the reading gap for too long with this series, thus that explains why my anticipation wasn't there. Still, I'd want to read the rest of the books since I have them all in my pile.

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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Here's what I borrowed last Friday:

1) The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

2) Wings of Wrath by C.S. Friedman (Magister Series #2)

I read the first instalment, Feast of Souls and enjoyed it! (Here's my review.)

I regret to say I have to return Infinity (by Sherrilyn Kenyon) and The Toss of a Lemon (by Padma Viswanathan) after reading a few pages. At that point of borrowing Infinity I didn't realise it's a story about Dark Hunters and zombies. Though I enjoy reading about vampires, I've no idea why I just can't get sucked into any zombie story like the way vampires stories do to me. I think I've to blame it on some of those freaky zombies movies I watched. As for The Toss of a Lemon, the due date is up and plus it's a chunkster and I want to devour this story at my own pace, thus I will probably purchase this book next time.

Why Have One When You Can Have Two?

Any faithful reader of my blog knows that I have been working on master's degree in reading-no, that's not a degree for sitting on your couch with a book (if only!), but a degree that will qualify me to be a reading specialist in a school setting.  As a result, I have rediscovered my love for young adult literature.

This summer is my children's literature course, and one of the assignments is to read six books from a list of options and write reviews for them.  Well, clearly I could write the reviews in my sleep, having had lots of practice over the last year or so.  I am so excited about this class-when it's all said and done I will have read over 20 young adult titles in the next month or so.

I am so excited about those young adult books that I have decided they need their own blog.  So, I've started Second Childhood Reviews.  Like Book Addict Reviews, this site will be where I review all of the YA books I read.  In addition, there will be resources for parents and teachers about how to use the books with their children or in their classroom.  So, if you want to check out what I've done so far, come on over.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk

I've read a lot of serial killer themed mysteries-I mean, A LOT!  For a while there it felt like all I ever read was mysteries and thrillers, so my serial killer quotient was pretty high.  But I have never come across a mystery quite like Christian Moerk's Darling Jim.

Darling Jim a multi-layered story of deception, obsession, and madness. Two sisters and their aunt are found dead in a house in rural Ireland.  The townspeople are shocked to discover that the aunt had been holding her nieces prisoner, slowly poisoning them.  In a final showdown, it appeared that the sisters had managed to kill their aunt before succumbing themselves. There was evidence that a third girl was also held hostage, but she was nowhere to be found when the bodies were discovered.  A few weeks later, a postal worker, Niall, finds a diary in the post, written by one of the two slain sisters.  It details the extraordinary events that led up to her death.  Between the pages of her journal lies the tale of Darling Jim, a traveling storyteller who enchants the villagers in each town with macabre tales of love, obsession, and death-stories that eerily resemble real life crimes that happen in each place he stops.  How the sisters get tangled in Jim's web becomes tragically apparent as Niall reads.  As he is drawn into their story, Niall searches for the truth about Jim-and the elusive third sister-in a quest that brings him closer to danger than he ever expected.

This book was mesmerizing.  Jim is beguiling, and ruthless.  The sisters are strong and fiercely loyal to each other, but they are not immune to Jim's power to enchant.  The whole novel is tied together by the macabre story that Jim tells as he travels across Ireland-a tale of betrayal, lust, and madness.  As the story progresses it becomes more and more sinister, until the true face of Jim is shown, savage and deadly.  The narrators-Fiona and Roisin-are deeply flawed, but honest in their account of their part in the events that led to their deaths.  A modern Gothic novel, this book is a great read for anyone who prefers their mysteries on the sinister side.

Monster, by Walter Dean Myers

I heard a disturbing statistic today-the United States has the fastest growing prison population in the world.  Not just in the western world, but the world-period!  That means that totalitarian governments like North Korea and Iran put fewer people in jail than we do.  Much of this can be traced back to mandatory sentencing for drug crimes-and while I have many opinions on that, it doesn't have much to do with the review I am about to write.  What does is another disturbing trend-more and more states are allowing youth as young as 15 to be tried as adults for violent or drug-related crimes. 

Walter Dean Myers takes this issue on in his book, Monster.  Monster is the story of Steve Harmon, a 16 year-old black teenager living in Harlem.  At the opening of the book Steve is incarcerated, about to stand trial for felony murder, a charge that could carry the death penalty.  We quickly learn a few things about Steve-he's smart, he's creative, and he's terrified.  The only way he can deal with the emotions brought on by his incarceration and trial are to treat them as a screenplay.  This budding film maker may or may not have been involved in a drugstore robbery, a robbery that went horribly wrong when the store owner was shot and killed.  Steve's supposed part in the robbery-look out.  The book follows his trial, and the effect that it has on him and his family.

Most of Myers' books take on issues of race, racism, and growing up black and male in our society.  One of his strengths is that he does not make excuses for poor choices.  What he does is paint a pretty stark picture of what it can be like to grow up black, male, and poor in America.  You may not always like his characters, but you can understand their lives and their choices based on the circumstances in which they live.  Monster is no different.  It would be easy to make this story about racist police and racist judges sending another black boy to prison, but the story is more nuanced than that.  Not that there aren't elements of race and racism woven into the narrative-it is impossible to separate that strand of American culture from the rest when talking about issues of poverty, crime, and justice in America's urban centers.  But the book is not about racism, per se.  It is about one boy, coming to terms with what it would mean if he spent the rest of this life behind bars.

To me, that is the real issue that this book raises.  How can we, as a society, support sending teenagers as young as 15 and 16 to jail for the rest of their lives?  We must believe that teenagers have not yet reached the age of responsibility, seeing as we don't let children that young vote, drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or make their own medical decisions.  How then can we expect them to pay for the rest of their lives for a decision made before rationality, reason, and responsibility have truly taken hold of their minds?   I don't have the answer for how to rehabilitate young offenders, so I won't pretend that I do, but it seems to me that before we start locking children up for what could amount to 60 or 70 years (provided the violence in prison doesn't kill them sooner, but that is another post for another blog), we should at least make sure that we have exhausted every other possibility. 

Rules, by Cynthia Lord

One of the joys of being a teacher is having an excuse to keep up with the latest in children's and young adult literature.  In my quest to become a reading specialist, I even get to take a class where all we do is read children's and young adult literature!  The fact that this class happens to correspond with my summer vacation means I get to spend the next few weeks ensconced on my couch with a stack of books, reading to me heart's content!

The first book I read for my class is called Rules, by Cynthia Lord.  I must admit that I was given a copy of this book at school by some very smart ladies who told me I should read it to my class, but after skimming it I put it away in favor of other things.  Had I only listened to these very smart ladies I would have discovered this moving story of family and friendship that much sooner (sorry Gail and Rachel!).  The book is about a 12 year-old girl named Catherine.  Her younger brother, David, has autism.  All Catherine wants is a normal life, for once!  What she doesn't want is to spend the summer making up new rules ("No toys in the fish tank.", "A boy takes off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.") for David about how to be "normal".  When a new girl moves in next door, she is hopeful that this can be the friendship that she's dreamed of-if only she can leave David and his problems behind.

This novel gives an honest portrayal of people with special needs.  For the most part people with disabilities in our society are ignored, unless their story is especially "inspirational" or their disability is unusual and therefore ripe for exploitation by the media.  This novel, suitable for ages 9-12, shows people with disabilities exactly as they are-very much like the rest of us, strong in some ways, weak in others, needing to feel loved, valued, and cared for.  As Catherine goes through the ups and downs of being a pre-teen, she has reason to question exactly what "being normal" means.  Her journey helps us see that the way that David's autism impacted her life said more about her than about him.  In the end she learns that some rules are meant to be broken.

Toy Story 3 (and a Happy Birthday to Lu Chen!)

We went to watch Toy Story 3 on Wednesday and I have to say all of us had a wonderful time, despite that we got the third row seats due to the June school holidays.

Having watched the first two instalments and enjoyed them, I stepped into the cinema with high expectations and am glad to say this movie did not disappoint, at least it is to me.

In this third instalment, we see Andy has grown up and is packing for college. His mother wants him to clear his room before leaving, and feeling sentimental towards his old toys, he decided to pack them all into a box to be stored into the attic and brought only Woody with him.

However, due to a slip-up, the other toys ended up at Sunnyside Daycare Centre. Woody plans to rescue them so they would stay in Andy's attic, but they think otherwise and are actually quite excited with the notion that they would be played by the preschoolers. Unfortunately, the preschoolers they encountered are boisterous and they handled them badly. Added to their grief is an evil strawberry scented bear, Lotso, who seems to be the leader of the toys pack and he made sure Woody and his friends couldn't escape from the daycare centre.

Aside from the usual characters of Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head (just to name a few), we also get to see several new characters such as Barbie and Ken (who I think is hilarious), Totoro (a character from a Japanese animation My Neighbour Totoro) and many others.

Suffice to say, Toy Story 3 is a fun and entertaining animation that would entice both children and adults alike. There are a few sentimental and touching scenes that had me with a lump in my throat. Upon leaving the cinema, I reiterated the message to my daughter to put in extra care and love her toys the way Andy does (not that she don't, it's just that she can be a little disorganise sometimes).

Oh, I didn't mention that we watched this in 2D since my husband is not keen on the 3D version generally (said it makes him giddy). And do I hope for a next instalment? Definitely!

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This section has got nothing to do with books or movies, but I am a huge fan of Lu Chen (刘谦)and I want to wish him a Happy Birthday since it is his birthday today!

He will be performing here on 31st July for his World Magical Tour 2010 and I was disappointed that I am not able to attend. Nevertheless I am satisfied enough to watch his appearance on a TV variety show every weekend, and hopefully next time I'd get the chance to watch his performance in person.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

ISBN-13: 9780738710181
Publisher: Flux, Llewellyn Publications
Published: 2007
303 pgs
Source: Library

Caleb Becker and Maggie Armstrong used to be friends and neighbours but an accident has changed everything. Now Maggie walks with a limp and Caleb was sent to a juvenile jail for drunk driving. This incident has left Maggie both physically and emotionally scarred, and though she could tolerate the pitiful stares she received in school, she is definitely not prepared to face Caleb in person now that he has been released from jail early for his community service duties.

However, this is not the only emotional baggage Maggie is carrying for she is still sadden over her parents' separation. She often wonders if her father is happy with his new life, and whether or not if he still cares about her. To complicate matters, she does not know if she should feel happy for her mother now that her boss is paying much more attention to her. Though Mr. Reynolds is a good man and she knew her mother deserved someone better like him, she could not help missing her father. However, she likes Mr. Reynolds' mother and when she offered to pay her for helping out at her house, she agreed. She enjoys working for Mrs. Reynolds and thinks she is a great woman but her happiness is a short-lived one after learning that Caleb is also helping Mrs. Reynolds to build a gazebo in her garden.

At the beginning, they do not feel comfortable working under the same roof but something changed over an incident and plus, Maggie felt she has learnt a lot from Mrs. Reynolds' advice and understand that sometimes it is easier to forgive than to bear a grudge against someone for the whole of your life.

On the other end, Caleb felt the tension in his family. He felt he could no longer communicate with his twin sister, Leah; not that he could blame her considering her friendship with Maggie is ruined after the accident. And their mother seems to rely heavily on medications due to the stress and added to his frustrations is his schoolmates' mockery towards Maggie.

I have to say reading Leaving Paradise is like riding on an emotional roller-coaster. One moment I was feeling sad for Maggie's unfortunate situation, and then the next I could be laughing along with Mrs. Reynolds because she is such a funny and open-minded person. And of course there are scenes that made me cry but I'd rather not say anything as that would spoil your fun of reading this book, isn't it?

I loved the plot and the characterisations, and on top of that I want to applaud Simone Elkeles for writing a powerful and thought-provoking story that revolves around a few delicate issues one might have to deal in real life. I like books that convey a message without being preachy and Leaving Paradise is one of those. In this story, I learned that forgiveness is not only about accepting others' mistakes but also about having the courage of letting go.

Unlike Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction, the romance between the two protagonists in Leaving Paradise is more complicated given the circumstances and the tension arises from it. I understand there is a sequel, Return to Paradise, come November (after checking Simone Elkeles' website) so this explains why there are some loose ends in the ending. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and I wish November will come quickly!

(Click here for other bookbloggers' reviews.)

Wordless Wednesday

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore
(March 12th, 2006)

Below are just a few faunas we met at the nature park . . .
Nope, it's not a baby crocodile but a huge iguana!

Can you spot the green snake?
I nearly screamed after realising what it was because it looked very much like a vine to me at first glance.

Dark Summer, by Iris Johansen

Iris Johansen and I have a love/hate relationship.  If you're not familiar with her, she writes thrillers with paranormal elements.  Normally, I like both of those things.  About half of the time, when I pick up one of her books, I get a day or two of brain candy out of it.  Sometimes, however, I pick up a Johansen book only to put it down in disgust 50 pages in.  Not disgust like "Ewww, this is gory!", but disgust like "How can she think I'm dumb enough to believe that?!?" It's the brain candy that makes me keep trying (that, and the fact that my mother reads her so I get her books for free!)

Luckily for me, Dark Summer (2008) is like a giant Hershey kiss!  Devon Brady is a devoted veterinarian, working a search and rescue mission after and earthquake on an island in the Caribbean (eerie coincidence!) with her dog, Gracie, when a mysterious stranger arrives carrying a wounded dog.  Marrok, the stranger, leaves the dog in Devon's care, and disappears.  Devon is forced to take the dog back to the states with her (a dog who is healing at a suspiciously rapid rate!).  Before Marrok can come and get his dog, Devon's quiet small-town life is shattered when gunmen kill two of her friends, and force he to go on the run with Marrok and his dog.  The secrets that Devon learns about the dogs, and Marrok, will change her life forever.

The novel is suspenseful, and the action well-paced.  Devon as a character is pretty believable, and the Marrok character is one of those brooding men "with a past" that so many women seem to find intriguing in fiction.  What makes the book, though, is the author's obvious love for dogs.  The book is full of dogs-beautiful, smart, loyal, special dogs.  Very quickly I found myself willing to do very nasty things to anyone who wanted to hurt the dogs-and yes, I knew they were fictional.  But I didn't want them to be, which is perhaps one of the greatest compliments that a reader can give an author.  Anyone who knows and loves dogs can completely believe the "superpower" that Johansen gives them could be real, which brought an authenticity to the story that you ordinarily don't get out of fantasy/science fiction, which is sort of what this book is.  There is the inevitable romance between Devon and Marrok, which I sometimes find distracts from the story, but it fit here.  This is a good summer read!

Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

ISBN-13: 9781416982647
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Published: October 2009
224 pgs
Source: Library




It seems like I have been reading a lot of YA books lately, but that's because they are library books and I want to return them on time.

Holly lost her mother to cancer, so in a way this has made her worried and very conscious of her health. She does not have many friends at school, and she loves hanging around with her childhood friend, Nils, and she was glad that they went to the same school together.

While Holly thinks Nils is a good friend, she finds another Paul, another schoolmate attractive and despite they do not know each other very well, she does not mind hooking up with him though she knew he already has a girlfriend named Saskia. However, the more Holly spend time with Paul, the more she wanted their relationship to be serious but Paul thinks the other way, he wants their trysts to remain a secret.

To make things complicated, she and Saskia are classmates and their friendship blossoms as the days go by. Holly began to feel bad and try to leave Paul but he threatens to tell everyone about their relationship should she leave him. At this point of time, Holly realised that her friendship with Nils has began to change, and she thinks Nils having a girlfriend may also be a contributing factor.

However, when Holly realised what's most matter in her heart, things start to get more complex and she is caught in a lose-lose situation. She has chosen to leave Paul but then she would lose her friendship with Saskia and Nils too, since she has also broken a promise to him.

Nothing Like You is a bittersweet story of a young girl finding her self and love after the loss of her mother. Reading about her loss and her sadness have brought me memories of my late mother so I could relate to her in some ways.

I liked reading about Holly's exchange with Nils. Their friendship seems so sweet and real to me, and personally I think Nils is a perfect match for Holly but sometimes, things aren't supposed the way they are and moreover we have no control over things such as fate. Nothing Like You may seem like a typical teenage romance story, but I think there is much more depth to it as it allows the readers to think about things like loss (in general) and how we are going to deal with it, and also in what way it will affect us by the choice we made, etc.

Finally, I want to share an extract with you that I liked which made me think of self-acceptance and courage.

He dropped his bottle and scooched his chair back so we were facing each other. "You're you," he said. "You know, your mom made certain choices that I can pretty much guarantee, if faced with a similar crossroads, you wouldn't have made."

I nodded.

"Her path . . . that's not yours to follow. Okay?"

I resisted the urge to cry.

"Worse-case scenario, you face something similar . . . you fight, right?" He looked at me sympathetically. "Hey, you're your own person."

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

I suddenly had a secret. And it made me feel guilty, yeah, but I also felt really fantastic.

(Pg 57, Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick)

Undone, by Karin Slaughter

OK, despite my great love for thrillers and mysteries of all kinds I will admit that like any genre fiction, eventually they become pretty predictable.  There's a bad guy or two, some kind of police officer/private detective/innocent bystander who is investigating and/or gets sucked into some kind of crime, or has a stalker, or is on the run from an abusive ex, or the mob...Enjoyable, but not earth shattering.

Karin Slaughter's book, Undone, is a thriller.  In fact, it's a serial-killer thriller, which should be a sub-genre if it isn't already.  But it's a thriller with a difference.  The story opens on an elderly couple driving through the woods when they run into a naked woman running out of the trees.  The woman is rushed to the ER in Dr. Sara Linton's hospital.  Sarah is still mourning the death of her husband, a police officer, in the line of duty.  For three years she has cared about very little other than trying to make it through the day, but this woman catches her interest.  The woman has been tortured, and is unable to speak. Also at the hospital is Special Agent Faith Mitchell of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations being treated for a fainting spell.  Once she senses that a big case is brewing, she send her partner out to investigate. Once at the scene of the accident, Special Agent Will Trent, Faith's partner, uncovers a hole where the woman was kept-and she was not the only one.   What starts as a bizarre car accident quickly becomes something much more sinister.

What makes this novel different from the many others with similar themes is, like in all of Slaughter's books, the characters.  We've met Sarah, Faith, and Will before-though in different series.  In this novel Slaughter merges her Grant County series with her Will Trent series to create the Georgia series.  Despite this, reading these characters in their new configuration made them feel fresh to me.  I was especially intrigued by Will Trent in this book.  Slaughter did a great job making his pain, confusion, and despair real.  Faith's medical struggles and Sarah's continued grief were relate-able and well-written, but it was Will's character that made me feel like this story was more than just a formula thriller.  If you are a Karin Slaughter fan, you should enjoy this latest installment.  If not, I'd suggest going back to read her earlier works, since they give you some background, though it is not strictly necessary for you to read the other series to get into this one.

Monday Ramblings & Library Loot

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Father's Day yesterday! We enjoyed ours and look what I found at the bookstore after we had our scrumptious lunch - Faithful Place by Tana French! This is one of my most eagerly anticipated books of the year and I was thrilled that they are already released here! (Well, if you have read In the Woods and The Likeness, you'd be able to understand my excitement.)

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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Here's what I borrowed last Friday:

1) Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon

2) The Stand by Stephen King (Initially I couldn't make up my mind whether or not to pick this up considering this is a chunkster and I'll probably couldn't finish reading it on time since I have another two more library books to read, but still I got it anyway as I've seen many SK fans highly recommend this. Plus, I've heard there are inevitable comparisons with Justin Cronin's The Passage so definitely my curiosity is piqued!)

It's the Friday Book Blog Hop!

Welcome to Book Addict Reviews, Blog Hoppers!  Take a look around, I hope you like what you see!

Didn't have much time for hopping myself this week, but I did find time to finally learn how to make a blog button (and I am inordinately proud of myself as a result!).  So, if you like what you see, grab it and spread the word.  Thanks!

ABOUT THE HOP: (HOSTED BY CRAZY-FOR-BOOKS.COM)

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!  And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added!  We get nearly 200 links every week!!

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

If you start following someone through the Hop, leave a comment on their blog to let them know!  Stop back during the week to see other blogs that are added!  And, most importantly, the idea is to HAVE FUN!!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

ISBN-13: 9780670021390
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: January 2010
320 pgs
Source: Library

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt has been getting lots of rave reviews over the blogosphere so needless to say, my curiosity is piqued and I was thrilled to borrow a copy from the library.

Narrated by 12-year-old Cecelia Rose Honeycutt (CeeCee), she shares her story of living and taking care of her mentally sick mother to how much her life has changed after living with her great aunt Tootie in Savannah due to her mother's passing.

Through Beth Hoffman's beautiful prose and skilful writing, she has brought CeeCee and the other characters to life and I have to say I was on an emotional roller-coaster throughout my reading experience. I felt sorry for CeeCee right from the beginning and thinking how life has been unfair to her; at her age she should be having a happy and carefree life and not having so many reponsibilities dumped onto her. Her father, instead of being there for the family, chose to escape and find a new life in another woman.

At this point, I had great admiration for CeeCee for she seems to be able to take things in her stride despite anything, and instead of feeling sorry for herself she used this opportunity to bury herself in books. I felt relieved for her when her great aunt Tootie comes along and whisk her away from Ohio to Savannah. There, CeeCee made her acquaintance with Tootie's cook, Oletta and a few of Tootie's friends. Some of them are witty and fun to be with, while some are eccentric and gossipy. Either way, CeeCee's life is never bored with them around.

In a nutshell, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a heartwarming story of a young girl who has found hope and friendship after the loss of her mother. It is no doubt an uplifting story which I think would inspire many readers. Here's a few extracts from the book that I'd like to share with regard to Aunt Tootie's advice to CeeCee.

... "Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow..."

"It's not a book you can see or touch. It's a book that's held deep within your heart. It's guarded by your spirit... .

When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are." (Pg 41)

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Booking Through Thursday: Now or Then?

Do you prefer reading current books? Or older ones? Or outright old ones? (As in, yes, there’s a difference between a book from 10 years ago and, say, Charles Dickens or Plato.)

I don't have any preference when it comes to my reading, and it all has to depend on my mood. To me, what most important is not which year the book is published but more of the content and whether or not does the story suck me in.

What about you? Do you prefer current books or older ones?

My Rainy Days (天使の恋)

Director: Yuri Kantake
Starring: Nozomi Sasaki, Shosuke Tanihara
Year Made: 2009
Language: Japanese (with Chinese/English subtitles)
Rating: NC-16 (Some Mature Content)




I was looking for some Taiwanese drama serial last week and I found this DVD by chance. Intrigued by the premise, I decided to buy it.

17-year-old Rio (starring Nozomi Sasaki) seems to have everything under her fingertips. She is beautiful and is popular in school and it is not a surprise most girls are envious of her. The truth is, she has a traumatic past and in order to forget the unhappiness and everything, she buried herself into making money and leading a luxurious life through her sugar daddy.

However, her life changes after her encounter with Kouki (Shosuke Tanihara), a lone history professor when she found out that their photos have been swapped by mistake since they shared the same family name. They agreed to meet to exchange their photos, and Rio is quickly attracted by his cool and calm demeanour.

Upon learning he is a history professor, Rio decides to ditch her glitzy life and vows to study hard under his supervision. On the other end, while Kuoki is slowly attracted by Rio's charm and her cheerful personality, the fact that he has brain tumour keeps him from getting closer to her. In fact, he is already counting down the days even before he had met her. So will their love beat the cruel state of reality, I suppose this is up to you to find out.

I have to confess there are several things crop up my mind after watching this show. First, I was quite concerned of the underlying message of teenage prostitution and suicide (the latter was told in a way that Rio's lesbian friend had jumped to her death after learning that Rio has chosen Kuoki over her) and it was to my dismay that these issues are not further explored. I understand that the main focus of this story is the romance part but here I am thinking that the young adult audience might take it the wrong way and think teenage prostitution and suicide are encouraged, and this is never meant to be.

Despite my above issue, still it is a good thing that Rio has changed to be more sensitive towards others and that she wanted to redeem herself after meeting Kuoki. In a nutshell, My Rainy Days is a sweet, poignant story that tells about love conquers everything despite anything. I also enjoyed the interactive between Rio and Kuoki as I could just feel their chemistry onscreen. Due to this, I will have to look out for Handsome Suit, as I understand both of them starred in this movie too.

Wordless Wednesday

Sunset at Clarke Quay, Singapore
(March 11th, 2006)

The Way Things Look to Me, Roopa Farooki

Based on the number of made-for-tv movies and specials on the topic, Americans are in love (or at least in fascination) with all things autistic.  There is something engrossing in watching people with autism and trying to figure out how their minds work, because clearly their neurons are producing in ways that a typical person's brain is not.  As a special educator, I've had more than my fair share of experience with children with autism.  Ranging from non-verbal, stereotypical autism to high-functioning Aspergers Syndrome, I've pretty much seen it all.

It should therefore be taken as a great compliment when I say that Yasmin, the main character in Roopa Farooki's The Way Things Look to Me felt so authentic that I started comparing her to students I've worked with as though she was a real person.  The novel revolves around three siblings-Yasmin, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, and her older brother and sister, Asif and Kalila (Lila for short)-all in their late teens, early 20s. Asif drops out of university to take care of Yasmin when their mother dies unexpectedly when he is 18.  Lila, younger by a year, flees home as soon as she can-and goes down a path of self-destruction that she lays squarely at the feet of Yasmin.  Yasmin herself is just finishing her A levels, prior to going off to university.  High functioning, verbal, extremely intelligent, Yasmin is poised to make the difficult transition from the sheltered world of her elite private school to real life.

The book examines the many ways that being a typical sibling of an exceptional child can be challenging, frustrating, and difficult.  Both Asif and Lila felt that they had to fight for their mother's attention-Asif by always being the "good boy", and Lila by being loud and argumentative and difficult.  The novel revolves around Asif and Lila's attempts to find happiness despite the baggage they carry about their childhood, and despite knowing that now that their mother is gone, they will not be able to escape Yasmin.

At the beginning, the most sympathetic character is Yasmin herself, which is saying something for Farooki's ability to write characters.  Given that many people with Aspergers Syndrome do not feel or show emotion in typical ways, they can sometimes be seen as cold or unfeeling.   When Farooki writes from Yasmin's point of view, it is clear that despite her limitations she is much more self-aware than her siblings.  As the story develops, and flashbacks of their childhood are given, a clearer picture emerges of what made Asif and Lila the way they are.  Farooki does not attempt to make us feel sorry for Yasmin, nor does she demonize Asif and Lila.  What you get in this novel is an honest, warts-and-all account of living with autism.

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

ISBN-13: 9780802720856
Publisher: Walker & Company
Published: April 2010
336 pgs
Source: Library

I had enjoyed reading Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry so much so that I have to read this sequel immediately after finishing that book.

Using the same writing style as in Perfect Chemistry (alternating narratives), Rules of Attraction tells the story of Alex's younger brother, Carlos Fuentes and his stay in Professor Westford's house after his involvement with a dangerous gang and Alex would rather have his former instructor to watch over Carlos than having him being expelled from high school.

Professor Westford's eldest daughter, Kiara, is the other narrator of this story and from the opening of the story, it is not a surprise to see there is a clash between Carlos and herself due to the difference of their personality. However, that does not mean that Kiara isn't one who will say no to challenges if she ever met one, and she has proved to many others that she could fix vehicles just as good as many guys do.

Despite their differences, Carlos and Kiara are drawn to each other the more they get to know each other but Carlos, thinks Kiara deserves someone better than him and also that he wouldn't want to get her and her family into trouble since a drug lord had sought him out and wanted him to run some illegal deals for him.

As in Perfect Chemistry, there are a lot of intense moments both in the plot and the romance department. As much as there is attraction between Carlos and Kiara, there are obviously some obstacles between them and the Westford family will go to any lengths to ensure that Carlos is out of danger. There are a few heartwarming moments as well and I was especially touched by the way Professor Westford had helped Carlos. His past history surprised me and it was interesting to see the other side of him when he went out of his way in helping Carlos.

I also enjoyed reading about Tuck, who is a good friend of Kiara and reading about their exchanges had me grinning most of the times because he is such a funny guy. I'd love to read a story about him, and it would be a GLBT lit since he is a gay. Overall, I find Rules of Attraction a compelling read and I think fans of Perfect Chemistry would be delighted to devour this sequel as Carlos and Kiara make an interesting couple. As there is a youngest brother in the Fuentes family - Luis Fuentes, I wonder if there would be a story of him in the near future. I would definitely hope so.

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Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

As she began to slowly swing, I nuzzled closer. "Mrs. Odell, couldn't I live with you?"

"I wish you could," she said, pressing her cheek to mine. "But that's not the way it's written in your Life Book. This is the beginning of a big adventure, and you won't want to miss it. Your Life Book is about to reveal a brand new chapter, and so is mine."

(Pg 40-41, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday Morning, faithful followers and fellow bloggers!  I hope that you all had a successful reading week...

...as I did not.  The start of summer break coincided with a language development class that is kicking my patootie, to put it politely.  I did manage to get two books completed this week.  The first, The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver, is reviewed here.  The other, The Way Things Look to Me, by Roopa Farooki, I just finished last night-review to come soon.

There are so many things in my TBR pile that I am excited to get to, but I've started to feel a little guilty about the books that have been on my shelves for (literally) years that I still haven't read, so I went with one of those, a Karin Slaughter book I got from my mom about a year or so ago, called Undone.  What I really should do is rearrange my bookshelves-the oldest books are in the back behind all of the new ones I get.  That sounds like an excellent project for a rainy day like today...oh.wait...I have two more papers and a chapter to read before next week...stupid too-much-work-for-a-four-week-class class!  Ah well, my next class is Children's Literature-surely I'll get to read lots of great YA stuff for that class that can actually count towards my 100+ goal!  Have a great reading week everyone!