Book Review: Fingerprints Of You

Author: Kristen-Paige Madonia

Published: August 7^th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Lemon and her mum, Stella, have never stayed in one place for long. Switching accommodations and schools was already a norm to her but it wasn’t something she enjoyed doing. Watching her mum switch boyfriends at every place they stopped and moving when the relationship didn’t turn out well made Lemon wonder who the adult was in their relationship. Everything changed when Lemon found herself pregnant.

She persuaded Stella to allow her to go on a road trip to San Francisco with the reason that she wanted to see the place her mother was living during the time she got pregnant with her. Inside, Lemon wanted to closure; she needed to know who her father was and what type of person he is. On the path of becoming a mother, she needed to know the other parent that has always been absent from her life.

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Book Review: As Simple As Snow

Author: Gregory Galloway

Published: 2015 by Speak (First published 2005 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Blurb:

Anna- who preferred to be called Anastasia- is dark, spooky, and mysterious. And from the moment he met her, he was mesmerized. And so began their happy yet unlikely romance.

But a week before Valentine’s Day, Anna disappears, leaving behind a dress on the frozen river and a string of unanswered questions. And as the narrator struggles to understand what happened, and put together the pieces of the last few months, the clues, codes, and ciphers begin to coalesce into a haunting reality that may implicate friends, relatives, and even Anna herself.

Book Review: All The Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr

Published: January 15^th 2015 by Fourth Estate (First published May 6^th 2014)

Blurb:

Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.

I’m Back

I’m really sorry for such a long hiatus. How long has it been again? I’m pretty sure it has been months since I’ve posted any reviews or book-related posts. Well, now I’m back with a new resolution to remain productive on my blog as well as in real life.

To be honest, I’ve been free for a while now. I’m back home happily enjoying my almost-three-month semester break. But the previous few months have really been a really hectic period for me, what’s with assignments and preparations for quizzes and finals. I’m not really good with time management. When all my focus is on my studies, I tend to forget my other interests and hobbies; even reading. But now that I’m on my break and ready to do something productive, I’ll go back to posting reviews which have been gathering dust in my laptop while at the same time preparing for next semester’s subjects.

 

Book Review: The Sweetest Spell

Author: Suzanne Selfors

Published: August 21^st 2012 by Walkers Children

Blurb:

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher’s daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman’s son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline.

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all.

Book Review: A School For Unusual Girls

Author: Kathleen Baldwin

Published: May 19^th 2015 by Tor Teen

Blurb:

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle them in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts…

Book Review: The Shattered Crown

Author: J. W. Webb

Published: March 5^th 2015

Blurb:

‘You ride into peril, Corin an Fol!’

Those are the words of the witch at the ford. Corin an Fol, mercenary, brawler, womaniser and drinker, ignores them and thus finds himself caught in a tangled web of sorcery, intrigue and dark prophesy.

When the High King is murdered and his broken crown goes missing, Queen Ariane suspects the wily hand of Caswallon the sorcerer. She forms a secret council and rides out to find the Oracle of her Goddess, to see if her worries are proved right. But Caswallon is onto her and the noose tightens fast around the young queen.

Corin an Fol returns to his village seeking solace in drink. Instead he finds an old contact waiting for him who persuades him to join Queen Ariane in her fight against Caswallon. And so, like the queen, Corin an Fol is snared by the sorcerer. Our boy has a big sword and bad attitude, but is that enough to survive the hordes Caswallon sends against them?

Review:

A millennium after the previous book, Gol, The Shattered Crown focuses on a new hero, a mercenary named Corin An Fol. Just as calamity has struck Gol a thousand years before, now the same thing happens within the Four Kingdoms and the surrounding land as war is threatening to begin anew. The murder of the High King is only the beginning of everything.

Book Review: GILA: A Journey Through Moods & Madness

Author: Hanna Alkaf

Published: 2016 by Gerakbudaya

I thought of giving books written by local authors a try when my eyes happened upon this title. The title fascinated me and the book cover conveyed exactly what the book was going to be about. Looking closely at the art, it seems to me as if the letter “I” was a needle that was going to stab the apparently tortured figure at the bottom right corner. “Gila” is a Malay word which translates to “insane” or “crazy” in the English language.

As stated on the back of the book, GILA was to be a book which compiles stories of people with mental-illnesses and how it affects their lives. Frankly, that was what pushed me to get this book apart from the fact that I thought I should give Malaysian books a try. I had always wanted to read more about mental-illnesses in Malaysia and since it’s not exactly a popular topic in this country, this book was really a rare find for me.

2016 Wrap-up

It’s already the end of the year already, and this year has really been a year full of changes for me, entering university and everything. Although I’ve been reading everywhere on Facebook that 2016 isn’t really a good year, I still feel blessed. As 2017 is starting soon (tomorrow, in fact) I can’t say I have many resolutions apart from surpassing the 2016 version of me. I would like to read more book next year than I did this year and review more books even while I cope with university assignments and tests. I don’t want to use university as an excuse for not reading.

I want to perhaps try writing stories again. Ever since entering university, I’ve got plenty of inspirations for writing short stories which I have written down in a small notebook. I certainly hope I can begin working on those ideas before my notebook overflows with those ideas.

Like I said, I plan on surpassing myself, so naturally that involves my studies too. It’s going to be a very busy 2017 and I want to use every single minute of it productively, whether it’s reading, reviewing, studying or writing. I just want to do the best that I can.

And perhaps I should not put that high an expectation on the number of books I want to read next year. My 2016 Goodreads reading goal was a hundred books and I’ve barely read past 50 books. I should probably tone that down a little next year.

Before I end the final post of the year 2016, I would love to wish every single person reading this to have a wonderful 2017. Even though things might not turn out as you hoped next year, that’s still not a reason to let it ruin your year. The best thing to do is to always look forward for tomorrow and to try your best again and again.

That’s all from me! Time to go back to studying for my finals. No end-of-year celebration for me this time.

Book Review: Someday

Author: Alison McGhee

Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds

Published: December 15^th 2015 by Little Simon (First published January 1^st 2007)

The transition from a baby, to a child and finally to an adult is something that happens to everyone but to a mother’s eyes, her baby will always remain her baby even though grown up. Someday is about a mother’s dreams and hopes for her child; that she will live life to the fullest, that she would learn to experience everything in life and that she would one day be a mother herself.

Someday is a picture book not necessarily meant for children. I recommend this book to everyone because it reminds us of a mother’s love for us. Even to those who don’t have the opportunity to know their mothers, this book gives of a sense of being loved and how we should have dreams for our children in the future.