The Book of Tomorrow – A Review

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Tamara Goodwin was stripped off of everything she had once with the death of her father. She and her mother sold everything they ever had. Not only were they poor and living in Arthur and Rosaleen’s – her uncle and aunt – house, they had been stripped off of the power and will to move on and live. With the help of a very magical and mysterious diary that tells the future, Tamara uncovers the truth behind the lies she was taught to believe with and exposes secrets kept for years.

The Book of Tomorrow is another novel by Cecelia Ahern. It’s another fictional story dipped in magic.

Tamara is exactly like the girls usually seen in TV – spoiled and wild. She’s a girl I try not to be. It’s a common plot in a book: a young rich girl turned poor and homeless. What was good about it is how she changed and evolved intro somebody else, far different yet better. She started to think and reflect, she was helping her family move on and she realized how much she loved and appreciated her father despite his wrong decision and pride. It’s like in those sayings that tell how you appreciate something when it’s no where near your grasp anymore.

At first, you would guess that the book will teach her never to meddle with the future. But Ahern was realistic. You can never meddle with the future. Instead, the book taught Tamara to think of the consequences of our actions. As the end nears, I learned a lot along with her. I understood and will try to keep in my heart and never forget.

The book was trying to lead Tamara into something else too. At the first few chapters, I thought the book will drag and just when my eyelid were starting to droop, the book jerked my eyes open, alert and curious. I will not spoil the fun for you but let me hint, old secrets will be uncovered. And it will all start with someone – someone and her jealousy, lies, and too much loving. Just like a quote someone sent me, anything that’s too much, spills and is wasted. Imagine pouring water over a glass filled to the brim.

Cecelia Ahern never failed me so far. I think these ideas were not new but she introduced all of them to me – falling in love with an invisible person, acquiring the skill and knowledge of your anonymous blood benefactor, finding a place where all things lost end up, pills that can make you work at two places at a time, and now this, a diary that tells the future.

She’s a brilliant author with brilliant books and I am so happy she’s still young and no where near retiring.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – A Review

Juliet Ashton is a successful writer in need of a subject for a book. As letters from unknown people arrive in her doorstep, she is introduced to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  She meets new friends through hand written letters. She learns about the German Occupation in the Channel Islands and the stories of bravery and pain and suffering of the German soldiers, the Islanders, the Todt workers, and of a woman named Elizabeth McKenna.

Reading the book transported me into a world I never experienced and I hope I will never live to see. Shaffer and Barrows is the perfect duo to create the perfect characters and you know when the characters are perfect when to you, they seemed real.

As I try to reorganize my mind, I cannot think of a good start to describe this book perfectly. I think, I cannot give a review able to bring justice to such a book. Reading it was life feeling the wind pass by. A very quick read that didn’t seem like I needed some deep thinking. It’s a book that requires just a deeper feeling and understanding. Reading about war is not like eating pie. I doubt you could eat right after even.

The Society is a group of people with such odd combination of personality. With the letters they send to Juliet, I could understand what pushed her to take a boat and ride to Guernsey, see they island and the people itself – the stories that are about to be told, the experiences of the people in the Occupation, the Society itself. I believe Juliet finished her book splendidly. If she can write such humorous and entertaining letters, how much more a whole thick book? Now, that would be easy as pie.

There were more pressing points that I couldn’t get out of my mind. The German soldiers were pitiful and I think, I pitied them more than the people. As the Red Cross ship arrived and unloaded the heaps of boxes containing food supplies and all thing important, they never stole or took away anything for themselves but instead scraped whatever flour or sugar that may fell on the ground with their spoons. They killed cats and dogs or steal on vegetable gardens or knock for food. Everything was scanty.

One of the characters stood out among others and that was Elizabeth. She was so brave that I doubt my confidence already. If she was a real person, she would be part of history just for her courage. Do you have one? She stood up for people she barely knows, for people she can ignore or leave behind but she did not. Can you do that?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society may be about the Occupation but it wasn’t gruesome or violent as you would think. The suffering told and described clearly might want you to look away for a moment but you couldn’t put the book down. Shaffer started the book well and Barrows ended it with magic. You would think the book may drag, confusing, or uninteresting but it wasn’t.

It all started with letters, turned to friendship, then a closer relationship, and ended in what else? Marriage. Romance didn’t take the center stage here but for me it did. It was something so unforgettable, asked in a the most odd way and ended most beautifully.

I shall keep this sacredly.

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either – A Review

I was taken aback by how Size 12 Is Not Fat was written. How Meg Cabot, author of Princess Diaries, wrote a mystery and that I bought a book I thought was romance. I was more surprised with how I’m actually loving this series, most especially the second installment which, to me, is my favorite.

This time, interesting thing arises and as each one unfold, I fell in love with Meg Cabot and more with Heather Wells. Murder takes another level in the Residence Halls – the head cheerleader’s head is found inside the canteen’s cooking pot. Suspecting one of the wealthiest and oldest fraternities in the college, trouble takes a different, more dangerous route to find Heather.

With all the problems that she has – she’s trying to build a relationship with her father, she’s growing inch by inch with the good steaks her father is cooking, Jordan keeps on bugging her to attend his wedding while on the other hand, she’s dreaming of a wedding with Cooper, juggling such a crazy life would be nerve wracking. But Heather Wells will manage.

These are why I fell deep into a hole with this book, and more. Not am I only getting used to Meg Cabot’s writing (with the help of my sister’s explanation, I managed to get through the end of the book which is worth it by the way), but I am loving Heather like she’s loving Cooper. Heather was a pool of madness and humor.

What I was looking for in Size 12, I found in Size 14. It’s as if Meg Cabot was in the best condition, inspired mood while writing this book. I cannot forget the scenes I imagined in my head as I laughed at the writing on the wall. How surprised I am when I found out Gavin’s feelings. The tickling feeling when I knew who Reggie was. The regret that I hated the first one before. The sadness because I cannot buy the third installment until next month!

Meg Cabot is just so good at making a crucial situation so funny. I couldn’t not love her for that!

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either is like the Belgian chocolates Mom sent us, or the bread I just tasted a while ago. A treat I  must try  agian and again. The next time I saw Size Doesn’t Matter on the bookstore, I grabbed it without hesitance and doubt. I just knew Meg won’t fail me. Nor will Heather!

Rating: 5 out of 5!

I have returned to my old layout because it seemed redundant to have the book’s title on my entry title, the book cover, plus the book title above my rating. It’s simpler this way!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard – A Review

This are tales by Beedle The Bard, four to be exact, are binded in a book by J.K Rowling, translated by Hermione Granger with commentaries of Albus Dumbledore. Inside are four different stories with different messages to convey to the readers.

These wizarding tales are the equivalent of fairy tales to the muggle world. Stories that contain important moral values. Tales that enchant anyone who reads it. Tales that are read before bedtime. And just like any other person, I was enchanted with the stories as well.

I have two personal favorites among the four tales. First, “The Fountain of Fair Fortune”. Three witches – Asha, Altheda, and Amata – wanted to reach The Fountain of Fair Fortune which they believe would fix their woes. The roads, with challenges for those who pass, is blocked by a magical wall that opens only once a year. This three ladies planned to get to the opening first together. But then, fate has its twists. Along with them came Sir Lukeless, a muggle. What happens on their journey and on their arrival on the fountain is something for you to find.

This story was as magical as the others but it delighted me the most. It portrays the power of belief. It reminds me of the fact that when you believe you’d heal when you’re sick, you will. It’s being optimistic and proving to one’s self that this could happen and it will.

The first and the simplest story of all is the “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. Three brothers, on a journey, needs to cross a river too dangerous for a person to pass. Since these brothers are skilled wizards, they created a bridge for them to pass. Death, outraged by the fact that he was surpassed, tricked the brothers.

As Dumbledore said on his commentary:

Human efforts to evade or overcome death are always doomed to disappointment.

The eldest and second brother asked Death things that would enable them win any battle and bring back the dead. At the end, Death took them away. But the youngest brother, the wisest and humblest, asked for an Invisibility Cloak which he used to hide from Death. But when he reached old age and when he was ready to welcome death, he took off his Cloak and passed it to his son.

On Dumbledore’s commentary:

The third brother in the story (“the humbles and also the wisest”) is the only one who understands that, having narrowly escaped Death once, the best he can hope for is to postpone their next meeting for as long as possible.

The story with the simplest, most well known and obvious moral lesson is by far my favorite. Just like I said, the story was simple and the message was clear but just like Dumbledore, it made a profound impression on me. It reminds me of stories of people who was given second chances, those who are critically ill, almost dead, but was brought back to Earth for the reason that their mission isn’t done yet. These people, at some point of their life, would welcome death as the youngest brother did.

Another message that this last tale wants to convey is to remind us that death is just around the corner (as scary as this sounds), thus live life to the fullest of your abilities. Never be afraid to explore more for whatever life brings. Always be happy. Triumph over disappointments, problems, lost dreams, painful pasts, negative aspects in life, everything – for everything has a solution, everyone must move on.

The other stories were quite as good as these two, “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” and “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart”, but I won’t summarize it for you.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a beautiful book that could be read by anyone without the need to think and contemplate what just happened at that particular page. You could even read it to your kids at bedtime. It’s as good as Cinderella or Snow White. Though there would be mentions of death and hairy hearts, I believe kids of today’s generation are tough enough to handle these?

Once again, J.K Rowling did a good job. I would like her to write more. Harry Potter is already a classic and I plan to buy anything that is HP related. Wouldn’t you want her to write another epic tale? The skies would cry with joy if she would!

Rating: 5 out 5!

Remember Me? – A Review

What if .. you remember yourself living in 2004, working in a crappy job with no Christmas bonus, with bad teeth and nails, cheap boots that murders your toes .. and suddenly wakes up in 2007 in a hospital bed with a Louis Vuitton bag, a gorgeous, multimillionaire husband, a stylish loft, free carb diet, and  a Mercedes?

Just imagine Lexi Smart’s reaction and feelings. Imagine yourself in her shoes. Me? I’d be the happiest. But not until I step inside the office again with no memories of previous meetings and of important people and places.

In business, three years is long, very long. And it’s no easy job to learn everything that happened in the past three years and keep your chin up and position away from predators who try to take advantage of your situation.

How much more if you remember your self hanging out with your best friends and then find them way different from what you remember them? How do you win their trust back without feeling stupid? How do you prove that you weren’t the bitch-boss-from-hell?

And then some hot Architect named Jon spills the biggest bean in your life? That you have a secret affair with him, that you planned schemes to hide the truth, that you weren’t happy with your gorgeous multimillionaire husband, that you used to have dates together, that he knows more about your life this past three years. But how would you trust someone you remember wasn’t part in any page in your life? How would you know if he’s lying or saying the truth?

Poor Lexi has to deal with all these.

Remember Me? was a beautiful story. It was thrilling to read about how Lexi was once down there is now up here. I was rooting to know more about how Lexi would regain her memories and who would help her. I wanted to know how she’d regain the lost friendship with Fi and the others. I wanted to know she would prove herself to the heads in her office.

Eric, her husband, was a weird man. He gave Lexi a Marriage Manual so she’d remember how they do things together. He is weird in bed. His Mont Blanc was the weirdest. He is so uptight about cleanliness and that Lexi should follow their carb-free diet.

Jon on the other hand was suspicious but cool. On his first meeting with Lexi, he was obviously hurt for Lexi does not remember one bit about him. Probably because he was the most important memory, that was the most affected. I was surprised when Jon showed up and straight forwardly told Lexi that he loves her and that she loves him. I was surprised with all the revelations that Jon spilled. It was the most bizarre. Like he could be lying or he could be sincere.

Another surprising things that Jon revealed to Lexi were her possessions on his house. Lexi knows for herself that the toaster was hers. That the other things she found in his room were hers. That the Sunflowers meant something. That surely, these things did. But she couldn’t comprehend why he would cheat and be untruthful to a man she vowed she’d love for ever.

Would she believe Jon? Or would she not?

Remember Me? was a fun read and I most enjoyed it. From the beginning of the book until the last when she remembers a vital piece of memory which involved Jon. With 430 pages, I finished it in 6 hours for I really cannot put it down. As if I’d lose my head too if I put this book down. I wanted to know more.

For sure, Remember Me? are already one of the books standing on your bookshelves. After all, it’s one of Kinsella’s babies. If not, then what are you doing?

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5!

There’s No Place Like Here – A Review

When lost, getting lost again would mean finding your way back.

In the case of Sandy Shortt (she’s standing six feet tall), that is.

Since Sandy’s childhood classmate disappearance, she has been obsessed on finding missing things. Her sole goal is finding what was lost- from vanishing socks, to misplaced  car keys or missing people who have suddenly vanished from their loved ones. She keeps on finding misplaced possessions and lost people, but how about the things that she needs in her life? Is she paying attention to these?

Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate people who can’t move on. He cannot play his life the way he used to unless he finds his brother, alive or dead. She seeks Sandy Shortt’s help and starts reading articles and reports, replaying every bit of information on his mind and talking to friends who was with Donal on the night of his disappearance. On the day of their supposed face-o-face meeting, Sandy did not show up. She did not call after 3 days. She just suddenly disappeared. Could she be lost herself?

Jack finds Sandy’s car near the estuary with her cold coffee, phone and Donal Ruttle’s files. Will he find Sandy or leave it as it is? Where could Sandy be anyway?

Sandy is in a place called “HERE”. A place where missing things go. Not just things but people, scents, memories, laughters, feelings that have been forgotten. She finds herself in a community of lost people who have chosen to live and start a life in Here. She finds the people whom she was looking for years, people who are reason for the tears of their loved ones who sought for Sandy’s help and shoulder. Now that she’s found what she’s been finding, what is she going to do? Bring them back? But how? Should she tap her shoe like Dorothy and say “There’s no place like home.”? Maybe not.

There’s No Place Like Here is a book I truly enjoyed and I wouldn’t give any negative remark for I see nothing except that Sandy does not appreciate her parents. I wasn’t disappointed that it wasn’t entirely focused on romance. I was rather amused of how the story went. I was surprised of where Sandy ended up and confused on how I could possibly theorize how she and the others got lost.

Another amusing thing is, Here. It wasn’t just one village but more. They live on lost things that end up in Here but they managed to have electricity through solar panels (how could solar panels get lost?). They grow vegetables and a whole village eats at a canteen. They have heads in each village. Villagers are composed of all sorts of races. And they have a Lost and Found booth (yeah?). But what’s sad about Here is when you hear your laughter swept by the winds, your scent or those important words you said to somebody special. The feeling of being forgotten.

I wouldn’t answer my questions for the world. I wouldn’t tell how Donal was found and how exactly Sandy found her way home, who found her and where she was found. I wouldn’t tell if Sandy or Jack ended up together or not. Where’s the surprise then?

Find your way to the bookstore and buy the book. Avoid getting lost!

Ratings: 5 out of 5!