16th January, 2008

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

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Okay, I had better finish up this review for once and for all! Firstly, I cannot say that this book was enjoyable. It just did not have the same wow factor like how Twilight had. There were a few dragging parts in the book with lots of unnecessary things thrown in.

So, all of a sudden Edward decides to leave Bella. For good. He wants her to forget him and everything to do with him. It’s pretty creepy, but it isn’t new here isn’t it since it’s a vampire book and all? Anyway, Edward removed all traces of himself from Bella’s life and it’s obvious that she’s in shock over what has just happened.

She can’t bring herself to believe that she may never see her beloved Edward again. So every day, she goes to school and work and comes back home and does her homework like a good girl. She doesn’t hang out with her friends and she doesn’t laugh much, if not at all. Also, she has nightmares every single night where she will wake up screaming.

Then, she discovers that if she does something dangerous or taking part in any activity where ending up dead is a huge possibility, she hears Edward’s voice in her head, warning her and trying to steer her way out of further trouble. It’s as if he’s right beside her and talking into her ear.

Soon, she’s indulging herself in reckless stunts like riding a motorcycle with her new friend, Jacob. Jacob Black is also another peculiar character but it’s apparent that he likes Bella very much and wished that Edward did not exist. To spice things up, he has his own set of secrets too! The secret will be revealed later in the book.

Edward wasn’t around for the most part of the book. He’ll be back though so don’t worry. Bella will have a tough decision to make. Jacob or Edward? She only likes Jacob as a friend and nothing more. Jacob, on the other hand, can’t stand the sight of Edward Cullen. And Bella wants to be with both of them! Well, as a friend to one and as a girlfriend to the other. Hence, it’s a complicated triangle.

I wonder how Eclipse will be. May it not be as disappointing as this one.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Nicole, Framed, Alice

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Posted in Authors M, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, School Stories, Titles N, Young Adult Fiction at 8:36 am | Comments (11)



11th June, 2007

Carrie by Stephen King

This book really gave me the horrors! After reading the first 20 pages I felt tired and took a nap. And had a bad dream! But, I still continued reading the book nevertheless.

Carrie was Stephen King’s first horror novel and it definitely does its job. Carrie is just a plain girl with the gift of telekinesis. Nobody else knows about it except her mother. The most frightening character in this book is Carrie’s overly religious and completely paranoid mother, Margaret White. Carrie’s father, Ralph, passed away when she was small so, it’s only Carrie and her mother at home.

Their house is decorated with numerous religious pictures (mostly biblical characters in trouble) and also a huge crucifix with the dying Jesus Christ. Carrie’s mother is also always praying for her and her daughter’s sins. To her, it is already a sin for being a woman and also a sin for a woman to have her menstruation.

That was why she never explained to Carrie about the monthly cycle. While cleaning up after playing volleyball in the girls’ locker room at Ewen (U-win) High School, Carrie found blood dripping down her legs. She doesn’t know that she’s begun menstruating and the other girls weren’t any help. They only teased and bullied her.

Carrie was always the butt of jokes in school and she doesn’t stand up for herself. Anyway, one of the girls, Susan Snell, felt badly for Carrie and regretted teasing her in the locker room with the other girls, asked her boyfriend, Tommy Ross to bring Carrie to the prom.

Tommy nervously asked Carrie and she accepted. However, her mother was not very happy about it. In fact, she got hysterical and ordered Carrie to pray for her sins in the closet.

Then, there’s Chris Hargensen, the spoilt daughter of a rich lawyer. She’s forever making Carrie’s life like hell in school and she’s upset that she’s not allowed to go to the prom, as punishment for teasing Carrie in the locker room. No, she won’t sit down quietly of course. She’s going to pay back to Carrie. On Prom Night, too.

Initially, Carrie’s prom night was magical and thrilling. The popular Tommy Ross is her date and she looks stunning in her homemade dress. Lo and behold, Tommy and Carrie were even voted Prom King and Queen of the 1979 Spring Ball. Both went onstage and sat on the special ‘thrones’ for the King and Queen of the prom and Carrie felt terribly overwhelmed when something splashed all over her. Pig’s blood.

From then on, the terror began in the town of Chamberlain.

For the faint-hearted, no reading this book alone at night.

I’ve watched Carrie (1976 film) starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie. My sister did warn me about the chilling sound effects and Carrie’s mother but I watched it anyway. Don’t watch it alone, I’m warning you! =D

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Erin

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Posted in Authors K, Horror, Titles C at 3:46 am | Comments (4)



20th May, 2007

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

This book had many good reviews on it and after reading the book, I felt that it’s definitely worth a read, if not two. Truly, it’s easy to read and undoubtedly captivating with its story of a normal human girl falling hopelessly in love with a vampire who fortunately feeds only on animal blood.

Isabella Swan or Bella as she prefers to be called, decided to move to Forks, Washington to live with her father, Police Chief Charlie Swan. Her mother had remarried to another guy, Phil, and he was always traveling about. So, in the meantime, Bella made up her mind to stay with her father in rainy Forks.

On her first day of school, she heard from her new friend, Jessica, about the strange Cullen family, who always sat together and rarely socialized with the other students. One of them, Edward Cullen, happened to be in Bella’s Biology class, too. Since the only empty seat was next to Edward, Bella had to take it. However, his bizarre behaviour and hostile, deadly looks, which he gave her, really scared Bella out of her wits. She could not possibly imagine why he should hate her so much although they had not even spoken with each other!

But, one day, Edward saves Bella’s life unexpectedly. He managed to move her out of an uncontrollable van’s way so fast that she began to be suspicious of him. The driver of the van was another student, Tyler, and he kept following Bella, apologizing over and over again! On the other hand, Bella kept asking Edward all sorts of questions as she’s sure that he’s more than a regular human being.

Well, she did get answers to most of her questions and somehow realized that she’s very much in love with Edward. Edward also finds Bella very special because (a) he cannot read her mind like how he can read others’ (b) she has a very enticing scent, which attracts him extremely. But, he’s trying to control the urge to not harm her. He loves her too much, too!

Bella sounds like a brave girl because she does not always feel afraid when she’s with Edward. He claims that she’s a magnet for trouble and he always had to be around to save her from getting hurt. Really, she’s like a damsel in distress most of the time.

This is the first time I’ve read such an interesting story of humans having strong feelings towards vampires. At first, I thought it would just be another cheesy fantasy story but clearly, I was wrong. It’s much more than a fantasy story.

Twilight is followed by its sequel, New Moon. I would certainly read it to see how Bella and Edward’s relationship continues.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Marg, Lisa, Novelish, The Novel World, Melanie

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Posted in Authors M, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Titles T, Young Adult Fiction at 9:41 am | Comments (10)



17th April, 2007

Firestarter by Stephen King

Who’s the firestarter in this book? Why, it’s only a little girl! So young and innocent and yet she is able to start fires that could burn you to death.

Firestarter by Stephen King is one of the many interesting and thought-provoking books that I’ve read. The little firestarter’s name is Charlene McGee or just Charlie. Her parents, Andy and Vicky, once needed 200 dollars when they were young and they had participated in some weird drug experiment to get the money.

Andy felt uncomfortable during the experiment and saw some gory incidents but was told later that he was merely hallucinating, part of the side effects of the experimental drug called Lot Six, which was injected into him. However, after the day of the experiment and after getting his 200 bucks, he discovered that he had the ability to ‘push’ other people into doing things he wanted them to do. Vicky, who eventually became his wife, had telekinetic abilities, too like turning off the TV even though she’s nowhere near it.

Then, they had a daughter, Charlie. Charlie would unintentionally light fires when she’s agitated, angry or just feeling extremely emotional. It was dangerous when she was a baby because if her bottle of milk was late, then there would be fire burning somewhere. That’s why her parents kept fire extinguishers all around the house.

Vicky and Andy did not know that they were being watched by a secret government agency, The Shop. The Shop is actually a scientific department and now, they want to get hold of Charlie to study her ability to start fires just by thinking about doing it. Her talent is called pyrokinesis.

However, they are being merciless towards the McGee family. They will do anything just to have Charlie. Therefore, Andy and Charlie are on the run, away from the agents of The Shop. Andy knew they were in serious trouble when he came home one day to find his wife dead.

Nonetheless, this book has lots of unimportant parts that were relatively boring to me. I enjoyed reading the ending though. ‘Scary’, ‘frightening’, and ‘terrifying’ were among the words used to describe the book. Hmmm, well, I guess a part or two was chilling enough. I would call this book entertaining and it made me feel tremendously sad for Charlie. No 7-year-old deserves to live such a terrifying life.

The story was adapted into a movie in 1984 with Drew Barrymore acting as Charlie! This is getting even more interesting. Looks like I’m going to be on a hunt for the movie now.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Erin

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Posted in Authors K, Horror, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction, Titles F at 12:10 pm | Comments (8)



22nd March, 2007

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Trisha McFarland is 9 years old. She tries to be cheerful all the time although her family is having problems. However, in her heart, she wished that they would stop hurting one another.

Her parents are divorced. Larry, her father drinks too much beer. Trisha and her father have something in common - both of them are ardent fans of a baseball player, Tom Gordon, who plays for the Red Sox. Quilla, Trisha’s mother, who won custody of her children, never gets tired of taking her two kids out on weekend outings. Pete, Trisha’s older brother, misses his old school at the town where they lived before the divorce.

The story starts when Trisha, her mom, and Pete are out hiking. Trisha’s mom and Pete argue about Pete’s pinings to return to his old school and computer club. They were so caught up in their quarrel that they did not realise Trisha had disappeared for a while to pee. Well, Trisha thought she would catch up with them as long as she could hear their voices. But, she had left the path and was unable to find her mother and brother or anyone else. She strayed deeper into the woods, hoping to find a way out.

I find this book less thrilling than ‘Firestarter’, another splendid novel by Stephen King. But still, this is a story of the determination and optimism of a little girl who lost her way in the woods.

Book read in 2004.

Buy The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

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Posted in Authors K, Horror, Mystery/Thriller, Titles G at 3:18 am | Comments (2)


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