09
Jun 2011

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

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Taylor Lily Markham was abandoned by her mother at a 7-11 outlet six years ago. She was found by a young woman named Hannah who then becomes her guardian. Taylor has little memory of her father.

Now at the age of 17, Taylor is a house leader in her boarding house at Jellicoe School on Jellicoe Road. She is also in charge of all the boarders in the territory wars with the Townies (kids from town) and Cadets who are Sydney boys who come to Jellicoe for training. The leader of the Cadets also happens to be Jonah Griggs, who Taylor ran away with a few years ago to go search for her mother. However, the attempt was not successful and Taylor never wanted to see Jonah again.

Now, not only does she have to face Jonah after all these years, Taylor has to stand up to other house leaders who are unhappy with her leadership in the wars. To top it all off, Hannah disappears without an explanation and Taylor can only look for clues in some of Hannah’s manuscripts that tell a story about five kids.

I was lost when reading the first few chapters of Jellicoe Road. There was the boy in the tree in Taylor’s dreams, the Hermit and then in came the five kids named Webb, Narnie, Tate, Jude and Fitz from Hannah’s manuscripts which ran as a parallel story. I went like, ‘Who are all these people???’

There were so many names that I could not keep track of who was who and what were their roles in the story. I almost gave up after a few chapters but I kept on reading as I’ve come across many reviews that praised this book to the skies. I loved Marchetta’s Looking For Alibrandi so I felt that there should be something mind-blowing in this book as well. True enough, there was.

I was not disappointed. If you feel like quitting the story halfway, I suggest that you don’t but to continue reading. Whatever that you did not understand in the earlier part of the book will all be answered in the coming chapters. After that, you will want to keep on reading till the end! That’s how it was for me. When I finished the story, I went back to the first chapter and read it again, with a better understanding the second time around.

In a nutshell, the story is mainly about Taylor trying to find her own identity, to know why her mother left her as well as to understand her relationships with Hannah and Jonah.

It is not all depressing though as there are a few funny parts that you will laugh at. I tell you, this is one book that I will be thinking about for a while. I’m also definitely going to get my hands on a copy of another book by Marchetta! Maybe either Saving Francesca or Finnikin of the Rock or her latest one, The Piper’s Son!

Popularity: 13%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - YA Fiction, Titles J Tags:
18
Nov 2010

Wake by Lisa McMann

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Janie, 17, is different from other teenagers. When somebody falls asleep around her, she’ll be involuntarily sucked into their dreams. This is why she could never get much sleep if she participates in sleepovers and she dreads if sleepy classmates doze off in class.

When she goes into somebody’s dream, she can only observe. But she’s trying to do something about it. She wants to try to resist being pulled into others’ dreams. Hey, it may be a special gift but it’s not worth it if she cannot handle it until it becomes a disruption in life.

Janie also gets friendly with a schoolmate named Cable. He was quite a mess when they were younger but he has changed since in terms of his looks. The other girls in school begin to pour attention on him but he is only drawn to Janie. They have a love-hate kind of relationship but while it was blossoming, it was sweet.

Janie’s friendship with her best friend, Carrie is interesting because Carrie is also good friends with other people who do not like Janie. Still, they turn to each other most of the time when there are problems. Carrie is not aware of Janie’s ability to see dreams though.

Wake was going pretty well in the beginning. I liked how the relationship developed between Janie and Cable. But it was a bit confusing when he started going out with another girl, right after he ‘broke off’ with Janie. He kept sending her ‘sorry’ notes though.

Unfortunately, I did not really like the way the book ended. I expected something more dramatic. I expected something more paranormal. The way the story turned out was just not how I imagined it would be.

However, the story behind the novel is fascinating. The author apparently had a dream that she was in her husband’s dream and was watching what he was dreaming about. That was how the incident inspired the creation of Wake, which is followed by Fade and Gone.

Other reviews: It’s All About Books

Popularity: 7%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - YA Fantasy, Titles W
01
Jun 2010

The Blue Umbrella by Mike Mason

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How’s the weather at your place right now? Over here in Penang, Malaysia, it’s raining and windy, just the type of weather that I love at night when I’m asleep or reading. Actually, I’ve always yearned for such weather because it’s so nice to be indoors, lazing on the couch with a good book.

After reading The Blue Umbrella, you’ll probably never look at weather or an umbrella the same way again. The entire story is centred on weather though it’s not as boring as small weather talk.

Ten-year-old Zac Sparks has just lost his mother. Apparently she died after being struck by lightning. Zac does not know who or where his father was and thought he had no other living relatives. But on the day of his mother’s funeral, two “aunties” appeared and fussed over him.

When the other mourners left, Auntie Esmeralda and Auntie Pris changed their tune. They bundled him up in their car and brought him back to their house in Five Corners. They refused to call him by his name and only addressed him as ‘Boy’. He was also forced to act as waiter at their birthday party and was not given any meals.

At the aunties’ house, he meets Butler, a very small and old man who works as a butler for the aunties. Butler tells Zac that the aunties are everybody’s aunties, which is weird. They also seem to hold some kind of authority over the other inhabitants of Five Corners. They are very, very old and Zac is curious over how old they really are.

Zac also meets Chelsea, a girl who doesn’t talk but is one of the few people who is pleasant with him. He befriends her brother Ches, an expert on weather. Zac also meets a blind balloon seller, Eldy who also doesn’t speak even though Zac thought he had a conversation with him. How, he wasn’t sure. Zac then gets to know about O, the “town drunk” who sings beautifully but is never seen.

The person who fascinates Zac the most is Sky Porter. Mr Porter owns Porter’s General Store which people say is haunted. Every morning through his bedroom window, Zac would watch Mr Porter welcome in the new day. Mr Porter would just stand with his umbrella on his arm, in front of his store as the day begins. Zac wonders what it’d be like to meet Mr Porter whom the Aunties extremely dislike.

When he finally does meet him and is offered a job at the store, Zac felt that he has met somebody that he could trust. But Zac walks around feeling troubled because he has to steal something from Mr Porter to give to Dada, a terrifying old man who happens to be the Aunties’ father. As long as he does not steal it, the Aunties would whack him with their beloved, mysterious cane.

If only some parts weren’t included or it wouldn’t be a 425-page book. I felt sorry for Zac who has just lost his mother and was forced to be a slave to horrible characters like the Aunties. It’s quite a lot for a 10-year-old to endure. No wonder he opened up to Sky Porter the way he did. I really liked this Porter character. He sounds like a pleasant enough fellow that it’s hard to believe most of the people in town stayed away from him.

What’s attractive about the book is the colourful cover which shows Porter standing in the doorway of his store. The story is okay for me and it is different from other fantasy novels. I liked how the author, Mike Mason could spin a simple theme such as weather into a welcoming read like this. I also liked the various characters in the novel. Each of them had their own striking individuality!

You can check out the interview with Mike Mason at the end of the book. There’s also a glossary for you to refer to should you not know the meaning of certain words found in the story. This is also Mason’s first novel.

***Thanks to Audra Jennings of The B&B Media Group for sending me a copy of this book to review.

Popularity: 4%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - Fantasy, Titles B
21
May 2010

Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez

By 6 Comments

I thought it’s going to be some sleazy book with inappropriate graphic details in it. But it’s not like that at all. Memories of My Melancholy Whores is actually quite a sad story and the reader will wonder if the main character has been fooled of his money and his heart.

A 90-year-old journalist wishes to give himself a birthday treat by requesting for a virgin girl to sleep with. He’s always been a frequent visitor to the brothel and although the lady pimp has kept offering him virgin prostitutes, he’d decline them. But now that he’s already 90 and probably felt that his time is almost up, he decides to have a wild night of love with an adolescent virgin.

The lady pimp, Rosa Cabarcas finally managed to find a 14-year-old girl who has to take care of her crippled mother and also her younger siblings. When the old man arrived at their room, he finds the girl sleeping and doesn’t wake her up. Instead he only observes her and sings into her ear. He names her Delgadina. When he woke up in the morning, the girl is still sleeping.

It continues like that for the rest of his ‘appointments’ with the young girl. He always never finds her awake and has never spoken to her. But one thing’s for sure. He has fallen in love for the first time in his long, lonely life. He even changes the style of writing for his column with the newspaper that he works with. From dry, old-fashioned topics, he turned his columns into some sort of ‘love letters that all people could make their own’. Of course, love struck readers began responding to his column which had never sparked such interest before.

But could a 90-year-old man find love with a 14-year-old girl whom he has never spoken to at all? If so, does she love him back? She’s probably just there for him because she’s paid to do it. As a poor young girl who has to support her family, she doesn’t have much choice but to turn to where the money is. And the pimp, Rosa must know that the old man is hopelessly devoted to the girl and she could be cheating him out of his money.

The 115-page novella is told from the man’s point of view. He reveals himself somewhat completely to the reader, why he’s never fallen in love, why he has only slept with women he’s paid and more. The first line of the novel is interesting enough to pull the reader in.

The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.

From there on, it’s been an intriguing read. The novel was originally written in Spanish but has been translated into English. If it weren’t for my English class, I would never have picked up this book to read despite its stimulating title. Sorry to disappoint but no, there weren’t any erotic scenes at all. The story only explores the loneliness of a very old man who thinks he has found love at the age of 90.

The author, Gabriel García Márquez is known as ‘Gabo’ throughout Latin America and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. He has written two other famous novels which are One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. I would sure love to read more of his books!

Other reviews: Literary Musings

Popularity: 7%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - Literature, Titles M
13
Dec 2008

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

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I thought it’s just an ordinary book about Bindy Mackenzie and how her life is at school. How she’s like a genius and takes her schoolwork seriously. She even takes life a little too seriously. If you had met her, she might seem a little bit odd and perhaps a little unemotional. I guess she rarely shows her emotional side. All that come out from her mouth are hard, scientific facts so it could be like talking with a walking encyclopedia.

Bindy is a student at Ashbury High, in Year 11 which she thinks is the year that will determine her whole life. Yeah, I guess she’s kind of an extremist too. Anyway, there’s a new self-awareness course called Friendship and Development or FAD. Meetings are held every Wednesday in the storage room at the back of the gymnasium. Bindy’s FAD group consists of 8 people: she, Finnegan, Sergio, Emily, Astrid, Elizabeth, Briony, and Toby. Their teacher is Try Montaine from Ohio. Finnegan has been chosen to be Bindy’s FAD Buddy.

It all started from the Name Game where the members of the FAD group were supposed to write a comment on somebody on a piece of paper with the person’s name printed on it. Everyone knows Bindy is a high achiever, has weird social skills and is always ready to lend a helping hand although it’s sometimes rejected. So for the Name Game, Bindy thinks that the other seven students wrote unkind remarks about her. She has promised herself that they’ll pay for it.

Bindy chose animals to represent the members in her FAD group. For example, she compares Toby to a cane toad. She then lists out the unpleasant characteristics of the cane toad and indirectly refers them to Toby’s personality. She does this to all seven of them. However, when things got too far, Bindy deeply regrets her actions.

She decides to make up to them and begins to spend a lot of time watching their whereabouts. She keenly observes them and thinks of new animals to compare them with. Since this new personal project takes up a lot of time, her assignments and schoolwork are neglected. For the first time in her life, she thinks she might fail Year 11!

Furthermore, Bindy loves writing memos, e-mails, philosophical musings in her diary, entries in her dream diary, letters, and also transcripts. She listens to people’s conversations around her and types them out in her laptop. In other words, she loves to eavesdrop but not with bad intentions. She happened to witness the argument between two supposedly substitute teachers. When one slapped the other, Bindy quickly rushed to the victim and offered to testify about the assault. There’s your Bindy, always ready to offer help to the needy.

The book is meant to be funny but I think I only started laughing at page 387. And during the final pages of the book, it’s no laughing matter though. There are 491 pages and I can say that I enjoyed reading almost every one of them. Bindy’s fellow schoolmates were likeable enough. I thought Bindy likes Toby but she also pays a lot of attention to Finnegan. Toby seemed a little retarded in the beginning because nothing he said seemed intelligent. But later in the story, he appeared to be mature and thoughtful.

I have read reviews on Amazon that this book was really boring but I beg to differ. It is far from boring, I assure you. I like it probably because it’s a school story and I like school stories! By the way, The Kool-Aid Mom sent me this book as I was one of the winners in her book giveaway.

Other reviews: Liz B, Bibliovore

Buy Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie


Popularity: 3%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - YA Fiction, Titles M
08
Dec 2008

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

By 22 Comments

“Fans will burn the midnight oil to finish and then gnash their teeth awaiting Breaking Dawn”, so says VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) on the back cover of Eclipse. I did burn the midnight oil to read this book. In fact, I stayed up well past midnight so that I could read until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer! That’s how interesting this book is – something I can’t say for New Moon.

So Bella has made up her mind to become a vampire, as soon as possible if she can have things her way. She desperately wants to sleep with Edward too. Nevertheless, Edward wants to get married first before transforming Bella and doing anything with her. Bella thinks that getting married right after high school would initiate unwanted gossip among her high school friends and other people. She’s also worried about what her parents might think about her.

If you have read the previous two books, you’d know that a wild and vicious vampire called Victoria is after Bella. She wants to finish off Bella just like how Edward destroyed her mate, James. In short, Victoria is just looking for revenge. So during the whole book, Edward’s family and the werewolves are spending most of their time protecting Bella.

Besides that, Jacob, Bella’s best friend who can also turn into a werewolf, is determined to win Bella’s heart. He keeps hinting to her that she harbours feelings for him too although she adamantly denies it. Even though Bella insists that she only has eyes for Edward, Jacob won’t give up and is willing to fight for her until she becomes a vampire. Even Bella’s father, Charlie prefers Bella to spend time with Jacob and not Edward. You have to give credit to Edward who is way too polite and decent towards Charlie despite Charlie treating him like part of the wall.

What’s fascinating is that there are stories in this story. Rosalie ends up being quite nice to Bella and shares her story. Jasper who’s had a terrifying past also shares his own story to make Bella understand more about vampires and territories. During a bonfire party at Jacob’s place, the elders of the council told the history of how werewolves came to be in their tribe.

There wasn’t a dull moment in this book. I enjoyed reading the conversations between Edward and Jacob. I thought Edward quite selfish when he totally forbids Bella to visit Jacob fearing that she might get hurt since Jacob’s part werewolf. And did Bella have to take so long a time to finally realize the way she feels for Jacob? I’m also appalled at the way Bella treats Jacob. She was rude to him, kept scolding him and basically insults him whenever she can. I’m surprised he took it all so well and continued being easy going.

The ending was absolutely heart-wrenching though. I have to get Breaking Dawn and see how things continue for the humans, the vampires and the werewolves.

Other Reviews: alisonwonderland

Popularity: 5%

Categories: Authors M, Genre - YA Paranormal Romance, Titles E Tags:
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