Q and A a Day: 5-Year Journal (Potter Style)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 by 2 Comments

The moment I heard (or rather, read!) about this journal on Good Golly Miss Holly and The Dainty Squid, I thought to myself that I just gotta have it.

First, I’ve always loved the idea of journalling. I just like the word ‘journal’, whether it’s just like writing in a diary or keeping a reading journal. Though I have two reading journals, I have yet to write anything in them yet!

Anyway, back to this Q and A a Day: 5-Year Journal (Potter Style), which I bought from Amazon at USD11.55 (MYR35.31) in February this year. What intrigued me about this journal is that it is filled with different questions for each day of the year and that you can answer the particular question for that particular day for the next five years! Isn’t that interesting???

Here are some examples of the questions for a day:

March 1 – How could today have been better?
March 2 – Salty or sweet?
April 1 – Who are you fooling?
June 14 – Did you exercise today?
July 4 – ______ is funny.
August 28 – How would you describe your victory dance?

Yup, that and other mind-boggling questions which you might or might not need to crack your heads over the answers. After five years or less, you can already start comparing how your answers have changed or evolved, as long as you are consistent in writing them down in the journal.

It is a sturdy little brown, hardcover book with gilded edges and thick, good quality pages in it. On each page, there is the date and the day’s question at the top. For the answers, you can fill in the year (eg: 20__) with four lines provided for you to write in. If you have large handwriting and if you have a very long answer, you’ve got to cut it short to fit in the lines.

I have no complaints about this journal except that I think it could have come with a ribbon to be a bookmark. Other than that, this beautiful little book is definitely a keeper! Looking forward to reading and laughing over my answers in the future!

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - Non-fiction, Titles Q

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 by 7 Comments

Jenna Fox woke up one fine day remembering nothing from her past. The 17-year-old doesn’t remember who she was, who her family was, who her friends were, where she went to school, nothing. After a year’s long coma caused by an accident, Jenna woke up trying to remember as much as she can but finding it quite difficult.

Mother provided Jenna home videos to watch hoping to trigger some of her lost memories. But all Jenna sees is a girl who looks like her doing things she doesn’t remember doing. Her grandmother, Lily, urges her to skip the rest and watch the final video, the video which was made just before Jenna’s accident. Jenna ignores Lily and continues to watch them in order. Lily is the only one who behaves coldly towards Jenna, unlike her Mother and Father who obviously dote on her.

Then Jenna also meets her neighbour and first friend post-coma, Clayton Bender, a photographer who likes to feed the birds. Her parents initially didn’t allow her to leave the house alone so Mr. Bender’s like her confidante. He may not be a typical teenager’s friend but he’s someone whom Jenna can talk to and also someone who doesn’t seem to be keeping secrets from her. Well, not that he has his own personal secrets.

Why did they move away from Boston, their home? Why stay so far away from Jenna’s doctors? Why don’t any of her old friends contact her? Why don’t her parents let her attend school? So many questions but nobody’s answering them. Lily does give Jenna a hint or two and it’s definitely not to strengthen their relationship.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is written from Jenna’s point of view so we readers are also trying to figure out the truth about everything that’s happened. Chapters are really short and abundant. There are also poems written by Jenna to reflect her feelings and emotions in the process of discovering her identity.

For me, it was slow to start with but Jenna’s relationship with her Mother and Lily are certainly intriguing. I also like the part where Jenna goes to school for the first time post-coma and was wondering how she’d interact with her new friends, given that she remembers nothing from before. Oh well, she manages well and even does a good impression on some of them. And especially one of them, Ethan.

I wasn’t totally moved by the book, it was just okay to me. It’s a quick read, with lots of short chapters and sentences along with dictionary definitions of some words. I guess Jenna doesn’t remember parts of her vocabulary too.

With numerous awards already in hand, this book is going to be turned into a movie coming from 20th Century Fox! So, who do you think would make a good Jenna Fox?

Lastly, thanks to Em from Em’s Bookshelf for I won this book from her giveaway.

Other reviews: alita.reads.

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - YA Science Fiction, Titles A

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce

Saturday, August 22, 2009 by 9 Comments

I’m now onto the third book in the Song of the Lioness series which is The Woman Who Rides Like a Man. Alanna, the only female knight there ever was in Trebond has set out on a journey with Coram, her servant, in a bid to find exciting adventures and villains to fight with.

After battling with some desert raiders, Alanna and Coram meet Halef Seif, the headman of the Bloody Hawk tribe who are of the Bazhir clan. They all then return to the Bloody Hawk village where they were eventually adopted by the tribe.

But not everyone was welcoming or accepting Alanna as she walks around wearing men’s clothes and her face unveiled unlike good Bazhir women. The one who is openly hostile towards her is the shaman, Akhnan Ibn Nazzir who believes that she was sent by the devil to corrupt them all. In a later event, both of them fight where Alanna triumphs over the unfortunate Akhnan. As a result, Alanna is expected to become the next shaman for the Bloody Hawk tribe.

Besides having to worry about her duties as the new shaman, Alanna is also bothered with the evil magic in a crystal sword that she’s using and also having to train her three young apprentices to be the next shamans of the tribe. Kara and Kourrem are obedient students while Ishak, the hot-headed one who also shows extreme interest in Alanna’s crystal sword.

Let’s also not forget that Alanna is somewhat caught in a love triangle with Jonathan of Conte and George, the King of Thieves. Jon plans to make Alanna his wife while George has promised to wait for her no matter what. Jon will always be Number One in Alanna’s heart but she’s not ready to walk down the aisle.

This book was alright where we meet new characters from different cultures and customs. You can expect a lot of events happening but don’t worry, you won’t get lost in the plot. Pierce has cleverly written out the story so readers don’t confuse themselves.

So who are you voting for to end up with Alanna? Jon or George? I know that some of you know how the story ends but don’t let it out, okay? If you ask me, I’m all for George. Jon just didn’t impress me much I guess.

Can’t wait to get started on the final book, Lioness Rampant!

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - YA Fantasy, Titles W Tagged With:

In The Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

Friday, May 16, 2008 by 3 Comments

This is Book 2 in the Song of the Lioness series. Check out my review of Book 1, Alanna: The First Adventure.

Alanna is still pretending to be a boy at the King’s court and is now Prince Jonathan’s squire. So far, only a few people know about her secret. One night, Alanna meets a stranger in the middle of the night while she’s travelling back to the palace. The stranger happens to be a Goddess and she kind of advises Alanna to face her fears.

Then, Alanna is also cautious of Jonathan’s cousin, Duke Roger of Conte. She suspects of the duke’s intentions to wipe out the whole of the royal family and other important knights so that HE can be the King of Tortall. When there was war between Tortall and Tusaine, Alanna was captured by the Tusaines. The Duke knows that Alanna is against him and plans to get rid of ‘him’. He thinks Alanna is a boy.

Besides being worried about the Duke of Conte, Alanna also has to deal with George Cooper and Jonathan who are trying to win her heart. This makes Alanna pretty confused and she always says that love is not important to her at all. All she wants to do is be a knight and have many great adventures. Anyway, she’s also trying to act like a girl at times, for example wearing girls’ dresses and receiving lessons from George’s mother on how to act like a proper lady.

After Alanna’s eighteenth birthday, she has to go through the Ordeal of Knighthood. A few years ago, Jonathan and her other friends went through it and after the ordeal, they came out looking like they went through the worst in their lives. Therefore, she’s quite worried about passing the Ordeal and finally getting her shield.

There was one part where Alanna was not very bright. In the war with Tusaine, Duke Gareth, the queen’s brother, was ‘accidentally’ injured. Duke Gareth was supposed to lead the army against the Tusaine fighters. But then, Duke Roger was chosen instead to take over Duke Gareth’s place as leader of the army. It’s quite clear that Duke Roger had something to do with Duke Gareth’s accident and since Alanna was always suspecting that Duke Roger was up to no good, it’s quite surprising that she doesn’t know why he’s the army’s leader now. George had to explain it all to her.

Anyway, two more Song of the Lioness books to go!

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - YA Fantasy, Titles I Tagged With:

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

Monday, May 5, 2008 by 11 Comments

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Series: Song of the Lioness #1
Publisher: Oxford University Press | 1984 (first published 1983) | 241 pages
Buy on Amazon

It’s something like Mulan where the girl pretends to be a boy so that she gets to do what she really wants. In Alanna’s case though, she aspires to be a knight while her twin brother, Thom, prefers to be a sorcerer. However, their father was going to send Thom to the court of the King to train to be a knight while Alanna was to go to the convent to learn to be a lady.

Then, Alanna has a brainstorm. Why don’t they switch places? She’ll go to Corus to learn to fight and Thom will go to the City of Gods and learn to be a sorcerer. Now this is like the story from The Parent Trap! They will also need to tell Coram and Maude, who will be travelling with them to their destinations. Their father would be too busy with his books to even realize that the twins had switched places.

Alanna is lucky when she reaches the palace as she made a very good impression on Prince Jonathan and his friends. She calls herself Alan of Trebond. On the other hand, she also manages to make an enemy. Ralon of Malven is a bully and he decided to pick on ‘Alan’ when he spotted him.

Life isn’t peaceful if you’re constantly being bullied discreetly by somebody. Alanna is smaller in size but she’s adamant to not let anyone else think that Ralon’s been hitting and punching her. She is determined to fight her own battles. Therefore, she is determined to fight off Ralon herself for once and for all. But first, she needs to learn to fight properly. That’s where Coram and George help her learn the tactics of fighting. George is also Alanna’s new friend. He’s the King of Thieves, by the way. Robin Hood comes to mind now, eh?

The Sweating Fever happened next and one of Alanna’s friends succumbed to the sickness. That made Alanna feel guilty for not using her Gift of healing to heal him. When Prince Jonathan fell ill and was on the verge of dying, Alanna uses her healing gift to help him fight off death.

It’s believed that the Sweating Fever was deliberately caused to make the royal family fall ill. Is somebody after the throne? The culprit would be a really powerful sorcerer then. George and Alanna discussed this among themselves. They are also suspicious of Jonathan’s cousin, Duke Roger who has returned to the palace to teach Jonathan and Alanna how to use their Gifts properly.

I first read Alanna: The First Adventure many years ago and immensely enjoyed reading about Alanna’s journey. It’s definitely a page turner and I just couldn’t put the book down. This book is one of a kind, a totally different fantasy story and also one that encourages girls to strive to achieve their goals. Well, we don’t really need to dress up as boys to do that, do we?

All the same, this is the first book in the Song of the Lioness series. There are 3 more books to go.

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - YA Fantasy, Titles A Tagged With:

Reviving Ophelia – Saving The Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher

Thursday, March 22, 2007 by 2 Comments

Mary Pipher wrote Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls based on her own experience helping troubled teenage girls. Some of the girls had just entered puberty while some are already far from it. Nevertheless, they all face the same trouble.

The problems faced by teen girls now compared to 50 years ago are utterly different. Now, girls are driven into starving themselves so that they will look thin and attract boys and be popular. They have to smoke or take drugs to be cool. Girls will also be laughed at if they are still virgins.

Their parents are there for them but adolescent girls think their parents don’t understand them and are only controlling their lives. Girls now are influenced by the media to be thin and beautiful. They are influenced into consuming alcohol. They are pressured to have premarital sex.

In order for them to survive the stormy adolescent years, they need to understand themselves, to understand what they really want, who they really are, then only can they make it safely to shore.

I borrowed this book from my school’s library and read it in 2004.

Filed Under: Authors P, Genre - Self-help, Titles R