12th October, 2008

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

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Margaret Murry or Meg as she’s called, is quite an awkward young girl who’s not popular in school. She wears glasses and has braces, the typical description for girls who are unpopular. Nobody understands her in school, not even her teachers. She also doesn’t do well in lessons but in reality, she’s extremely brilliant at Math! It’s because she finds the teaching methods in school too different from what her father used to teach her.

Her father has been missing for quite a long time. People gossiped that he’s probably run away with another woman. He used to write to the family but stopped after a while. Meg’s mother still continues to write letters to him but they go unanswered and this has caused more unkind stories to be spread about the Murry family.

Meg has 3 younger brothers, 10-year-old Sandy and Dennys are twins while five-year-old Charles Wallace is the youngest. Meg is closest to Charles Wallace and usually turns to him for comfort after having a bad day. He also seems to know what she’s thinking, making Meg feel that he can actually read her mind. Besides Meg, Charles Wallace also always knows what their mother is thinking and feeling.

One day, Charles gets Meg to go with him to a supposedly haunted house to meet three strange women with strange names: Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. They reveal that they are there to help Meg and Charles find their father who is in grave danger. Another boy, Calvin joins them too. He is considered to be of the same kind as Charles Wallace so he’s accepted by the three women to take part in their journey.

After that, they travel to another planet that’s very, very, very far away from Earth and they discover something sinister called IT. IT has captured their father and they have to save him. IT is evil. IT wants everybody to act like robots and unable to think for themselves. IT is in favour of uniformity. IT is also just a brain. I have no idea why IT was represented in the form of a brain though. The only way to handle IT is to try to resist what IT wants them to do.

One of my favourite parts in this book is Meg’s and Charles’ encounter with Calvin where Charles interrogated Calvin and Calvin being surprised that Charles wasn’t as dumb as everyone else thought he was. It shows that you can’t truly judge a person unless you got to know them! Actually I find Charles Wallace an absolutely interesting character. Such bombastic words and ideas from a mere five-year-old!

I decided to read this because a lot of other people have already read and loved it. It’s also a banned book so I wanted to find out what could contribute to it being such a book. This story reminds me of something out of a Diana Wynne Jones book. I can’t say that I really liked this book. It wasn’t thoroughly enthralling but still something that we need to read. There are some scientific terms in it and they are explained in simple ways so even science-phobic readers can easily understand how science plays a part in the story.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Nymeth, Natasha, Book Dads

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Posted in Authors L, Children's Books, Science Fiction, Titles A at 9:46 pm | Comments (13)



9th August, 2008

1984 by George Orwell

This book was weird. I didn’t really understand Part 1 of Chapter 1, so I looked up Google and Wikipedia. This website helped me understand the story better.

So, the story’s about Winston Smith who lives in London, Oceania. It’s the year 1984 and there are only 3 countries in the world: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania is always at war with both countries but will always insist that it has been at war with one country at all times. Meaning, if they’re at war with Eurasia now means that they’ve always been at war with Eurasia. But then, they’ll suddenly be warring with Eastasia and then they’ll say that they’ve always been at war with Eastasia. Anybody who contradicts will of course be punished severely. Then, they’ll be altering newspapers, books, documents so that ‘mistakes’ will be cleared. It’s pretty stupid actually but then that’s how it is in Oceania.

Winston works in the Ministry of Truth. One day during his lunch hour, he goes back home and starts a diary secretly. No one was allowed to keep a diary. No one was allowed to have personal thoughts. And no one had privacy. There were telescreens in the houses of those who belonged in the Inner Party and Outer Party. The telescreens transmits and receives, like an advanced CCTV (closed-circuit television). Meaning those in charge will be monitoring your daily lives.

The Party rules Oceania. Big Brother is the leader and he’s always right. No one knows if Big Brother exists but his posters are everywhere to remind everyone that he’s ‘watching’ them. Big Brother is like the symbol of Oceania. Anyone who has thoughts of going against Big Brother will be caught by the Thought Police and will be tortured and brainwashed so that they’ll really love Big Brother again. To even think of something bad about the Party or of Big Brother is called ‘thoughtcrime’.

Thoughtcrime is a word in the Newspeak language. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania. According to Syme, one of the characters in 1984, ‘Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year’. You’ll encounter new words like ‘doublethink’, ‘crimestop’, ‘doubleplusungood’, and so on in this book. These are words in Newspeak. Oldspeak is what we’re speaking now.

Anyway, a woman from the Fiction Department, Julia, secretly hands Winston a note. He thought she’s a spy and that she’ll report him to the authorities sooner or later. However, this was what’s in the note:

“I love you”

Since then, they’ve begun a secret and illicit affair. It’s not allowed to love another woman so what they’re doing is going against the Party. Like Winston, Julia hates the Party and will do anything to go against them discreetly. They also know that they will be caught. Winston knows that they are as good as dead.

Oceania would be a really scary and tough place to live in. There’s no chance to be an individual. Everything is for the Party. Everyone must love Big Brother and the Party. The three slogans of the Party are:

War Is Peace
Freedom Is Slavery
Ignorance Is Strength

I finally read this book because my lecturer mentioned it in class. I’m glad I read it. You should pick it up soon so you’ll know how terrible it is to live in a country where there’s no freedom to do what you want, to believe in what you feel is right, to be a unique individual, etc.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Laura

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5th May, 2008

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

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 this book 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.

Buy Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness)

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Posted in Authors P, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Titles A, Young Adult Fiction at 3:09 pm | Comments (3)



2nd May, 2008

An Amazing Story by Carlo Gabbi

You may think this is purely a love story but no, it is not. It is mainly the story of Dolores who is on a quest to find true love, happiness, and her purpose in life. The book starts with Uncle Bill narrating his experiences while in Brazil and also how he met Juanita. Juanita is Dolores’ mother.

There are many characters in this book but I’ll just start with Uncle Bill, as Dolores calls him. He does not have a happy marriage and finds comfort in the arms of Juanita. He believes Juanita is his true love but they cannot be together since he has to return to his promiscuous wife in Australia. Bill also treats Dolores like his own daughter and he’s one of the few people whom she can trust.

When Bill and Juanita separate, Juanita met another man, Jack. At first, Dolores looked up to Jack as a loving father but he has been sexually abusing her without her knowing it because she’s still too young to understand and all. She thought that he’s just being a loving father figure.

One night, Juanita thought that Dolores was trying to steal Jack away from her although Dolores was just actually trying to save her mother from Jack’s cruelty and selfishness. Since then, Dolores wasn’t on good terms with her mother. Her mother was certainly very blind to everything and naive at that time.

Dolores left for Sydney, working as a dancer. But she didn’t stay long at the job. After that, she tried to get herself recruited into modeling agencies but to no avail. Things got so bad and she was absolutely desperate for money until she decided to be a high class prostitute at The Brazil nightclub at Kings Cross. She vowed to save up enough money so that she can return to Brazil to start a brand new life.

Cupid’s arrow struck her when she met Thomas, a famous photographer who thinks that he is not capable of loving a woman. However, she’s unsure if he really likes her or just using her. She’ll just need to wait and see how things go then.

Dolores wrote parts of life down in her diary and she sent a manuscript to Uncle Bill, probably hoping that he’ll write a story of her life. That’s how the story began.

It is an interesting and unique book though there are obvious grammatical errors in it. There are also many events in the story and it gets complicated if you don’t read it properly. Besides that, I think that girls and women should read it as it is a story for women after all. Apparently, ‘An Amazing Story’ is a partly true story, to what extent I do not know. Is there a real Dolores out there?

All the same, if it is a true story, it’s good that it is written. Maybe it can be a guide for young women who may feel that they have nowhere else to go or have completely given up on love. Dolores’ story is capable of helping women out there.

Thanks to Carlo Gabbi for providing me a copy of this book!

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28th March, 2008

Astro Socks by Leigh M. Le Creux

Astro Socks is a brilliantly written book about a young boy who wants to make a pair of socks for his baby sister. Chris is 10 years old and his younger sister is Rachel. One of Rachel’s socks can’t seem to stay on her feet for long. When she’s in her Jolly Jumper and she kicks hard, a sock will fall off. That’s why Chris is determined to find out how to make the perfect pair of socks for her.

Chris is smart as well as inquisitive. He likes to find out how things worked and his parents are proud to have a son like him. They are caring, considerate, and they encourage him to not give up on things easily. Oh, Chris would like to be an inventor one day too.

So, Chris starts his research on how to make socks that’ll stay put on his sister’s feet. He looks up for information on the Internet and finally sends a simple e-mail to a company that makes space suits for astronauts. Little did he know that that e-mail will help make his dream come true, that is becoming an inventor.

This book would be a very good read for children. I like the cover (simple and light) and there are also some cute drawings scattered throughout the book. The drawings were drawn by Leigh’s son and his classmates! This makes the book quite different from the others.

With the book’s simple language, I believe it could help children with their language and vocabulary. Children and adults alike would certainly enjoy reading about Chris and how he tries to solve the sock problem, as Chris appears to be an average and likeable kid. The sock crisis is a new one too. I was eager to find out Chris’ solution to the problem.

Astro Socks is Leigh Le Creux’s first novel. She’s working on her second one too, so open up your eyes and ears for more news!

*I’d like to thank Leigh M. Le Creux for sending me a copy of this book for review!*

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Posted in Adventure, Authors L, Children's Books, Titles A at 6:23 pm | Comments (4)



22nd March, 2008

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom

I know of a story where a vampire is in love with a human but what if the romance is between a vampire and a witch??? Now, that should be a very interesting tale.

Jasmine Tremaine or Jazz, is a 700-year-old witch who was banished from The Academy for Witches many, many years ago and is forced to survive on her own in the big, bad world. So now, she works as a curse eliminator and also as a driver for All Creatures Limo Service during the night. Dweezil is Jazz’s boss in this limo service company.

Jazz’s life is tumultuous. Eliminating curses for people can be quite a tough job, especially when clients don’t pay her but that’s easy because she will only need to bring the curse back to them. Then only they’ll pay her quickly!

Besides that, working as a driver for Dweezil’s company is like a nightmare. One of the customers that she has to drive is Tyge Foulshadow whose farts are absolutely horrendous but since Jazz is a witch, they don’t bother her that much. She hates to drive him, too because she knows that he likes her and she feels uncomfortable around him. Tyge pays in gold bars and Dweezil values him as a very valuable customer. That’s why Jazz still drives him around.

But wait! The excitement isn’t quite over yet. How would you feel if you had a T-Bird car with a ghost in it? Pretty scary, right? Well, Jazz’s ghost is not that scary at all. Irma is/was a heartbroken woman who killed herself in her husband’s car. And now that car belongs to Jazz.

Now, the part I guess you’ve been waiting for. The man, or should I say vampire in Jazz’s life. He is Nikolai Gregorivich or simply Nick. He needs Jazz’s help now to find the bad guy who’s responsible for the disappearances of vampires. The thing is, will she help him? Many years ago, he had put her in jail because he thought that she was a thief! Weird, huh? They’ve already hooked up and broke up lots of times.

What do you think? It is an exciting book, after all. Just check out the cover’s design. I like the cover and I like the feel of the cover. I just like to hold the book, you know. 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is fun to read, a few twists and turns here and there, and you will like Irma the ghost. You might not like Dweezil or Tyge as they are quite sleazy kind of creatures.

The bad guy’s part is kind of creepy. Well, he has to be creepy, right, since he’s the bad guy? I guess this is not purely a chick lit’s book as chick lit books don’t scare me. Nevertheless, it kept me turning the pages to find out if good triumphs over evil.

By the way, look out for more of Jazz’s adventures in the next book, Hex Appeal! And don’t hesitate to check out my interview with Linda Wisdom!

*Review copy sent by Sourcebooks*

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3rd December, 2007

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A well known book and has gained numerous excellent book reviews though some book bloggers couldn’t finish it. Well, I did complete the book. The language was easy and it was quite a quick read. However, some parts of the book were too deep for me and I’m too tired to understand everything in it. But, never mind, at least I got the gist of it all. After reading, you may want to consider to really follow your dream, like what Santiago did!

The title is ‘The Alchemist’ but it isn’t wholly about an alchemist. The alchemist only appears halfway through the book. All the while, the story is about a young boy, Santiago, who is in search of some hidden treasure near the pyramids of Egypt. That’s what a gypsy lady told him after she interpreted some dream he had dreamt a few times.

Santiago was a shepherd and understood his sheep but he gave them up so that he could look for the treasure. During his journey, he met several interesting characters who guided him towards his goal. He’s met the gypsy lady, a king who wanted his sheep, a crystal merchant, an English man and many others. He even fell in love with a woman of the desert.

Then, there’s all this stuff about Personal Legend, the Soul of the World, the Language of the World, etc, which is all quite complicated. Perhaps I just wasn’t alert enough to really understand everything. Anyway, there are words of wisdom that one could use through life. It’s kind of like a motivation book. A book that gives hope to the despondent. My favourite part of the book is on page 86 where a camel driver tells Santiago:

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.”

That makes a whole lot of sense, don’t you think? No use worrying about the past or the future. It just won’t bring anyone any good.

If you have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, then you’d definitely be familiar with the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. The functions of both items are explained more in this book. So, that part’s quite fascinating.

While reading, I had suspicions that the ‘treasure’ wouldn’t be a physical thing. The ending was a surprise anyhow. It’s an okay book for me – some parts were too deep and boring. Or like I said, perhaps I didn’t give this book a chance. I will try reading it again later on.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Zeek, Alice, QuaChee, Just A Reading Fool, Bibliolatry

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29th November, 2007

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

I gladly plucked out this book from the shelf because I’ve watched the movie a few years ago and liked it. Well, the movie was quite similar to the book. Some things were changed though. Anyhow, this is a great book and if you’re the sentimental type, you’d probably cry at certain parts in the book. I noticed that there’s a lot of crying in it.

Landon Carter is already 57 years old and he’s telling his story of what happened to him when he was 17. His life changed when he started spending time with Jamie Sullivan, when they were 17. Landon was considered a bad boy and other parents assumed he’s plain trouble. His father was a congressman and was rarely home to be with his family.

On the other hand, Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of Beaufort’s Baptist minister. That’s where they all lived – Beaufort, North Carolina. She’s not fashionable and she always carries her Bible wherever she goes. So it’s certainly obvious that she and Landon have not much in common. That’s what Landon thought.

Incidentally, Landon did not have a date to Beaufort High’s homecoming dance. Most of the girls already had dates or he didn’t fancy going with the less attractive ones. In the end, it was either go to the dance alone and clean up puke in the toilet or go with Jamie Sullivan and risk being teased by his friends. She did smile at him in class, so maybe she might agree to go with him. Finally, he asked her and surprisingly, she accepted. On one condition, that is, he must not fall in love with her. He agreed. Anything is better than cleaning up puke.

Landon found her to be a very kind and understanding person who always looked on the bright side of things, no matter how horrible they are. However, after the dance, he did not feel like spending any more time with her. That time, he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Angela.

But then later, Jamie asked him to join the Christmas play. Initially, he didn’t want to join but after some pitiful remarks from Jamie, he finally gave in. So, they rehearsed the play and then, it’s show time. Without warning, Landon fell in love with Jamie when she appeared looking amazingly beautiful.

All in all, it’s a nice story with a wonderful plot. Incredibly sad, though. Also, I found out what the title ‘A Walk to Remember’ refers to. It’s the kind of book where one may want to change to become a better person after reading it. And if you like books where the guy changes himself for the girl, then this is the book for you.

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25th November, 2007

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Mark Haddon’s second best-selling novel isn’t anything like his first. I enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time but I can’t say the same for A Spot of Bother. However, it’s an easy book to read because Haddon wrote in short sentences and small paragraphs. Plus very short chapters too.

The story is about George Hall’s and his family’s adventures. I say ‘adventures’ because the things happening to them sound like that. George is a retired guy and he’s in the middle of building his own studio in his garden so that he has his own space to draw and paint. He also has some lesion on his hip, which he thinks is cancerous and he also thinks he’s lost his marbles.

Then, his wife, Jean, is having an affair with George’s old friend from work, David. Sometimes she feels guilty about it all and feels bad betraying her husband. One day, David poured out his feelings to her and asked her to be with him forever. To leave George and be with David, that is. But Jean doesn’t think she’s ready to take such a huge, drastic leap.

Besides that, Katie, their daughter, is about to get married a second time. She already has a little son, Jacob, from her first marriage. This time, she’s going to marry Ray. Unfortunately, her parents and brother don’t think that he’s quite suitable for her. Also, Katie isn’t sure if she’s in love with him or not.

Finally, there’s Jamie, Katie’s brother. He’s a homosexual and he’s having trouble with his partner, Tony. Jamie is also trying to get his life back together, trying to rebuild the perfect life he created for himself. Anyway, things don’t always go to plan, do they?

Well, doesn’t it sound like a pretty exciting book? I find that things got more exciting after about 60% of the book. My favourite part of the book was when Jamie’s mother and sister greeted Tony after a very unexpected scene, which shocked family and friends.

Actually, most of the book is about George. Yeah, it’s quite pitiful for him. He admits he’s afraid of death and yet he doesn’t get a thorough medical check-up. His family’s too busy to take any notice. They took it for granted that he could take care of himself, like he always did.

I guess this book would be perfect to pick up to read if you’re having a particularly rough day. While reading, imagine you’re in the shoes of any one of the characters (except little Jacob, though), then perhaps you might feel a little bit better.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Bibliolatrist

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Posted in Authors H, Contemporary, Humour, Mystery/Thriller, Titles A at 2:23 pm | Comment (0)



24th April, 2007

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

Polly Milton visits her friend, Fanny Shaw who lives in the city. Polly is only a small town girl and is a little bit shocked when she was exposed to city life and its different ways. Her dresses are not so frilly or lacey like Fanny’s and initially, she was quite upset.

She could not get along with Fanny’s friends because all they ever talked about were fashion, boys, gossips, and other trivial matters. They think she’s merely a small girl and quite odd, so usually she was left alone by them. Polly, who was ever so happy and kind, had quite a hard time trying to adjust to her new surroundings.

However, she put aside all these small matters and concentrated on having fun as well as getting to know Fanny’s family. She’s made friends with Fanny’s grandma who appreciates Polly’s companionship when her own children and grandchildren did not pay much attention to her. Even the mischievous Tom, Fanny’s younger brother, thinks Polly a sensible girl who doesn’t mind getting her dress dirty.

When it was time for Polly to go home, everyone was naturally sad and asked her to visit again. They liked Polly very much and considered her as one of the family. They noticed the little kind things she did for them and she definitely brought some sunshine into their lives.

Six years later, Polly returns to the city to be a music teacher. Women working for a living were typically looked down on but Polly has to earn so that she could support her younger brother who was in college.

Then, there’s also Mr. Sydney who’s very nice and helpful to Polly. But, there’s someone else who’s a little bit jealous. On the other hand, Polly does not approve of Tom’s relationship with Trix, one of Fanny’s friends. She might be in love with him, that’s why. I was waiting to see if Tom and Polly would ever get together or not! You have to read the book to find out yourself because I sure ain’t telling you nothing about it!

It’s quite a good story where a town girl experiences life in the city. Sometimes, having lots of beautiful dresses, spending extravagantly, etc, do not really make a person happy and contented. The Shaw family may be well off but there’s something important that is lacking and Polly’s presence helped them realize it.

This is the first unabridged book by Louisa May Alcott that I’ve read.

Buy An Old-Fashioned Girl (Puffin Classics)

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