Invisibility Book Review

Invisibility
Author: Andrea Cremer & David Levithan
Publisher: Speak
Released: April 22nd, 2014
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Characters: Stephen, Elizabeth, Laurie, Millie, Maxwell Arbus, …

 

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Stephen is used to invisibility. He was born that way. Invisible. Cursed.

Elizabeth sometimes wishes for invisibility. When you’re invisible, no one can hurt you. So when her mother decides to move the family to New York City, Elizabeth is thrilled. It’s easy to blend in there.Then Stephen and Elizabeth meet. To Stephen’s amazement, she can see him. And to Elizabeth’s amazement, she wants him to be able to see her—all of her. But as the two become closer, an invisible world gets in their way—a world of grudges and misfortunes, spells and curses. And once they’re thrust into this world, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how deep they’re going to go—because the answer could mean the difference between love and death.

“People say that time slips through our fingers like sand. What they don’t acknowledge is that some of the sand sticks to the skin. These are memories that will remain, memories of the time when there was still time left.”
― David Levithan, Invisibility

My review:

I started this book because I really enjoyed David Levithan’s books that I’ve read so far. Starting this book, up to page 100 or so, I really enjoyed it. Loved it even, the writing style, the story development and the characters were all so good for me.

“Just as a fever makes cold feel colder, love can make loneliness feel lonelier.”
― Andrea Cremer, Invisibility

However, I was expecting this book to be like YA contemporary, maybe something like Everyday, but instead of that, I was given a surprise with some magic element, spells and curses as the story and secrets unfold. I was accepting it at the first place and expecting the story is going to better, a little magic is usually good. But when I reached page 250, I just couldn’t really enjoy the book thoroughly like I first started it.

“When no one can see who you are, no one really knows you. The loneliness must be like an ulcer that’s always gnawing at your gut.”
― Andrea Cremer, Invisibility

The element of magic didn’t seem to fit in and only after I finished reading, I realize that the magic element lacked of depth, not much of explanations and it was too shallow for me to believe in the content and the magic world built. There were a lot of books regarding this spellseeker and cursecaster thing in the hexatorium(something like library I guess) but it was not exploited wisely by the authors who created the place, they could’ve used those books to explain the history of the magic world they tried to sell to me in this story. Then, we have Millie who was supposed to be someone old enough and familiar with magic and as an experienced spellseeker, but she always said she didn’t know much and clueless about things. Thus, these are the reasons why I’m saying the book lacked a lot of stuff, materials wise. It wasn’t convincing enough. Thus, the YA and fantasy world combination didn’t seem  really fit in.

“Each of us has our own unit of measurement, our own relativity. Spaces between loves. Spaces between destinations. Spaces between deaths.”
― David Levithan, Invisibility

The ending was so-so for me, nothing surprising. It is such a waste that it started off so good yet it ended as an okay-ish book. Anyhow, I love the writing style, choice of words are brilliant. The characters were great as well for me.

Would I recommend this book? I’d say yes, maybe. But really, you gotta check it out to experience it yourself. 🙂

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I Want Superpowers Book Review

Have you ever wanted a superpower? What would it be? Caitlin has been waiting for her whole life to be manifested and to join the Supergenics. But what if it turned out she is just another mere dreg?

I Want Superpowers
Author : Steven Bereznai
Published by: Jambor
Released: November 26th, 2016
Genre: Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 260
Format: Paperback
Characters: Caitlin, Bradie, Normand, Trenton, Liliane, …

Summary (Goodreads) :

The Genetic Wars that turned most of the planet into a wasteland are over. The so-called “dregs” (short for “DNA regulars”) and superpowered “Supergenics” now live separately from each other: the Supergenics in the shiny towers of Jupitar City, the dregs across the river in the squat concrete buildings of the boroughs. But Supergenic children are still born to dreg parents, and under repressive laws must be sent to live with their own kind. To find these special few, every teen faces their Testing Day. When her turn comes, socially isolated Caitlin Feral is determined to Manifest superpowers. If she fails, she faces a lifetime of loneliness and drudgery in the boroughs. But how much is she willing to sacrifice to be the supergirl she’s always wanted to be? And when she uncovers dark secrets kept by both sides, does she dare start another war to reveal the truth?

My review :

First of all, I wanted to thank the author for sending me a copy of his book in return for an honest review. Trust me, I’m being totally honest and unbiased when I say that I loved this book to death!

This book is described as The Hunger Games meets X-Men and when I was like about 50 pages into the book, it was indeed felt like The Hunger Games. But the more i dug into it, oh man, it was so genuine and so eventful. There was also a concept of comics that was used in the book and I think it was quite interesting how things revealed in the end and the significant of the comic drawings to the story. Also, this book is hilarious and the writing style is easy to be read and not confusing at all.

For setting, it was almost like any other dystopian book, where there are boroughs for the dregs and Jupitar City for the Supergenics. (THG much? Districts for the people and the ones at the Capitol live luxuriously controlling the people in the Districts). But there were more areas to be discovered in I Want Superpowers, and the world built up for the story is simply brilliant!

The characters, they are amazing, the personality given to them are authentic and you can never expect how each character would end up in the end of the book. However, Caitlin didn’t appear to me to be the daring or rebellious girl, everything she did was initiated or encouraged by someone else, she’s just a doer honestly. She might have the thoughts and imaginations and all, but most of the time, she was scared and felt inferior. She broke some of the laws, was also because of the people around her. But I still love Caitlin for who she is and I loved Bradie and Normand too! They were both so cute to be honest. Oh, it’s not a triangle love, no worries! 😉

What I loved the most about this book is the plot twists. It was mind blowing and so insane, so many unexpected twists happened. Even the unimportant characters suddenly appeared to be so, so important towards the end. I even cried during one part of the book (SPOILER! A character died *sobs*). It was so genuine and touching(or maybe it’s just me being a crybaby, Idk *shrugs*).

The ending is killing me and I need a sequel! I really hope that there would be a sequel to this amazing book because I am dying to read more of this story and of this world.

Overall, this book is simply awesome. It could really be a start of a series that is as good as The Hunger Games, or even better! It talks about friendship, freedom, love, loyalty. Also being a superhero doesn’t mean you need superpower but it means to be yourself and fight for a great cause and this is what lacking in our community nowadays, this book just portrayed that message so perfectly. So, yea, please, go get your copy now! Especially the dystopian lovers out there! YES YOU! This book is perfect for you. ❤

Rating : 5 /5 stars!

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto Book Review

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto
Author : Mitch Albom
Published by: Little, Brown Book Group
Released: October 6th, 2016
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
Characters: Frankie, Aurora, El Maestro,…

Synopsis (Goodreads) :

Mitch Albom creates his most unforgettable fictional character—Frankie Presto, the greatest guitarist to ever walk the earth—in this magical novel about the bands we join in life and the power of talent to change our lives.

In his most stunning novel yet, the voice of Music narrates the tale of its most beloved disciple, young Frankie Presto, a war orphan raised by a blind music teacher in a small Spanish town. At nine years old, Frankie is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings.

“Everyone joins a band in this life.
Sometimes they reunite.”
– Mitch Albom, the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

My review :

This book is the sixth Mitch Albom’s book that I read. Firstly, I found it a little less interesting and not so relatable like the rest of his books that I read previously. Also, I only started to really engage with the story after halfway into it, not saying the first half was boring, but the second half of the book was more eventful and it just immediately lifted up the rating I wanted to give in the first place.

“A teacher’s shadow can hover for life.”
– Mitch Albom, the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Let’s talk about the plot, I thought Frankie (the main character) was going to die a lot of times in certain parts of the story (mostly the second half of the book), like I did so many predictions about how his life ended. But he didn’t, again and again my assumptions were wrong and what more can signifies a good book more than being unpredictable? This book is fucking unpredictable! And I loved it!

“Everyone joins a band in this life.
Sometimes just to be brave.”
– Mitch Albom, the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Next is about the characters, they were all so freaking crazy related to one another, like they were all linked together! And the ending just made everything crystal clear. To be honest, some people might think it can get confusing but to me, it didn’t feel confusing at all, he just kept making connections between the characters and he NAILED it!

“At a certain point, your life is more about legacy to your kids than anything else.”
– Mitch Albom, the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

The last couple of chapters where Mitch tied everything up, it was so so so so so so so (and after a thousand and one ‘so’) emotional, everything just clicked and my tears just kept rolling down, no, pouring down like so much! The way he wrote the ending was perfect and so good. It answered all your questions and it could just shocked you in every single way, wow, woahhhh, WTF! everything! Literally, the best ending ever! I am still in love with the ending! I’m just so emotional thinking about it right now, writing this review.

“Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affect someone.
Sometimes, it affects the world.”
– Mitch Albom, the Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Seriously, this book is so so good! Even if you’re not a music person, it doesn’t matter because the core of the story itself is talking about how a person affects others’ lives and how people are destined to be in your life and everything happened in life serves a purpose. It is so good! So GOOD! I cannot express it in any other word anymore. I’m highly suggesting you to go and grab this book already! GO!

Rating : 5 / 5 stars!

 

 

 

The Boy Who Lost His Sight Book Review

The Boy Who Lost His Sight

Author: Bella Zamri
Published by: Terfaktab
Released: October 12th, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: Paperback
Characters: Riley, Ellie, …

 

 

Synopsis (Goodreads) :

Away from Lenoir, Ellie Burke found a place to breathe again. A brighter home surrounded with her loved ones. A-once-in-a-lifetime chance to change her life.

Everything seemed perfect enough – until she met Riley Flynn.

A mysterious young boy with a devilish smile, silently living with a traumatic secret buried away from others. In the midst of rain, uncertainty and burning desire – Ellie Burke finally found her salvation.

But when there is hope, there is always a risk for a major heartbreak.

My Review :

First of all, I was so excited to read this book and the reviews plus the views on wattpad was so high! (Yes, this book was originated from Wattpad and then was made into a book.) It got me all pumped up to read this cute little book. It also has such a great blurb at the back of the book. Everything seems so good and tbh, this book did not disappoint me entirely but it went a little downhill for me as it didn’t hit that high expectation I set in the first place.

Being the first full Malaysian English novel that I read, it was not bad at all. I enjoyed reading it. The Boy Who Lost His Sight had such a pleasant story line, it was eventful, the idea was there. But somehow there were a few things that I didn’t enjoy that much.

First, THIS BOOK WAS ABSOLUTELY SCREAMING ‘CLICHE’ at my face the entire time. Cliche usually works on me. I like cliche love story. But this one somehow didn’t work that much because I was expecting some kind of plot twist, but there was none! Everything was almost too easy to be predicted. Upsetting? A little. The story created was perfect but I just hope that there was something done to it that could spice up the story a little.

Also, a lot of readers claimed this book was heart shattering and made them cry. But it did not work for me (AGAIN!) and considering that I’m such a cry baby when it comes to sad scenes or parts in a book, it just really frustrated me. The thing is I kind of came across some sad parts in the book and knew it was that part that cracked readers until they cried. But I just didn’t cry. I guess it lacked something for me, maybe the timing wasn’t right? I’m not sure.

Next, the pace of the story was a little bit too fast for me, that it sometimes didn’t make much sense. I hoped that things could be stretched a little longer, that maybe there were some kind of appropriate ‘fillers’ could be inserted in between some of important parts in the book. For instance, I think Riley fell in love a little too fast with Ellie and Riley received her help a little too easy without much justification to why he really felt so good about her.

Then, Riley’s character. Riley for me was a little confusing in the first part of the book, but later on, after he dated Ellie, he got a little better and came up stronger with a new personality and character, which was good. Comparing to the first part of the book, I thought he was supposed to be this cold and stubborn and just quiet kind of guy, almost like Edward Cullen. But once he spoke his lines, he was talking too much and didn’t go well with his character. So that was why I was confused.

I guess those were the 4 main points of the things I didn’t like much about the book or didn’t work out for me. Overall, I did have a nice time reading The Boy Who Lost His Sight. The writing style was reader friendly, it had some nice simple quotes(even though they didn’t give a deep impact to me) and it is a book that you can read anywhere, at any time. So, to whoever loves some cliche love story, go grab this cute one here!

Rating : 3/5 stars

#2016bestnine

This post is to showcase my best nine books read in 2016. I believe that this hashtag is popular on Instagram in showcasing the best nine photos posted of the year. So, I thought of adapting the idea on the best books I read this year. Oh, I mean last year. 😛

So here it goes, my #2016bestnine books read (in no particular order):

1. Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

This book is so inspiring, funny, bright and one of the best books published in 2016. What I adored so much about this book is:

• The characters, especially Libby
• The humour
• The quotes (OMG I have so many tabs on this book, I swear!)

 

“We’re all weird and damaged in our own way. You’re not the only one.”
― Jennifer Niven, Holding Up the Universe

2. Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius
Reading this book can cause you to be on an emotional roller coaster ride. It was heart wrenching, inspiring, beautiful, and at certain point you will feel disgusted on how worse human can be.

For people who adore biography books, I highly suggest this one here!

 

 

“It’s right to say that people fall in love. We don’t glide, slip, or stumble into it. Instead we tumble head first from the moment we decide to step off the edge of a cliff with someone and see whether we’ll fly together. Love might be irrational, but we make the choice to risk everything.”
― Martin Pistorius, Ghost Boy

3. Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen Degeneres

Come on, who doesn’t love Ellen? Just go get this book already.

One more thing, don’t read this in public. I warned you.

 

 

 

 

“Accept who you are. Unless you’re a serial killer.”
― Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously… I’m Kidding

4. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

There’s been mixed reviews on this book. Some people who had read the series commented this book is not as good as the series. But I personally enjoyed this, and yes, I have not read the series yet. But I believe different people has different perspective and I also believe that even if I have read the entire series, I’d still give this book well deserved 5 out 5 stars. 🙂

 

 

“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
― Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two

5.  Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
It’s no secret that Mitch is my top favourite author. I adore all of his books. Everything about Have a Little Faith is beautiful. The way it portrayed faith was really inspiring and just go read it already.

 

 

 

 

“Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.”
― Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith: a True Story

6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

 This book is cute, relatable and funny. The ending drove me nuts! And also I quote this from my own review on Goodreads:

“This book is on a roller coaster ride that keeps going up.”

 

 

 

“There are other people on the Internet. It’s awesome. You get all the benefits of ‘other people’ without the body odor and the eye contact.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

7. Landline by Rainbow Rowell

 If anyone is in for a light yet awesome read, pick this book up! It is one good book with a magic phone. I don’t usually read a book with a main character of age 30s. I prefer the characters to be at teen age or early 20s but this book just blew me away. It was nice and it can really melt your heart away.

 

 

 

“Nobody’s lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It’s something you make happen – because you love each other.”
― Rainbow Rowell, Landline

8. Library of Souls ( Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #3) by Ransom Riggs

 A great book to end the series. I love how it summed up the whole story.

“Maybe lots of people go through life never knowing they’re peculiar.”
― Ransom Riggs, Library of Souls

 

 

 

9. First Year (Black Mage #1) by Rachel E. Carter

 This was my last read of the year. It was simply one of the most enjoyable book I’ve read. It has romance, magic, rivals, friendship, family bond and so much more. I love the characters as well as the pace of the story line, it was fast and eventful.

KL NOIR : RED Book Review

 

KL NOIR : RED

Editor: Amir Muhammad
Authors: Adib Zaini, Preeta Samarasan, Marc de Faoite, Shaz Johar, Shih-Li Kow, Fadzlishah Johanabas, and more
Published by: Buku Fixi (Fixi Novo)
Released: February 27th, 2013
Genre: Short stories, Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 270
Format: Paperback

“Dark, twisted and mind grappling”

Synopsis / Introduction to the book :

KL NOIR RED is the first of 4 volumes on the Malaysia capital city’s dark side. This book consists of 15 short stories, written by 15 different authors. There were many topics and themes could be found in the book, such as: murder, drug-dealing, kidnapping, sexual depravity, prostitution, celebrity secrets, suicides, academic rivalry, gangsters, police brutality, cannibalism, black magic, creepy rituals, political corruption and even busking. The stories in the book were claimed to be fictional but I somehow believe that there were always some truth behind the fiction of each story. That is what I believe Buku Fixi wanted to bring about. Some truth in the dark and twisted tales.

My Review :

For the first time reading a local (Malaysia) English book, this book had actually confirmed a few things that I’ve seen some readers posted about local English books. But again, different people has different opinion. One book that might seem not so okay to a reader might be a great read after all to another. First of all, I felt the language of KL NOIR RED was a bit stiff for me. Like some people said, “too essay-like”. The flow of story is there, but the language somehow didn’t have a nice flow to match the story. The structure of the language or sentences were all alright but the feel was missing, for me.

Next, I also struggled to understand some of the stories and thus, I couldn’t enjoy the whole book that much. Again, maybe partly it was because the language sounded a bit unnatural in my head while I was reading but also because it was too dark, deep and twisted that caused me had a hard time understanding them. Nevertheless, there were a few stories that I enjoyed a lot and found them mind blowing. This was one thing that I liked about KL NOIR RED, which is the way the stories had some hidden message or story behind the story on the surface. For instance, ‘A Gift of Flowers’ appeared to be such an amazing and beautiful story, so inspiring how a bunch of flowers could brighten up so many people’s day but the very first person who received the flowers didn’t have such luck with her day. (read this book if you want to know more about the story!)

The unique thing about KL NOIR series is how it is able to surprise you and you will definitely go “OMG!” “OMFG” or “HELLA SHIT!” Although I had more stories that I didn’t enjoy compare to the ones I enjoyed. The plot twists and the ending of the stories that I liked were commendable and deserved whole lot of attention. If I could rate each story individually, the good ones would definitely have a perfect 5 stars or a 4.5 stars. But since I am going to rate them as a compilation of short stories, I couldn’t help but to lower my rating as it didn’t manage to grab my attention most of the time as a compilation.

Overall, I think KL NOIR RED definitely had some great messages and strong concept. It is a great fiction read, that was for sure. However, I’m not sure if I would read it again, maybe some of the stories that I enjoyed but definitely not the whole book.

Rating : 3 / 5 stars

 

 

 

Why I Like to Write?

 

Writing or typing. A way of people expressing how they feel or pouring out ideas on papers or on screen.

I kind of keep a journal too. 🙂

I personally love to write. I used to try having a diary but I was bad at keeping up with it. This was what I bad at, which is keeping up with a hobby. So I stopped writing any diary entries. I wished I still keep all those diaries with tons of failed attempts. Nevertheless, it was good days, writing every single details of my day into a diary but there were just some days where I was just too lazy to jot down anything, thus I skipped and skipped another day. I gave up eventually.

Disclaimer: this photo is taken from Google

Then, I wrote randomly. Lyrics, short stories, thoughts, poems, anything, at anywhere, as in on my laptop, or pieces of papers which at the end of the day, would be disappearing. I wished I still have those with me too.

Afterwards, I kind of had this habit of writing events that happened in my life or my feelings on small pieces of paper and put them in a jar.

Disclaimer: This photo does not belong to me.

I just recently opened them up and read them. They are not much in the jar but they were something. They help me to remember my feelings on particular things or days or even gave me a good laugh at my own self in the past years. So, I am starting to continue that habit again. Writing down little things or my feelings. It helps me to reflect a lot , really on how I changed and how I have grown up in the past years. Can’t wait for another few years honestly. *chuckles*

Click on this image to get to my story. 🙂

Also, in the past years, I found out about wattpad. What a great platform to write or even to read. You can find so many good stories on it and you can even write a story yourself and let others to read and comment on your writing. I have written a few things on it but they were just for fun and some are halfway done.

I find great pleasure in writing out my imaginations, putting them into words and let people to read them.

Even if no one is reading them, I’m okay with it because the point is to see what’s going on in my head being typed out and I can read them out and know that these thoughts are real.

Last but not least, this blog. I know that I mostly write reviews on books that I read but it is also a form of expressing my opinions (obviously). It is a privilege to read and throw out your opinion on books at the same time. But I am the kind of reader whom hardly write negative comments, I usually give 3 stars and above out of 5 stars. I don’t even bother to write about books that I couldn’t understand or did not finish. I mean my opinion on these books literally is not valid and it is not fair for the authors to receive such criticism from a person whom do not understand their books. I may be giving out 2 stars one day, but only if I understand the books and really dislike it.

So what I like about writing? It helps me to :

1. Reminisce about the past
2. Have a good laugh
3. Share my thoughts
4. Share my story
5. Calm my mind

That’s about it. I hope that you would share with me some of your writing habit or your opinions on how writing helps you. If you have a wattpad account, please comment below your username, I would like to discover some new stories. 🙂