Seraph Songs

Just Read: Blue Bloods

2015-07-03T22:44:00.002-07:00

If you've ever been a The Vampire Diaries fan, then it's very likely that you'll like this book.

The story is ostensibly about 15-year-old Schuyler Van Alen and the secrets she uncovers about herself and her family, plus a gorgeous boy - the most popular one in their school - Jack Force who she starts to fall in love with. But it's an ensemble story, and the various characters' points of view push the story forward.

The book creates a pretty interesting set-up, with enough blank spaces around in book one to build the world further and elaborate on the story... as I found out when I checked the Wikipedia entry for the series. Melissa de la Cruz gives you enough of the popular YA tropes nowadays: vampires, angels, nephilim, past lives, past loves, unrequited love, love triangles, coming-of-age problems, childhood friend turned sweetheart, reincarnation, forbidden and twisted ties, history, mystery, magic, popular girls and jocks versus outcasts, and copious references to fashion styles and icons. I was hoping to see a reference to Filipino mythology, even a little, given Melissa de la Cruz's heritage (and it did say she spent part of her life in Manila), but I guess kapres and manananggals (types of ghouls) haven't found their way yet in YA fiction. The book teases you enough so that you'd like to go on to the next book to see what happens.

My biggest turn-off, though, with this book, is not the predictability and the stereotypes, but the writing. It's not at the level of The Tiger's Curse but I think Melissa should have gotten a better editor. The structure of the narration needs work, and the changes in the points of view in one scene could be smoother. I really do think this material would work better as a screenplay. In fact, I am convinced it would be gorgeous as a movie.

But hey, if you're 15 years old and looking for a book to sink your teeth into one boring night, this is a good enough place to start. Just be sure to check out Robin McKinley, Maggie Stiefvater, Laini Taylor, and Kristin Cashore when you're a bit older if you want stories that not only grab you but feel like honey in your mouth when you read the words, even if it's just in your head.

P.S. I Still Love You

2015-06-20T21:56:00.001-07:00

To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a charming read, not to mention that this is one of the few YA books that (1) has an Asian protagonist with no hang-ups about her roots (2) the family is not excluded/ expunged to start a story (3) has an ending that is true to the heart of the story, if not a bit of a cliffhanger. Plus, the premise itself is a cool hook. I mean, really, wouldn't you like to find out what happens next if a girl's secret pile of goodbye letters to all her past (and one present) crushes got mailed out and received by all those boys?

P.S. I Still Love You continues immediately where its predecessor ends. And I mean, immediately.

This book has heart, plenty of it, and this is where it draws it strength. Here we have a girl, Lara Jean who finally takes the brave step to love for real. But she and ***SPOILER ALERT*** Peter are in the middle of a very ugly and malicious scandal that tests their resolve to be together. They find that love is not all hearts and roses, but needs hard work and hard decisions. It's a surprisingly mature take for what's supposedly a bubblegum tale meant for high school readers.

The chapters go by very fast. And with such odds stacked against them, you start thinking that maybe it's better for the two to just make a clean break with each other and start anew.

As in the previous book, their families are a considerable part of their story, and it's a good thing because it not only fleshes out the and drives the plot; it also brings home the point that there are people who have your back, even when others betray you, and it's ok to rely on people who cherish you. It's also good to see much more of the Song sisters' mom here.

The ending is clear, but not set, just like in real life. There are foreshadowings to other (very far-off future) possibilities in the plot, and here I tip my hat off to Jenny Han. Because while her story makes it clear that you need to work hard for what you want, it also says that life unfolds in ways you never expect it to, and so, you have the choice at a new path if that is what you decide on. You have as many chances to love and be loved, but whatever choice you make needs your commitment to buckle down and work with your partner.

On a lighter note, this book also made me realize that a lot of things are just as applicable in high school life as in adult life. Which made me think that (to paraphrase another writer), heck, everything I need to learn, I learned -- or not learned -- in high school.

Since I've started reading a great deal of shoujo manga last year, I also realized that a lot of the plot devices and settings that Jenny used in the book are similar to manga. I think that this is why there's a different feel to this book. If you're interested, check out Kyo, Koi o Hajimamesu by Minami Kanan (completed) which I liked because the story covered the protagonists' post-high school life. And also Kimi no Todoke by Karuho Shiina, which is still ongoing.

Before Ever After

2012-01-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

My beautiful Christmas gift on our New Year's day jaunt to Tagaytay. Do you believe in serendipity? I do. Because what should I stumble upon while roaming around this lovely garden but a rooster? Before Ever After abounds with chickens and eggs. On this particular day, I was reading the chapter on growing old, the importance of the present, and how an old rooster would taste great in a soup. Yes, universe, I hear you loud and clear. You're telling me that I'm in the right place, at the right time, with the right book.

It also helps a lot that there's a bakery fragrant with freshly baked goodies just a few steps away.

***More to come***

Now reading: Song of Ice and Fire

2011-04-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Have been indefinitely sidetracked by George R.R. Martin...

Third book lined up already...all neatly wrapped still. But won't be for long :-)

Now reading: Ash

2011-04-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

I typically use awards that books have received as a gauge to decide whether I would buy and read a book, or not.

So saying, Malinda Lo's Ash was a shoo-in for my book pile.

I soon realized that it was a completely different configuration of the Cinderella trope. I have always loved the re-telling of fairy tales. This is why Robin McKinley's Beauty and Rose Daughter are among my best-loved stories of all time. When I picked up Ash, I loved the idea of introducing the element of a fairy, that is, a sidhe, into the story of Cinderella.

The book had a fresh take on the development of the heroine. Simply put, the love interest is another girl. In stories of this genre, the author has a very challenging task, indeed, to walk that fine line between revelation and critique, on the one hand, and repackaging something and calling it new. I was interested to see how the character playing the love interest in the story re-structures questions of power, strength, weakness, love, and identity. I mean, is she an actual female character, or will her gender formulation in the story, when unravelled to the core, would simply reveal a man?

If you're reading Ash for the first time, know that you are entering a lyric, mesmerizing landscape. However, the story would require more soul-searching and insight in terms of what it means to be a woman. It's a different kind of soul work and recasts questions about identity and sexuality than what Graceling posed, or even The Blue Sword.

On another matter, I have just discovered a new book by one of my favorite authors, Franny Billingsley. The title is Chime , and I am curious to see if it truly lives up to the glowing reviews I've read about it. I've waited for her to write another book after falling in love with her The Folk Keeper years ago. And with a long vacation coming up, I'm excited to have found what promises to be a delicious book to fall headlong into.

Well hello Lord Sunday!

2011-04-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

What do you know? I bumped into Garth Nix's Lord Sunday (2010) so unexpectedly today. This book concludes the Keys to the Kingdom series which began with Mr. Monday.

The series is the story of 12-year-old Arthur Penhaligon and his adventures in saving the House and his own world. At the beginning of the story, he was pulled into the Kingdom at a critical point in his life. Arthur was asthmatic and frail and he was about to die. One could say that his being pulled into the Kingdom was godsend: he became stronger physically. Also, as the Heir, he became the wielder of powers via the different Keys. Of course, the downside was that he became less human and more of a Denizen with each use of his power. Indeed, by the time the story reached the end of Superior Saturday, Arthur has become too far gone to return to being just a mortal.

The books in the series are named after days because these represent the seven Trustees assigned by the Architect to do her Will. They are collectively known as the Morrow Days. Each has been assigned a Key which has unique powers. When the Morrow days rebelled against the Architect, it was revealed that each has taken on anaspect of the seven Mortal Sins, i.e. greed, pride, envy, etc. Each Trustee rules on the day that bears his or her name, and so the start of the books usually begins on the midnight when the power of the next Trustee takes effect. So to my mind, Arthur has to be one of the most hard-pressed and hard-working heroes ever because his headaches have barely passed when the next set appears.

Naughty me has actually read the resolution of the series in Wikipedia. But that will not stop me from reading the book from start to finish. Good thing, too, that my memory tends to conveniently forget key parts of the plot which means that I'll be able to thoroughly enjoy this last book.

*****
(2 days after inhaling the book, and after our internet connection was restored, AND when B. finally relinquished his spot in front of my laptop...)

And enjoy it I did. Unlike the previous books when a lot of things seem to be happening at once, and when the sub-plots were distracting (and frustrating me) me from the main storyline, Lord Sunday was an easy straightforward read. I also loved the way Garth Nix concluded Arthur's story. He is one of those authors who just knows how tie up loose ends. Still, I could see some possibilities of a sequel.

Keys to the Kingdom is on a different level from The Abhorsen series in terms of character development, but it is no less rich and thought-provoking. I wouldn't mind re-reading the entire series over again. I give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars, and the series 4 out of 5 stars.

Forever

2011-04-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

I must have been seriously under a rock. How could I have missed this?

http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/shiver/forever.php

Best books of 2010

2011-04-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

I can't resist. Do check these books out. They're worth every penny and every second...and book shelf space.

Next, and next, and next...

2011-04-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

I have to find a way to temper myself.

I started this blog to share my favorite books, primarily young adult fiction, but lately I seem to be reading more, and sharing less.

Let me track where I have been in the last two weeks.

The beginning
There is something so comforting about encountering an old book--one you have spent pleasurable hours with, as you wandered around its unique world and peered over the shoulders of its characters as they battled monsters, and wielded fantastic magic. It's like meeting an old friend, and then sitting down over cups of coffee (or tea) to talk about old times.

However, I wasn't so certain if I wanted to start my summer with A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula Le Guin), though. It's not an easy friend. There's too much darkness in Ged's world, and --superstitious me -- I didn't want that to foreshadow my summer.

A master storyteller, nonetheless, has the power to pull you in the tale whether you like it or not. And so before long, I was once again at Roke and at Earthsea meeting familiar characters, and re-tracing familar and forgotten paths. At the end of the Ged's reckoning with his shadow, I was glad to have re-read the book again.

The book follows a familiar story archetype of the outcast, flawed hero coming to terms with himself. Since Ursula Le Guin comes from that era of 'classical' fantasy writers in the ilk of J.R.R. Tolkien, Ged's reflections and internal struggle appear deeply philosophical to the modern reader. In short, do not expect stream-of-consciousness rantings from Ged.

What to me makes this book a classic is how it explores that universal experience of having committing a seemingly irreparable mistake. And then upping this a hundred times. After all, what can be worse than loosing an unknown dark creature in the world and not having the power to vanquish it?

As to its ending: I like it that Le Guin carefully reveals things to the reader that leads up to the eventual realization of what must be done. You begin to have an inkling of what to do, but you're not quite sure about it, until the denouement. Beautiful pacing. I hate it when some authors treat readers as dumb spectators and spring obvious "revelations" and resolutions on them.

So after A Wizard of Earthsea, I knew I was in for a good start on my summer reading.

The Blue Sword

(to be continued)

Going Zonkers

2011-03-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, just so I could put everything in perspective just before I zonk out from my flu medicine, here are my current pre-occupations, and items for investigation:
1. Pegasus by Robin McKinley -- will get complete book
2. I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore -- amazing and highly enjoyable movie! Can't wait for the sequel and can't wait to get the books
3. Halo -- to get or not to get
4. Warm Bodies-- a good read they say, but a zombie romance? makes me hesitate just thinking about the first kiss
5. The Abhorsen series -- MUST write about these books because they're really amazing. Another long-overdue project
6. Beauty by Robin McKinley -- magic, books and a handsome prince. Need I say more?
7. Angelfire by Courtney Moulton -- I hope I don't waste my money here

Ok, that's about all I can handle right now.

The Graveyard Book

2011-03-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

This was another book I practically inhaled. But with a Neil Gaiman work, it's actually impossible to do that because you always end up entranced. So you slow down to take in the scenery. In this case, a beautiful, slightly creepy graveyard.

Bod is the main character in the book and he has been given the Freedom of the Graveyard when two resident ghosts, and a guardian, took him in when he was a baby. His family had just been killed by a mysterious assassin and Bod had the good fortune to toddle out of the house on his own and wind up in the graveyard. He reminded me of the Luck Child at this part of the story.

Hi grows up learning about Fading, Haunting, opening Ghoul gates, and in general being a better person than your average child would be. He gets into one adventure after the other, usually because he is also quite stubborn and very curious -- a very lethal mix.

His last adventure is when he leaves the grave finally. But even then, I would like to read more about this extraordinary boy called Nobody Owens.

Mockingjay

2011-03-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

This is way overdue.

I waited months on end for the final book in the trilogy, and when Mockingjay was finally released, one would expect me to have posted my reaction right away.

So where was I?

Or, some would wonder, was the book THAT bad?

To answer the second question first, no, the book was worth the wait. But I would have to say that it was not as likable as the first two books were. In the first few chapters of Mockingjay, you get the feeling that something is being set-up and developed. I re-read Hunger Games and Catching Fire to put my finger on why I felt the beginning of Mockingjay dragged. Well, I found out that there were some twists in the plot that needed time to stew. My advise to those who would read the book is to consider it in the light of the entire trilogy. It is more effective and less heartbreaking this way.

My only beef here is that Peeta so much less likable. It was as though Suzanne Collins drew up this perfect hero, and then just when all you ever wanted was to have someone like Peeta in your life, she tears him all apart. Suzanne redeems him in the end, but then you know that he isn't perfect anymore.

But I guess that is the exact point of Suzanne Collins. No one who has to go through what Katniss and Peeta and the rest of the characters did could end up alright. At best, you could have Haymitch. In fact, you could even call him the best-balanced mentally of the lot. The worse you could have is Annie, broken and mad, but redeemed in the end with a beautiful baby.

And I guess, that's the second point: no matter how life batters you, there is still some hope in the end, a point of redemption, a dandelion that lets you know that rebirth is possible.

And away we go!

2010-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Talk about getting what you wished for.

Early this year, I had been moping around and generally feeling sorry for myself for missing out on travelling. Everyone I knew seemed to be bound for one trip or another. But me, I was stuck in my city! To be honest, though, it wasn't as bad as that because B and I would often be visiting his parents 5 cities away. Actually, I rarely spent an entire weekend at our house for several weeks early this year because of school.

On with my narrative. I had just realized that as of last week, I had officially become a jetsetter of sorts. Two projects had me visit in quick succession Cebu, Bicol, Baguio, Bataan, Batangas, Tagaytay, Cavite, Pampanga, Iloilo and Davao. B even managed to come to Iloilo with me. That's another story.

Ok, since pining was so effective, next time I do it, I'll pine for my very own beautiful mountain house with a large garden full of gorgeous flowers and fruit-laden shrubs and trees and tons of money so that I could afford to maintain it and pay for real estate taxes.

I had been hopping in and out of planes so much recently that B thought I was off to some remote location again when I reminded him that he was fetching me tomorrow.

I have to admit: I LOVE travelling.

Finally!

2010-08-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

What a week this was! First, Mockingjay, then Linger.

I'm in withdrawal now, though, because I inhaled both and am now without any books to read.

I'll be writing longer reviews soon but for now I'd like to share my two newest babies :-)

Mockingly, mockingly/ August is TOO far away

2010-05-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

I re-read HUNGER GAMES, and now I can't wait to get my hands on MOCKINGJAY which is due for release on August 2010.

And to add to the unbearable waiting, I stumbled on the cover design which offers very little in the way of what's going to happen.
Still, I know what to look for know when I head out to the bookstores in August.

Back into the Labyrinth

2010-04-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

Way back in high school, I fell in love with Jareth. I would stare at the moon and imagine a snowy white owl swooping onto my window ledge, transforming into this mysterious, gorgeously garbed and breathtakingly handsome king who would offer me the world if only I loved him. *Swoon*

What girl could resist? Of course, he was the Goblin King with frightful looking minions, but that was just a trifling matter to me then.

Needless to say, Jim Henson' LABYRINTH became the pixie dust that transformed my mundane life into something so much more exciting. My friends and I obsessed about getting the Sarah look: long straight hair with the bangs clipped to the side, a long flowing shirt, vest, slim jeans, flat brown shoes, and a fancy charm bracelet. A trip to the National Library near Intramuros became a make-believe trek through the labyrinth facing "dangers unknown and hardships unnumbered". Did I mention that we memorized the movie lines and song lyrics? We also became die-hard David Bowie fans because to us he was and will forever be Jareth.

LABYRINTH really meant --mean-- so much to me that when I found the manga, BACK INTO THE LABYRINTH, continuing the story, I had no compunctions at all (maybe a little; I am, after all, an OC person) about buying it, budget be damned.

However, it was a purchase that I am now regretting. The storyline is too derivative, and too obviously that. It was liberally laced with Harry Potter devices; the main character, Toby -- the baby in the movie -- is now inexplicably the Goblin King's heir in the story. He is weakly written and so unlikeable. I also just absolutely hated it that they worked certain scenes and narrative devices from the movie into it. I didn't need to be reminded every page or so that this was the sequel to the movie! For instance, they showed the statue of Hoggle taking a leak at the entrance of the labyrinth, echoing the movie. There are also repeated lines of "through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, etc." Thing is, this isn't Sarah' story anymore. I wish it were.

The beauty of LABYRINTH for me was its imagination and the world of what-ifs it opened. This manga showed me nothing but been-there, done-that scenes instead.

One saving grace, though, is that it reminded me of why Howl's character (Howl's Moving Castle) completely enchanted me. Howl could have been a younger Jareth, or his younger brother.

It just occured to me, though, right now that they have turned Jareth in the manga into a flamboyant, and unscrupulous version of Howl in this manga. Grrr.

I wish that this could've been written better if only to do justice to Jim Henson's vision and genius.

Lazy Day-sies

2010-04-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

As the title implies, I'm somewhat at a loss at what to do. Make that, too lethargic to do anything. Plus, a slight migraine has completely ruined any appetite to gallivant outside.

It's a holiday today, a welcome treat following so closely on the heels of the Holy Week. I've been looking forward to this day for some R&R, but you know what they say about all the best-laid plans, and all that.

Howl's Moving Castle (Dianna Wynne Jones) beckons but I'm adamantly searching online for re-upholsters in the neighborhood. We are woefully out of chairs. B has managed to maul all but 2 of our dining chairs (further proof of a need to diet :-) ). The one he didn't wreck, my cousin C took the honor of doing it in on his first visit to the house. I'm using the remaining chair in my study area.

I had wanted to have two storage benches customized for the dining area, but the price quotation of the furniture maker we asked last week had me gaping in incredulity. So right now I'm weighing the relative merits of just having my poor dining chairs re-upholstered.

Later, maybe I'll have time to travel with Sophie in her adventures with Howl. Much later, I'll go back to reading Fruits Basket online, the first manga I will ever read. I was tempted to read the Inuyasha manga, but then the anime is so much fun. I'm in withdrawal though because the series ended just last week.

I'll be having a book fair at the office come Monday and I can't wait to get my hands on Hunger Games and Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins). I've read both in B's iPod but I am a confessed book fetishist: I'd rather be holding a book than reading the story from an eBook gadget. B said, though, that our local bookstore has an ongoing promotion, and why not just check it out if all I wanted were discounts? Speaking of Hunger Games, both of us are doing a countdown to the release date of Mockingjay, which is coming out this August. Proof of our excitement: B was insisting last week that the books were in the local warehouses already because how then could our bookstore have a price for it already when it's just April?

Might try to read Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver next. I'm dragging my feet though because I've had my fill already of werewolves and vampires. But Shiver's list of awards is making me curious about it.

That's it for now.

My two favorite Kats

2010-03-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

By some stroke of luck, I made the happy acquaintance of two literary heroines (whom I would heartily recommend to fantasy/ sci-fi/ young adult fiction female readers) within weeks of each other.

First is Katniss Everdeen of Hunger Games and Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins; Mockingjay,the concluding book will be published in August 2010). Katniss lives in a post-Apocalyptic world called Panem, in what is supposed to be North America, subjugated by the power of a corrupt and evil central government called Capitol. The Hunger Games is an annual TV show, akin to today's reality shows, with the difference that the contestants have to fight to the death. Contestants or tributes are picked from each of a the 12 districts -- one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 to 18 -- by lottery. Katniss volunteers herself when her younger sister was picked. It is thanks to her unusual skills in archery and hunting, as well as strength, courage, honor, level-headedness and daring that she overcomes the kinks thrown her way. Well, almost all of them, because she still has to resolve her feelings for her fellow Tribute, Peeta Mellarck.

My other Kat is Katsa of The Graceling (Kristin Cashore). Katsa is a Graceling, one of those people born with an extrordinary skill. In Katsa's case, her Grace makes her an invincible fighter. However, since in their kingdom in the Middluns, all gracelings automatically become property of the King, and Katsa has the added disadvantage of being the King's niece, she was raised to become his strongarm. Or as his thug, as far as she's concerned. Katsa is ferocious in her skills and protecting her sense of her self. However, being the king's main tool for bullying other people has given her precious few things to control in her life. Which is why when she crosses the path of Prince Po, an extremely skilled fighter and a mind reader who is searching for his kidnapped grandfather , Katsa must re-evaluate her perceptions of her world and of her identity.

I am so pleased that these characters were written as they were. I've had enough of vapid, one-dimensional, self-centered heroines whose love for the hero is the only thing that they have going for them.

A nomad speaks

2010-03-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have always been fond of traveling, which is fortunate since I often seem to be going from one place to another. For the most part, this traveling had to do with my moving from one home to another. And no, this has nothing to do with separated parents, but rather because of the practicalities in life that dictate that one must live with one's grandmother because this puts one nearer to one's school. And later, one's place of work. (Although, to be honest about it, I stayed with her long after I needed to because by then she had become my mother. )

As a traveler-at-heart, I think it's good that I never get motion sickness when in a car, a bus, a boat, or a plane. On my first boat ride, I was scared that I'd be sick inside of a few minutes and moan my way throughout the cruise. Luckily, I had more to fear from indigestion because the staff seemed bent on stuffing us to the gills. We were all happy to oblige, of course.

I just wish, though, that unflappable gumption had also been one of my gifts. That way, I wouldn't hesitate too much in deciding where to go, and thereby save precious time, and spare myself any jitters.