BukuKu Review

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 07:07:00 +0000

"A lot of you cared, just not enough."

Clay Jensen returns home to find a strange package with his name on it. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and first love - who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice explains there are thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening and what he discovers changes his life...Forever.

A little warning to the young readers (specifically the teens), I don't actually recommend you guys to read it. I'm not actually stopping you guys from reading it but the material of the story is about teen suicide. If you decided to read it, open up your mind and remember that this is just a FICTION.

I've been putting this book on my list too long ever since my sister bought this book even after I read the summary, I already thought that this must be a good read. When I started reading it, I just couldn't stop.

What would you do if someone left a box of cassettes on your front door? If it were me, I would bring out my old Sony Walkman and listen to the tapes (although I'm afraid I might end up listening to some paranormal stuffs). Clay did just that (except he uses their old big stereo) and listened to the first cassettes and was shocked to hear Hannah's voice, a classmate and his first love, who died by killing herself and in those cassettes she explains that those who received the tapes means that their names are mentioned in one of those cassettes and they are the 13 Reasons Why she killed herself.

Clay then wondered, which one of those cassettes and which side of the cassettes has his name mentioned? What have Clay done to Hannah to get his name into one of those cassettes? He listened to all the cassettes and even went to the places Hannah mentioned in those tapes (for example Hangouts and favourite shops).

He ended up learning what Hannah have been through all her school year, the people she met and what they have done to her. Hannah, if I understood from what I've read, is not actually a victim of a bully. She's more on being a victim of being left by the people she beginning to trust and care.

There's 2 POVs, Clay and Hannah, Hannah's POV are mostly on the cassettes so she's more or less like a POV guest in the book. I was so attached to this book for 2 days (if I'm not mistaken) because it really drives me off my seat because I really wanted to know what Clay have done to Hannah. The POV of Clay already shows how and who he is and it just makes me want to just continuously flip the pages to look for Clay's story.

For Hannah character, she's just this normal girl who just have fun with being herself but people around her just keeps dragging her down and then she would just forget it but eventually, she had enough.

The story is a lesson to all of us as well. Every smile, there's a story behind it. A person that always smile and cheerful doesn't mean that s/he is always happy. Inside they might be hurt. When people care less about one another, they are thinking that its better if they don't exist.

I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend you guys to read it. Although I've seen some reviews giving it a one star or maybe a no star at all.

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 07:26:00 +0000

Travis Maddox lost his mother when he was very young. Her parting advice? Love hard... Fight Harder.

Before I begin my review, I would like to tell you how I got this book. Me and dad went to a famous local bookstore and saw this book on one of the shelves. I read the summary and thought, "Hmmm.. This sounds like a good book." I save the title AND the author on my phone so I can buy it next time. 2 weeks later, went to the same bookstore, saw it again and then buy! No more second thoughts... Ok that's a really boring story.

So, I bought this book because:

I love the cover - It's a simple cover with a butterfly and a piece of paper that says "Love Travis". But, there's actually 2 covers (or more?) you can buy the other one with a guy's tattoo-ed biceps. I missed that one.. =_="
On the top it says, "Find out what men REALLY think". - I'll never figure out what men really thinks. And lastly,
It's about a bad boy and a girl who have no interest with him...Except for being friends...

I love to read this kind of book. With a bad boy and a hard-to-get girl characters. Maybe I just like the fights between those 2. The thickness of this book is 433 pages and I have no complaints.

The characters:

Travis Maddox - The bad boy~ Grrrr... (ok, stop it). He's and underground fighter plus a popular one too because he keeps winning in every fights. And also famous for bringing home girls to...ehem.. Well... *censored*. Abby Abernathy - The hard-to-get girl and very secretive one too. When Travis met Abby, he found her very amusing and decided to get close to her but Abby warned him (even his best friend and his best friend's girlfriend who is also a friend of Abby) that she accepts being just friends with him and nothing more. But things get interesting... Travis can't keep his promise and fall in love with Abby.

My thoughts:
I find it frustrating reading this book. Uhuh...Yeah, I said it. Well because.. Like I said, I like this kind of stories because of the fighting between couples. But this one kind of frustrates me. Travis tries to keep his promise to just be friends with Abby but sort of 'prison-ed' her in his apartment (shared with Shepley) and he keeps bringing different girls to keep his minds of Abby. Then Abby got jealous and then Travis promised to not bring anymore girls because Abby doesn't like it and hope Travis will change. And then, Abby talks and get close to another guy or guys and then Travis got jealous. And then somehow one thing led to another but with both their egos so high, didn't want to go further than friendship. I was like. "GUYS!! MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!". Their fighting and egos are just going back and forth and then with Abby being too secretive and all. It just...ARGH!!!

But I love that Travis family (his father and brothers) are in the book as well. With their mother died, you just want to know how the family of men are doing.

It's an enjoyable book to read. I keep on flipping the pages to see what happens next (duh~). And then, I put down the book to do my work and then read it again. I don't think its that bad but it's just a GOOD book. Not the best... but Good.

My advice:
When I finished this book, I found out that there's actually a first book which is called Beautiful Disaster. BUT, Walking Disaster is NOT actually the sequel to Beautiful Disaster. It's actually the same story, just different Point-Of-Views. Beautiful Disaster is in Abby Abernathy's POV and Walking Disaster is Travis Maddox.

Will I read the first one? Maybe not.

Cathy Glass

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:30:00 +0000

I have to do special mention of one of my favourite authors. Through her books, based on real stories, she exposes the cruel world of children being abused in the UK. Not only abused by strangers but by their own family members (such as parents).

It's kind of heartbreaking to learn that all of the children are abused in their own home by the people who are suppose to protect them. And what I meant about abused is not only beatings but also sexually. I have a good family who loves children very much and I live in a good environment as well and I thought all this time, children in this world are very spoilt with all those gadgets and stuffs but the truth is, not all of them are. At the other side of the world children are being abused without everyone noticing or PRETENDED nothing happen. Don't think too far, there are some cases of children being abused here in our own country.

Cathy Glass's books will be on my light-reading-list because I could just grab her book anytime to read and can finish it in a day or a week and also since her books are based on true stories, I don't actually expect dragons or wizards being written on it. Basically, it's just a real story with no imaginations or any other crazy things involve there. They're all true stories. And with that, I might not do reviews on her books anymore because I might sound bias if I review her books since I enjoy them very much.

Before I annoyed you with more 'true stories' statement, I did my first review on her first book in 2009 called 'Cut'. Story about a girl named Dawn whom Cathy foster when she had her first baby, Adrian. You can find my review here. 'Cut' is my favourite book from all of the others by Cathy although I'm left hanging because at the end of the book, Cathy didn't tell what actually happened to Dawn while she was with her Aunt and Uncle (if i remember correctly).

I should just list down all the books I have read(not accordingly to when I read it). Most of them I borrowed from my cousin. She too likes to read Cathy Glass's books. I asked her to read 'Cut' and then she became obsessed with Cathy Glass. I guess I'm to blame here :P

You can find out more about Cathy Glass at her website.

CUT

The author of "Damaged "tells the story of the Dawn, a sweet and seemingly well-balanced girl whose outward appearance masks a traumatic childhood of suffering at the hands of the very people who should have cared for her. Dawn was the first girl Cathy Glass ever fostered. Sweet and seemingly well balanced girl, Dawn's outward appearance masked a traumatic childhood so awful, that even she could not remember it.

During the first night, Cathy awoke to see Dawn looming above Cathy's baby's cot, her eyes staring and blank. She sleepwalks--which Cathy learns is often a manifestation in disturbed children. It becomes a regular and frightening occurrence, and Cathy is horrified to find Dawn lighting a match while mumbling it's not my fault in her sleep one night. Cathy discovers Dawn is playing truant from school, and struggling to make friends. More worryingly she finds her room empty one night, and her pillow covered in blood. Dawn has been self-harming in order to release the pain of her past.

When Dawn attempts suicide, Cathy realizes that she needs more help than she can give. Dawn's mother eventually confides in her that Dawn was sent away to live with relatives in Ireland between the ages of 5 and 9, and Cathy soon realizes that the horrors Dawn was exposed to during this time have left her a very disturbed little girl.

HIDDEN

From the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy’s recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite manners hide a terrible past.

Tayo arrives at Cathy’s with only the clothes he stands up in. He has been brought to her by the police, but he is calm, polite, and very well spoken, and not at all like the children she normally fosters. The social worker gives Cathy the forms which should contain Tayo’s history, but apart from his name and age, it is blank. Tayo has no past.

Tayo is an 'invisible' child, kidnapped from his loving father in Nigeria and brought illegally to the UK by his drink and drugs dependent prostitute mother, where he is put to work in a sweat shop in Central London. When he sustains an injury and is no longer earning, he is cast out.

When Cathy takes Tayo to school he points out a dozen different addresses where he has stayed in the last six months, often being left alone. Tayo lies, and manipulates situations to his own advantage and Cathy has to be continually on guard. Tayo’s social worker searches all computer databases but there is no record of Tayo – he has only attended school for 3 terms and has never seen a doctor. He and his mother have been evading the authorities by living ‘underground’.

With his mother recently released from prison, Tayo is desperate to live with his father in Nigeria, but no one can track him down or even prove that he exists.

DAMAGED

Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass. At the Social Services office, Cathy (an experienced foster carer) is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behaviour has seen off five carers in four months. Despite her reservations, Cathy decides to accept Jodie to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins.

That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behaviour improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals details of her abuse at the hands of her parents and others. It becomes clear that Jodie's parents were involved in a sickening paedophile ring, with neighbours and Social Services not seeing what should have been obvious signs.

Unfortunately Jodie becomes increasingly withdrawn, and it's clear she needs psychiatric therapy. Cathy urges the Social Services to provide funding, but instead they decide to take Jodie away from her, and place her in a residential unit. Although the paedophile ring is investigated and brought to justice, Jodie's future is still up in the air. Cathy promises that she will stand by her no matter what -- her love for the abandoned Jodie is unbreakable

THE SADDEST GIRL IN THE WORLD

The bestselling author of Damaged tells the true story of Donna, who came into foster care aged ten, having been abused, victimised and rejected by her family. Donna had been in foster care with her two young brothers for three weeks when she is abruptly moved to Cathy's.

When Donna arrives she is silent, withdrawn and walks with her shoulders hunched forward and her head down. Donna is clearly a very haunted child and refuses to interact with Cathy's children Adrian and Paula. After patience and encouragement from Cathy, Donna slowly starts to talk and tells Cathy that she blames herself for her and her brothers being placed in care. The social services were aware that Donna and her brothers had been neglected by their alcoholic mother, but no one realised the extent of the abuse they were forced to suffer. The truth of the physical torment she was put through slowly emerges, and as Donna grows to trust Cathy she tells her how her mother used to make her wash herself with wire wool so that she could get rid of her skin colour as her mother was so ashamed that Donna was mixed race.

The psychological wounds caused by the bullying she received also start to resurface when Donna starts reenacting the ways she was treated at home by hitting and bullying Paula, so much so that Cathy can't let Donna out of her sight. As the pressure begins to mount on Cathy to help this child, things start to get worse and Donna begins behaving in erratic ways, trashing her bedroom and being regularly abusive towards Cathy's children. Cathy begins to wonder if she can find a way to help this child or if Donna's scars run too deep.

I MISS MUMMY

Alice, aged four, is snatched by her mother the day she is due to arrive at Cathy's house. Drug-dependent and mentally ill, but desperate to keep hold of her daughter, Alice's mother takes her from her parents' house and disappears. Cathy spends three anxious days worrying about her whereabouts before Alice is found safe, but traumatized.

Alice is like a little doll, so young and vulnerable, and she immediately finds her place in the heart of Cathy's family. She talks openly about her mummy, who she dearly loves, and how happy she was living with her maternal grandparents before she was put into care. Alice has clearly been very well looked after and Cathy can't understand why she couldn't stay with her grandparents.

It emerges that Alice's grandparents are considered too old (they are in their early sixties) and that the plan is that Alice will stay with Cathy for a month before moving to live with her father and his new wife. The grandparents are distraught—Alice has never known her father, and her grandparents claim he is a violent drug dealer. Desperate to help Alice find the happy home she deserves, Cathy's parenting skills are tested in many new ways. Finally questions are asked about Alice's father suitability, and his true colors begin to emerge.

ANOTHER FORGOTTEN CHILD

Eight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her five older siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at home to suffer for so long. It seems Aimee was forgotten.

The social services are looking for a very experienced foster carer to look after Aimee and, when she reads the referral, Cathy understands why. Despite her reservations, Cathy agrees to Aimee on – there is something about her that reminds Cathy of Jodie (the subject of ‘Damaged’ and the most disturbed child Cathy has cared for), and reading the report instantly tugs at her heart strings.

When she arrives, Aimee is angry. And she has every right to be. She has spent the first eight years of her life living with her drug-dependent mother in a flat that the social worker described as ‘not fit for human habitation’. Aimee is so grateful as she snuggles into her bed at Cathy’s house on the first night that it brings Cathy to tears.

Aimee’s aggressive mother is constantly causing trouble at contact, and makes sweeping allegations against Cathy and her family in front of her daughter as well. It is a trying time for Cathy, and it makes it difficult for Aimee to settle. But as Aimee begins to trust Cathy, she starts to open up. And the more Cathy learns about Aimee’s life before she came into care, the more horrified she becomes.

It’s clear that Aimee should have been rescued much sooner and as her journey seems to be coming to a happy end, Cathy can’t help but reflect on all the other ‘forgotten children’ that are still suffering…

A BABY'S CRY

What could cause a mother to believe that giving away her newborn baby is her only option? Cathy Glass is about to find out. From the author of Damaged comes a harrowing and moving memoir about tiny Harrison, left in Cathy's care, and the potentially fatal family secret of his beginnings. When Cathy is first asked to foster one-day old Harrison her only concern is if she will remember how to look after a baby.

But upon collecting Harrison from the hospital, Cathy realizes she has more to worry than she thought when she discovers that his background is shrouded in secrecy. She isn't told why Harrison is in foster care and his social worker says only a few are aware of his very existence, and if his whereabouts became known his life, and that of his parents, could be in danger. Cathy tries to put her worries aside as she looks after Harrison, a beautiful baby, who is alert and engaging.

Cathy and her children quickly bond with Harrison although they know that, inevitably, he will eventually be adopted. But when a woman Cathy doesn't know starts appearing in the street outside her house acting suspiciously, Cathy fears for her own family's safety and demands some answers from Harrison's social worker. The social worker tells Cathy a little but what she says is very disturbing. How is this woman connected to Harrison and can she answer the questions that will affect Harrison's whole life?

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 07:10:00 +0000

One hundred names...
one hundred people.
Kitty Logan inherits just a single list with the promise that it's a story she has to tell.

Journalist Kitty Logan’s career has been destroyed by scandal, and she now faces losing the woman who guided her and taught her everything she knew. At her mentor’s bedside, Kitty asks her – what is the one story she always wanted to write?

The answer lies in a file buried in Constance’s office: a list of one hundred names. There is no synopsis, no explanation, nothing else to explain what the story is or who these people are. The list is simply a mystery.

But before Kitty can talk to her friend, it is too late.

With everything to prove, Kitty is assigned the most important task of her life – to write the story her mentor never had the opportunity to. Kitty has to not only track down and meet the people on the list, but find out what connects them. And, in the process of hearing ordinary people’s stories, she uncovers Constance’s – and starts to understand her own…

What I love about Cecelia Ahern's writing is that, she brings you to the world of magic... No, not the David Blaine's kind of magic. First, the book cover is so amazing because the color combinations are soft. I bought the big size paperback, so in terms of number of pages, I think it's a bit thick.

The storyline is quite unexpected because, first the book title says 'One Hundred Names' and the story is about Kitty Logan got a list of those 100 names from Constance and she didn't get a chance to ask what the list of names is about. So, my first thought was HAH! She's going to write stories about 'famous people' in their magazine. EK!!! It's actually not. Nor do they have connections with Constance or Kitty or anyone from their company.

That's what I like about Cecelia's stories. A simple title but big and magical stories that make us laugh and make us feel inspired. Who could've thought about writing this kind of story? (Cecelia did of course). Imagine that, 100 random names are given to you. Maybe 1/100 of them is a manager or maybe a taxi driver. 100 names who are not famous names like Beyonce or J.Lo. These 100 names may not be known to the world but they too have stories to tell. Everybody has a story to tell.

I think after reading this book, people might start doing the same thing as what Constance and Kitty did, find 100 random names from the phone directory and search for them and start writing stories about them.

If there's a downside of this book, all I can say it's not that much. Starting was slow (especially when Kitty got her list). The characters are all fun and different.

Buy book from:

KB Book Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Greetings bookworms... Especially to Bruneian.

You are all invited to come to KB Book Fair at SMSA(Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali) in Kuala Belait. There'll be books on sale so bring your cash along.

This is from their facebook page:

Not just books.....

There will also be:

> "tent tales". (great for kids under 10,)

> colouring competitions

> a "reading tips treasure hunt" competition

> ABC - Author /Book challenge

> food stalls

> media coverage(saturday only)

This is your chance to meet other bookworms and buy books to read during your free time.

Leaving Paradise & Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Story of Caleb and Maggie.

Caleb Becker is Maggie's neighbor and best friend's brother who is popular at school and has a girlfriend. Then, he got drunk and hit Maggie Armstrong and drove off and was sent to juvenile detention. When he got out, he came home to people giving glares and stares at him, best friend who dates his girlfriend, a sister who turned into a goth and a mother who pretends that incident never happened.

Maggie Armstrong just wants to avoid meeting Caleb after the hit and run incident. Due to her limp, her chances of getting a scholarship to study abroad is nil. Everyone think she's a freak, limping around at school and places.

After they met accidentally and Mrs.Reynold's house, they get to know each other better, pouring their hearts out and at the end, the truth about what really happened during that accident.

In Return to Paradise, after Caleb left...Yes, yes... He and Maggie meet again and are forced to go for a summer trip for the RE-START program. In which teens that involves in some small crimes like drunk driving and also teens who are victims to that kind of incident came to sit down and give talks to other teens and children. Telling them how it affected their lives. During this trip, Caleb and Maggie tried to rekindle their love and also Maggie trying to force Caleb into telling the whole truth so it would save them from being stuck in the web of lies.

I really, really LOVE these books so much. They're not thick (I wish it is!), and they're easy to read. These are one of the best series I've ever read. I love how the POV changes between Caleb and Maggie. The characters are good and so is the storyline. The way the story was written its just smooth which matches the romance going on and with that high-school 'environment' which reminds me of 'A Walk To Remember' movie (and no, they have different storlines). I didn't actually expect the end to be so... shocking. Well, not shock shock. Maybe a little surprise.

Before I bought these, I have less expectation from them because they're for Young Adults or Teens so I thought, nyeh... But it changes my mind after I read few pages of the first book and became glued to it and ASAP, I went to order another one on BookDepository. These series aren't available in Brunei I believe.

So do I like this series? Didn't you read my review? DEFINITELY!

Would I like to read another book by the same author? I would love to and hope the others won't be a let down.

Buy book from:

=> Leaving Paradise (1st book)

=> Return to Paradise (2nd Book)

Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:30:00 +0000

'There was no sun; there was no light. I was dying. I couldn't remember what the sky looked like.
But I didn't die. I was lost to a sea of cold, and then I was reborn into a world of warmth.
I remember this: his yellow eyes.
I thought I'd never see them again.'

These are an excerpt from the first book of Shiver's Trilogy (Shiver, Linger, Forever). These trilogy is 5% (estimation) similar to the Twilight Saga. Yes, I have to mention Twilight because I read Shiver after I finished the Twilight saga and also because it's about werewolf. Thinking it might be another 'vampire' type of novel, I decided to read it and find out myself.

Let me list down why I decided to read the trilogy:

a) The summary - as stated above it's about werewolf, thought there might be vampires as well .
b) the book cover - I really, really love the book cover. I'm a sucker for book covers.
c) Author's name - Maggie Stiefvater.. Stiefvater... Rarely see that name. I'm not sure if I pronounce it correctly.

It's a story of a girl named Grace who falls in love with the yellow eyed wolf outside her house. And one day, she saw a naked boy bleeding outside her house. His name is Sam and he's actually the yellow-eyed wolf. So, here's a hint or a tip or...whatever you want to call it. Sam will turn to werewolf when the temperature is really cold. It's a curse for him for he will forever be a wolf if the temperature keeps dropping and he's losing the sense of humanity. And with all the killings spreading around their town, wolves are the target for hunters. They need to find a cure!

Isabel, a new girl in town needs their answers regarding her brother's death because she believed he is not dead yet. Her job is to stop hunters hunting the wolves, especially her dad.

And then there's Cole introduced in the second book and his role throughout the story.

The storyline makes me think like its an indie film because its slow (yeah, I think Indie film is slow) and the place Maggie described makes me think like that. Eventhough it's like that, I find the stories good. No helpless girl, no love triangle, how the characters were introduced and point of view of 4 characters aren't so confusing like most of the books I've read.

So, do I like this trilogy? No...I LOVE it!

Would I like to read another book by the same author? Hmmm...Maybe.

Buy book from:

=> For Paperback

=> For Hardback

Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:43:00 +0000

'At school I'm Aussie-blonde Jamie - one of the crowd.

At home I'm Muslim Jamilah - drive mad by my Stone Age dad.

I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can't keep it much longer...'

I always wanted to read this book for such a long time. And just last year, my sister bought and read it. And I'm a bit disappointed (not because I'm not the first one to read it) because of how the story was written. I feel like I'm reading a book for a pre-teen. Or maybe it is for pre-teen but even so, I didn't expect it to be a disappointment.

Why I want to read this book at first place was because of the storyline. It's about Jamilah or Jamie which she preferred to be called at school because her name represents a muslim name and being part of the minorities/foreigners/muslims in a school with racism. A girl who tries to hide her true identity so she can fit into the crowd at school and surviving teenage year with an over-protective dad.

Since it is also about culture and religion, I find it a bit offensive especially on how the religion is portrayed (on Jamie's brother and the end part of the book) and I have to keep my mind open really wide since it's just a novel. In terms of the characters? Really Annoying on most of them and that includes Jamilah. I feel like I just want to finish the book ASAP.

Would I like to read another book by the same author? Hmmm... Maybe. This book may be a disappontment but it's actually not a bad one. And I hope the other books are better than this.

Buy book from:

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 04:28:00 +0000

What I think about this book? Finally! I thought 'Silence' the 3rd book of this saga is the final one!

For starters, I got lost when I read the first chapter because I forgot what happened in the last book. There's new characters like Blakely, Dante and Pepper and old ones like Dabria (Nora's sort-of-enemy and Patch's ex).

The story kind of a bit slow at first until you get to the middle (yes, most books are like that =_="). The interesting parts are always in the middle because they reveal the traitors, betrayals and dramas. Oh yeah, and Vee? Nora's bff, She's one of my favourite characters in the series and she just wants Nora to tell her something the Nora keeps to herselves.

Ah right, the protagonist Nora. She's been 'forced' an oath to destroy the fallen angels and she, as the leader of the nephilim army have to lead them. Problem is she can't do that since her boyfriend, Patch is a fallen angel and Patch as Nora's boyfriend and Nora as the new leader, the Nephilim can't trust her to lead. This is where Dante comes in. He volunteered to train Nora so she can be ready to lead the army eventhough she doesn't want to start a war between Nephilims and Fallen Angels.

Before I start to spoil you the story, I just have to mention a few things like Marcie keeps spoiling things when Nora and Patch almost get the answers to all of their questions.

I find this book quite...good, but not good enough. It's more like one of my light-reading books. ALTHOUGH, out of the 4 books of this series I find this one the best of all 4.

To the author, I would like to say thanks for your time in writing this book. It keeps me company during my free time.

Buy book from:

You can also buy the whole box-set (Hardcover) for US$62.72 :

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:00:00 +0000

My first post of Percy Jackson can be found here. I decided not to review each of the book because... Well, just because. I thought that I should review ONLY the first book and then read the rest and give a final review on the series.

What more I can say about this series?

It's the best and educational book so far. How is it educational? Well, every time I watched Greek mythology or theme movies or games such as Clash of the Titans and God of War, I almost recognized all of the characters although my brother (who also read the series) recognize most of them. Even the Heroes. Now I wish that I can study Greek Mythology.

The stories in this book are well written. I can even feel what the characters are feeling. The emotions going on.The relationship between Percy and Annabeth was...expected. The humor is good too. The unexpected hero, Luke.

And lastly, I'm rating this book...

Make sure you don't miss reading this series. It's well worth reading.

Buy book from:

The Book Depository
Amazon

Ps.It seems like the boxed set of this series is currently not available yet.

Missing

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:51:00 +0000

Hello readers! (If there is any)

I know we've been missing for I don't know how many months (or is it years?). Both of us are busy with our studies and believe it or not, I haven't got the time to read any books when semester started. Now I'm on my Semester Break (and will be back soon), and I think I've read 2-4 books so far. I need to reach my 30 goals this year.

Currently I'm reading 'Stolen' by Lucy Christopher. So far so good and I hope I'll write a review for it. But anyways, thanks for reading and visiting this blog even though we're not active currently. :D

--Kiden

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:31:00 +0000

‘A haunting story of the search for identity…is packed with memorable characters and evocative settings. Cleverly constructed and beautifully written, this is the perfect summer read.’
- Choice Magazine

It's hard to summarise this book because of its complicated story plot but basically the book is a mixture of tales from different generations of the Montrachet family and how a secret was created among the family and it took a few decades later for others to discover the true story behind the Montrachet family. The book opens with the story of Nell who was 4 years old when she was on a ship from England on a journey towards Australia but found herself abandoned by the mysterious ' The Authoress'. The dockmaster found her and adopt her as his own. As Nell grew up into a young lady, she learned the real story behind her abandonment as a child and led her to England. A few decades later, her grandchildren took the same journey and slowly found herself uncovering the real story behind Nell's family history.

The book is divided into chapters where the story will jumps between each chapters for example the book will begin with a chapter telling the story of Nell. The next chapter will tell the story of the Montrachet in the past and the next chapter will go back to Nell's story. This might be confusing for a while but fortunately the good storyline compensates for the confusing way the story is arranged in the book. The book has some mystery, drama and it even got some short children's tale 'The Crone's eyes' and 'The Golden egg' concealed among the pages and written by Eliza Makepeace, one of the main characters.

Overall I really like this book for its beautiful story and the way the mystery evolves from pages to pages ,making me becoming more curious with how it will all end. Mind you, this book is very thick, about 645 pages so a motivation is needed for me to finish this book in a short period. As some of the reviewers of this book suggested, if you like 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett, you will like this book.

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Twenties Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:59:00 +0000

“Life is like an escalator.”

‘Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Perfectly normal twenty-something girls just don’t get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara’s Great Aunt Sadie – in the form of a bold, demanding, Charleston-dancing girl – has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can’t rest without.

Lara’s got enough problems of her own. Her startup company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she’s just been dumped by the love of her life.

But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous, and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie’s ghost be the answer to Lara’s problems – and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other?’

WOW! I’m just…WOW! For the second time Sophie Kinsella’s novel just made me laugh. After reading ‘Remember Me?’ I thought I should buy another novel by Sophie Kinsella but it’s not enough to sort of ‘pressure’ me to continue reading Ms.Kinsella’s work. Oh, how wrong I was! I borrowed this book from my bookworm cousin. She sort of told me thousand times (actually 3 times) to read this book as it makes her laugh and I was like, ‘Nyeh, What the heck?’ and thanks to her, I did laugh reading this book. But at the same time, almost cry my eyes out.

So, Lara just started a new business with her ‘runaway’ best friend and it’s not going well. Her family lives under her Uncle Bill’s shadow who owns the famous Lington’s coffee shop. Her parents are worried about her especially after she broke up with her so-called ‘Soulmate’ Josh.

Then, her parents told her that her great-aunt Sadie, whom she never knew about, died of old age. She went to the funeral and only her family and Uncle Bill’s attend it. When suddenly, a voice asking for a necklace caught Lara’s attention and then appears a girl in her twenties and turns to Lara. It turns out it’s her great-aunt Sadie’s ghost and after she learns that she is about to be cremated, she demands Lara to stop the funeral until her necklace is found.

Lara decided to help her great-aunt Sadie to find the necklace but with conditions that Sadie agrees to help her getting back with Josh. And then Sadie made another dying wish (well, she’s dead but that’s how she says it) that is for Lara to get to know a guy she met in an office building so that Sadie can ‘date’ him. Sadie can even influence people mind by yelling to their ears so that they do what she asked them to.

As Lara and her great-aunt helped each other, they get to know each other…Especially Sadie’s love-life history. While Sadie helped Lara dress up nicely with the Twenties clothing and teach her the Charleston dance.

Before I started to spoil the whole story, I would say this book is one of the best I’ve read in 2010. I laughed the part where both of them get so stubborn, Sadie told Lara to do what she asked her to do like dressing up and how to put a makeup on and talk and dance with her date (Sadie’s date) and the Great Lara. At the end of the book is where I sort of cry. If you want to know what part I’m talking about, better read this book. I’ll give it a…

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The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:16:00 +0000

"This witty, fantastically absorbing tale shows that not all bitchy girls are mean, not all nuns are strait-laced and that, no matter what, you can always change your future"
- Books Quarterly

The Book of Tomorrow tells the story of Tamara Goodwin, a 16-year-old spoiled child who always gets whatever she wants. However after her father died, her family were left with debts and Tamara and her mother were forced to leave their rich and pampered lifestyle and moved to live with her aunt and her husband in the countryside somewhere in Ireland. One day, Tamara was visited by a travelling library bus and there she encountered a diary which can tell her future.

As always with other Cecelia Ahern's books, there are some elements of fantasy in the story which in this case, an encounter with a magical diary which can predict the future. However this book is not a favourite of mine as I find the character very annoying in my opinion. Furthermore, I found that the writer tends to wrote lengthy description of some unnecessary things such as the trees, the workings of the bees. But don't get me wrong, I do understand the importance of using description in books but I prefer the descriptions to be in limited number of words or in just one small paragraph. But in this book, sometimes the description of the trees took one whole page to describe and many times I found myself becoming bored with the story and many times I had to skipped a few pages before I can understand where the story is going.

But nevertheless, the book's cover is gorgeous and this is also the reason why I like buying Cecelia Ahern's book but if you would like to read more of her book, I suggest you read P.S. I love you which is her first international best-seller and two of my favourite A Place Called Here and If You Could See Me Now.

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Are You Alone on Purpose by Nancy Werlin

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:56:00 +0000

“I don’t think you’re nuts,” he said, slowly. “Just – you’re really on your own planet.”

‘Harry Roth is the bane of Alison Shandling’s existence. He’s tough and rude, and thinks nothing of taunting brainy Alison or making comments about her autistic twin brother. Alison does her best to ignore him, but since she sees him at school and at synagogue, he’s hard to avoid.

Then Harry is injured in a diving accident, and winds up in a wheelchair. Now Harry is vulnerable, too, and Alison finds herself inexplicably drawn to him. Though initially cautious, the two begin to understand each other, and their relationship grows first into a friendship and then into something more…’

Because I don’t have any more books to read, I decided to read this book that my sister bought just last year I think. This book is actually for pre-teen but I just need something to read to pass the time. The summary just caught my attention.

It’s a story of two teens: a bully and a class nerd. Harry is a school bully and Alison is the school nerd. Harry’s father is the Rabbi while Alison’s family is sort of not religious people, and a twin brother who is autistic. Alison always tries to avoid seeing from Harry because she had enough of his bullying and one day, Harry got into accident and paralyzed from waist down. Then, without Alison’s parents’ knowledge, she started to hang out with Harry who is still annoyed by Alison’s presence. But when they get to know each other’s life, love started to grow.

Not only does this book cover a love story of these two teens, but it also covers about being you. The story line is pretty good and so are the characters. Not what I expected from a Pre-teen book. All in all, a very good book for light reading. The first few pages are pretty slow but it gets better in the end and for that…

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French: Phrase Book & Dictionary by Berlitz

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:44:00 +0000

I bought this book while on a holiday in Kuala Lumpur and the price was RM19.90 which is equivalent to B$8 which in my opinion is unbelievably cheap for such a small book which provides not only a comprehensive guide to learning french but also a whole lot of other useful stuffs about french language and France in general.

The book is in pocket-sized with 223 pages. The book starts off with a step-by-step guide in french pronounciation by identifying the nasal vowels, the liaison and so on and how to pronounce the french alphabets.

The contents are divided into several colour-coded sections which include topics such as health, travel, sightseeing, eating out, stores & services and more. Each topics focused on the commonly used french expressions and phrases alongside with an easy to understand pronounciation guide on every phrases. For example orange juice = un jus d'orange/ang zhew dorahngzh. Along the way there are also some tips given when practising using french such as differentiating the formal and informal phrases and what can be expected to be heard or seen in real life when using the french language.

The last section consist of a French-English dictionary which concentrates on decoding written french which are used in public places such as in hotels, shops, public buildings and so on which might come in handy when visiting France or any other french-speaking countries and locations.One small bonus is a small map of France at the very end of the book. Overall, this small book might be suitable to those who wanted to study basic french in a short period of time or those who are planning to learn some french just before they can travel to any french-speaking countries. For those who have an interest in learning french but don't know where to start, this book is for you. Plus, its low price but with comprehensive contents makes it a great bargain. It might be difficult to find this book in bookstores so I recommend you to get it online instead. Au Revoir!

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19.9.10 - Kiden

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Hello our dear readers,

Kiden is here! Thought I might update with some...blogs...and not review. My friend told me (No, not Afi Hamid) that our blog is a bit...well, let's say unproductive. Therefore, I'm trying to blog as much as I can here except I don't know what I want to blog about.

Should I blog about the books I've bought? Or should I blog about the books I've received/borrowed? Surely, I usually include that when I review a book. But anyways,...

I wanted to say that in August, I've read more books than other months which is so cool and unbelievable because on the first few days of August, I returned to Uni for my studies. I'm trying not to read novels while studying because I don't want interruptions. But then, on the first few weeks, most of the classes haven't started yet so I steal the time to try to finish the books I've bought. Such as...

and just finished...

Ok it's not that much... But that's in a month. Usually I read 1-2 books in a month or nothing at all. So actually, The Bride by Julie Garwood...I read it after the month of Ramadhan. Because it's sort of an adult book...You're going to have to read my review next time.

I wasn't interested in Percy Jackson's series but I'm getting into it. My brother is totally into it if you read my first review of the Percy Jackson series. He'll be the first to read and finished it before I even read a word. And for 'Shiver', I so totally in love with the book. I meant the cover. Because a) the cover is so beautiful and blue and, b)even the font is blue!

Catching Fire is the best I've read during that month.. Well, actually all the books are great for that month but Catching Fire is like the next Harry Potter books. Without the wizards and stuffs. It's so brutal! It's survival! It's so Awesome!!!(Am I getting too much?) And it's part of my series collection.

Last but not least, Are You Alone On Purpose? is not actually mine but my sister's. It's a book for teens and I had to read it because the title sort of connected to me. When I read this book, a friend saw it and asked me, 'Is this the book that tells you how to be alone?' Yes, I'm sort of a loner. When it is time for my reading.

Before I end this blog I just want to say...

I FINALLY RECEIVED IT YESTERDAY!!!

Happy Reading,

Kiden~

Maaf Zahir dan Batin

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:23:00 +0000

SELAMAT HARI RAYA
MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN
HAPPY EID-UL-FITRI

to ALL MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD.

Ps. Sorry, I don't have time to photoshop a greeting. :(

From: BukuKu Review :D

Never Let You Go by Erin Healy

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:35:00 +0000

“Falling in love isn’t Love with capital L.”

‘It’s been seven years since disaster struck her family. Lexi Solomon has held it all together since then – just barely.

But now Lexi is losing it. The husband who deserted her is back in town, wanting to see their daughter Molly. Her sister’s shameless murderer is up for parole. An unsavory old friend is demanding payment for debts that Lexi knows nothing about and can’t begin to meet.

And something else is going on – something Lexi feels but can’t explain. A dangerous shift is taking place
between this reality and the next. Forces beyond her imagination are vying for control.’ – book’s summary.

Lexi is a single mother, though still married to her estranged husband, who would do anything to protect her daughter. She works part-time, living with her friend and trying to put her life back together until people she knew come back to her life; Warden and her estranged husband, Grant.

Warden came to Lexi to collect some debts that Grant owed him. And he threatens her with her only weakness, which is her daughter. Warden keeps convincing Lexi that her sister’s death is her own fault that she died because of her sins. And then, unexpected things happen to Lexi.

This book covers a little bit of religion and suspense. Took me almost 2 months to finish it because it’s not my kind of book. The title says it all. You can’t run from your past. I would say the story started pretty slow but it does make sense in the end. Full of suspense that’s all I can say.

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Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (Guest Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:46:00 +0000

After reading Twilight only halfway, I promised myself to steer clear of books for teens. The words "junk" and "immature" always come to mind. However, after watching the TV series "Pretty Little Liars" on a whim, I was hooked and I decided to read the book to see if it was any good. The book of the same name is the first of the series written by Sara Shepard. The series follows the lives of four girls- Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily. They all live in the same area and go to the same school but they've all drifted apart after the disappearance of the leader of their clique, Alison DiLaurentis. These friends reconnect with each other years later when they received text messages from a mysterious person called "A". "A" knows the girls secrets as if she or he was watching them and threatens to expose everyone's deep secrets. The girls begin to think that "A" is Alison, their friend who went missing years ago because Alison was the only person who knew their secrets. Alison was eventually found dead and had been dead for years. After her funeral, "A" continues to terrorize the four girls through notes and text messages, hinting that he or she wouldn't go away. So who is "A"?

After reading the book, you'd understand why the series has been described as "Desperate Housewives for teens". It follows the same premise that everything looks normal on the surface but each girl is hiding a dark secret. There are your typical teen problems like shoplifting and divorce but some are more mature stuff you won't read in teen novels such as affairs and sexual orientation. The girls also seem to know more about the circumstances involving Ali's disappearance, hence the word "liars" in the title.

Since this book was written for teens, don't expect too much. Yet it is better than any teen books that I've read as it is quite gripping. Read it if you are a fan of the series, if you like Desperate Housewives or if you're sick of the current obsession with vampires. The only snag is that buying the book locally is pretty expensive - about a week's worth of petrol for me but then again, that's the norm around here.

- Reviewed by Hjh Haryati Hj Abd Gafur

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From Us...

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:28:00 +0000

Science (Physics) GCE O'Level Examination Guide (Key.Points)

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 07:04:00 +0000

I can feel exam fever is coming therefore I decided to share with you with a book I bought that makes me have a good grades in my O'level Exam. This book is definitely for those who are taking Combined Science as one of their subjects and not Pure Science.

I don't know how much they sold this book back then and I don't know if they still sell it but this exam guide totally guides you through the subject smoothly. Anyways, this is a book for Combined Science Physics. Physics is my weakest subject therefore I've been searching for good notes or guides for months until I stumble upon this one. When I look through the book, I decided to buy it because of it's easy reading, pretty simple notes, the tips, clean diagrams and so much more. And when I showed it to my teacher, she too suggest all of us to buy it (especially for the weak ones).

Although, I don't want you guys to only concentrate on this exam guides. It's pretty important too to listen to your teachers' teaching so you can use this book as reference. I hope you guys will get good grades on your exams. Good Luck

They Cage The Animals At Night by Jennings Michael Burch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:24:00 +0000

" A valuable and beautiful book which addresses issues of concern to everyone-what really does happen to foster children and what allows some children to survive the same emotional trauma that shatters forever the lives of others"

-Eleanor Craig, author of P.S. Your Not Listening

To be honest, I really like to read books with stories that can be a real tearjerker when you read them. Especially those of true stories. Some books which I had bought which can be classified under this kind of books are 'Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah' as well as her 'Chinese Cinderella' book and 'Tuesdays With Morrie' by Mitch Albom. Reading these books can really make me cry even after reading them so many times.

So back to this book I'm reviewing, it basically tells the true story of the author's experience of being a foster child and being forced to live in different orphanages. Set in the 50s, as Jennings's mom who could no longer take care of all her children, was forced to put some of them including Jennings into different orphanages. While living in orphanage, Jennings encountered some heartless nuns and bullies but somehow managed to find good friends along the way. I first saw this book on Amazon when I was researching on what books I should buy next. The book received many positive reviews and earned 4.8/5 stars on Amazon. As I read the readers's reviews, many commented that the story was heart breaking, it made them cry. So I thought this is my kind of book and so I bought it.

While the book was easy to read and understand and there is a great lesson everyone can learn from the book but somehow I don't find this book to be that great. One thing that bothers me about this book is to what extent is the story a real story because I find some parts to be more like a novel writing rather than an autobiographical writing. But who am I to judge people's experience so putting that aside, I think what is more important is the lesson that people can get from reading about Jennings's experience.

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Chosen (#3) by P.C and Kristin Cast

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:00:00 +0000

"Look, I wasn't being nice. I just didn't want Stevie Rae foaming at the mouth and eating my parents' help. As mother says dependable illegals are really hard to find."

'Bloodlust and dark forces are at work at the House of Night, and fledging vampyre Zoey Redbird's adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And, oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this "highly addictives series" (Romantic Times BOOKreviews), in which Zoey's mettle will be tested like never before.

Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn't have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare, Zoey finds herself in the very rare position of having three boyfriends, a situation with the potential to spell social disaster. Then vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. But as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem...' - Book's Summary.

To be honest, I don't like this third book of PC and Kristin Cast's House of Night Series. It doesn't really catch my attention this time.

This book started with Zoey's birthday in which always sucks every year because everyone think it's cool to have a birthday on Christmas (BirthMas?). So, her presents always are in Christmas theme and the only people who know about this are Heath and her grandma. Other than that, her relationship with her mother and stepfather are still not in good terms, met the not-so-dead Stevie Rae sucking some stranger’s neck and again, problems with her boyfriends Erik and Heath AND her latest, Professor Loren Blake. Aphrodite got kick-into the Rituals to replace Stevie Rae. The death of a professors, the involvement of Son of Erebus in the House of Night, changes of a fledgling to adult vampyre and a fledgling turning back into human and lastly, secrets of Neferet will also be reveal in this book. Oh, wondering who that ‘fledgling’ turning back to human? All you have to do is…read it!

In conclusion, not really like this book but you couldn’t miss this too because it’s part of the House of Night series… Duh~

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Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (#1) by Rick Riordan

noreply@blogger.com (Kiden) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:44:00 +0000

‘My father?’ I asked, completely bewildered.

‘Poseidon,’ said Chiron. ‘Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.’

One question, would you rather read the book or watch the movie? My choice would be the first. Before Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief premiered in Brunei, I decided to read the book first before I watch the movie. Although, my brother finished it first in 3 days before I did. Which is unbelievable because he never ever reads book...at ALL!! Anyway,...

Percy Jackson thought he’s a normal boy with learning and reading difficulty especially BUT he can read Greek letters. One day, during a school trip to a museum his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a creature with wings and he killed her/it with Mr.Brunner’s pen. Yes, a pen! When his mum brings him for a retreat to the beach, they were being chased down by a Minotaur and Percy’s best friend, Grover, was there. With half of his body is goat. Percy’s mum vanished and he woke up to a place called Camp Half-Blood, where children who are born with either one of their parents are God. At that camp, they learned to fight and survive and being put into different camp according to their ‘parents’. And there, Percy learned that he is the son of the Sea God, Poseidon and was accused of stealing the Lightning Bolt of Zeus, God of the Sky. Percy has to find the Lightning Bolt before the summer-solstice or there’ll be war between the gods. And that does not sound so good.

Ok, before I read this book, I read other people’s review and most of them said it’s more like Harry Potter series so I decided to take my time of not buying this book until I watched the trailer online. Because I thought Mr.Riordan may have steal JK.Rowling’s idea but it turns out, it’s not that bad. And it is nothing like Harry Potter except for his friendship with Annabeth and Grover. It’s like Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. It’s really easy to read and understand the book and even a nine-year-old can read it. Hey, that’s what the book says! I will show you the picture. Anyway, when I watch the movie I need to comment on it although it will be Spoilers for all of you who haven’t read the book or the movie. So, if you already watched or read it, click on ‘Read more’ below. And the stars I’ll give this book will be…

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this is what I was talking about!

Here are my lists of complains on the movie…*Spoiler Alert!*

Annabeth should be blonde in the movie, not brunette.
Grover should be a coward but in the movie he’s sort of cool.
In the movie, they missed out a lot on the quests such as the theme park, stretcher and the bus.
Percy and his mum should be at the beach where Grover found them and warn about the monsters looking for Percy.
Luke’s secret should be exposed when he was alone with Percy in the end and disappeared after he almost killed Percy.