Review: Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkin

Stephanie Perkin

This book tells a story of Anna, an American girl who was sent by her father to a boarding school in Paris, France. She was looking forward to spend her senior year with her best friend and the boy that she has a crush on but her father ruins her plan by shipping her to SOAP (School of America in Paris). 

Anna is ready to be miserable in Paris until she meets a group of friends. They are not only befriend Anna but also drag her out of her dorm to experience the city of Paris the way it should be. Anna starts to have a feeling to one of her friends in Paris, St. Clair but he is already in a relationship. She tries to hide her feeling but the connection and chemistry between them are just too much. 

To me the best part of the book is the relationship between Anna & St. Clair. It was slow, carefully developed by the author so we can feel the chemistry between the two of them. I like Anna. She tried her best to fit in with St. Clair's friends and her obsession on spending the time at cinema was so cute. And she wrote movie reviews!!! I love her. 

St. Clair is a very charming guy. Not going to blame Anna for her crush on him because he is a caring, warm and adorable. Together they are perfect for each other and it's easy to root for them to be together even though St. Clare is already taken. 

The supporting characters really added to the story. I like Josh the most and I can't wait to read the third book in this series which is going to focus on Josh and the girl who Anna thought is perfect for him, Isla. 

Overall, I love the book. It's very romantic and the ending was so beautiful. I'm currently reading the second book in this series, Lola and the Boy Next Door. 

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell

Cath is a fan fiction writer and she's going to major in English at the college. But she is not thrilled to start her new life at the college; due to her twin sister, Wren who chose not to be a roommate with Cath. She finds out that it is hard for her to write her own story and wonders that maybe she just a good writer when it comes to fan fiction only. 

Basically her life sucks. Her roommate (Reagan) is not really friendly but Reagan's ex boyfriend, Levi who keeps coming to Cath's room (and calls her Cather) is way too friendly to her and somehow it bothers her. Cath is a very shy girl and unlike her sister she is socially unskilled. Except for Wren, she doesn't has friends.

 I really love 'Eleanor & Park' so my expectation towards this book was really high. And I heard lot of great things about this book. Cath totally reminds me of myself when I was about to start college. The fact that both of us write fan fiction makes me feel so close to her. She's very smart but sometimes it's hard for her to trust people. Probably because her mother left her when she was still a child. And now, she feels like her twin sister want to leave her as well and she was so lonely until she met Levi. Levi is very charming, genuine and honest. It's so easy to like and root for him.

I love the fact that the relationship between Cath & Levi took some times to bloom. It was gentle and slow. The bonding between them was so sweet and romantic. My favorite scene is definitely when Cath reads her fan fiction to Levi. It was such a tender and lovely moment to me. 

The development of the characters are very good. Besides Cath & Levi, I also love Reagan. She's so real and I was hoping that we get to learn more about her. I didn't like Wren at first but at the end of the book, I totally get her. The writings is brilliant. And I really like the snippet of a Simon Snow & Baz stories at the beginning of every chapter. I want to read 'Carry On' so much. 

With this book, Rainbow Rowell just become my favorite author. I love 'Eleanor & Park' but I felt more connection to 'Fangirl'. Some people might love 'Eleanor & Park' more but it's okay for me cause both books are amazing. I can't wait to read 'Landline' soon. 

Review: Te@mare Volume 1 & 2 by Ben Wong

Ben Wong

Te@mare (pronounce as Te Amare) or I Will Always Love You tells a story of high school student, Colin who kept dreaming about a girl in his sleep. Even though he couldn't see the girl's face, he's pretty sure that the girl in his dream is Hana. Unfortunately, another guy in his school, Ryder is also falling in love with Hana and will do anything to make sure that Colin stay away from Hana. Lucky for Colin, he has Keiko, his best friend. Keiko is a very tough girl but secretly crushing on Colin. And there's also another mysterious girl, Mia who was saved by both Colin & Ryder from his psycho ex-boyfriend. 

Te@mare is definitely my favorite graphic novel right now. I always adore Ben's works. Ben is one of the famous graphic novel author in Malaysia. Among his previous works are Le.Gardenie and Fatal Chaos series. And I'm so happy when he comes up with another series. Te@mare is a contemporary/romance/young adult graphic novel. 

The characters are very interesting. Between the five lead characters, I really like Keiko. Something about her really intrigue me. She's such a bad-ass. I also like Hana. I think she's very sweet. No wonder so many boys at the school fell in love with her. Colin is a very typical male lead. Kinda a loser a little bit. As for Ryder, he's awesome. Yeah, he's rude and the way he consider Hana as her girlfriend is kinda creepy but he's definitely funny. I like the chemistry between him and Keiko though. They are so funny together. And finally Mia. She was okay but I didn't really like her yet. I think she's too needy and a little bit too flirty with both Colin & Ryder. 

The first volume was released on March while the second one was released this October so I'm pretty sure the third volume will be released next year which kinda annoy me a little bit. I'm not good at waiting. 

Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of Universe tells a story of two boys who meet during the summer in 1987. They meet at the public swimming pool. Even though, they have nothing in common (Aristotle aka Ari is a very angry teenager while Dante is the sweetest person on earth), they discover that they share a beautiful bond together. Through their friendship, they learn the truth about themselves and who they want to be someday. 

After I finished the book, I really didn't know how to describe my feeling. I was sad that the book ends, I was happy with the ending, I was grateful to read the book and I was upset that I finished the book too fast. I was totally confused and just like that, I kiss this book. 

I really (12 times) love the book. I was pretty sure, no book will top 'The Fault In Our Stars' in my heart but this book did it. I knew about this book last year, but I never intend to read it even though I knew it received so many awards. Until I saw it in my local bookstore and I decided to buy it. And in the next two days, I finished the book. 

Both Ari & Dante are such an amazing and interesting characters. They are different from each other and to know how they connect with each other is amazing. I can relate to Ari. He felt so lonely and he didn't have much friends. So when he met Dante and miraculously like him, I was happy for him too. 

The writing is amazing. I'm so going to check his other books. I'm not sure if I saw his other books in my local bookstore but I'm going to find it. Fantastic book, full with likable characters and I totally recommend this book.

 
 

Review: The Selection Series (The Selection, The Elite & The One) by Kiera Cass

Kiera Cass

America Singer was chosen to be a part of 'The Selection' which is a competition to find the future queen. Despite the support from her family, America has no interest to be in the competition due to her feeling to her secret boyfriend, Aspen. They hide their relationship due to the caste system. 

Aspen decides to let America find her own destiny and break up with her. Devastating by Aspen's decision, America decides to enter the competition. A total of 35 girls were chose to be in The Selection and they will be eliminated one by one until the Prince decides on his true love. 

A fortunate meeting with the Prince Maxon, causes them to befriend each other. America promises Prince Maxon that she will help Prince Maxon to find the perfect wife for him. All he needs to do is keeping America as far as he can. 

However both of them starts to fall in love with each other. She begins to think that she could marry him and forgets Aspen. But, when America see Aspen again at the castle as a guard, she become confused. 

The first thing that came to my mind when I read this book was The Bachelor/Bachelorette. The similarities are there and I can't help myself from comparing this book with the reality tv show. 

But I still enjoyed the whole series. It took me less than a week to finish all three books. I really like America. I think she is a very strong character. I like her determination and she is an easy heroine to root for. I love the way she tried to fit in to the royal circle but never lost herself in the process. 

Between all three books, my favorite is definitely the first one. But the other 2 are still good. I'm glad that I wait for all three books to be released before I started to read this series. The final book (The One) is a great conclusion to this series. It was intense and nerve-wrecking. I'm still sad because one of my characters in this book was killed in the third book but the ending still managed to make me appreciate the series.