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The Wish

(A short story written by yours truly!)

“Oh, look! There it is!” You said, pointing at a shooting star falling from up above, your face a mixture of awe and ecstacy. You looked so excited, so vibrant, so full of life, and all I could ever think about at that very moment was how you stole my heart even before I knew it myself.

You closed your eyes, a hint of smile never left your face as you silently recited your wish. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you, because looking at you was more perfect than looking a million shooting stars simultaneously falling from the sky.

You gently opened your eyes and giggled, just like a child being told a sneaky little secret. “What did you wish for?” you asked me.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around you. I never wished for anything, because all that I could ever wish for was already sitting there beside me. My shooting star was just inches away from me.

“What did you wish for?” I asked her back.

She just shrugged and looked at me affectionately. “To make this last forever.”

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Few years have passed and I am sitting at the same spot again, waiting for the shooting stars come from the sky.

But when a resplendent shooting star suddenly appears, I am reminded by your seemingly endless effervescence that I’ve grown to love through all the minutes I spent with you.

I look up. And then it hit it me.

I miss you.

But that’s okay.

Because I just know that at this very moment, I am looking up at you.

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Review: “Maybe One Day” by Melissa Kantor

Maybe One Day Goodreads synopsis: Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn’t sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia’s crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

My review:

I did not originally plan to buy this book at all, nor was it included in my “books to buy” list in the first place. I just spotted this book during one of my random trips to the bookstore. It was a bestseller, so I was quite intrigued about what this book was all about. Initially, solely basing on its cover, I thought this was about a lesbian couple or something, but then when I flipped it over to read the synopsis, I knew right then that I was already holding the book I’ll be reading next.

While I was reading the book, I had to stop once in a while because it gets heavier and more depressing in every turn of the pages. After all, what can you expect in a book that deals with chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant and the like? However, putting these aside, what makes Maybe One Day remarkable is the fact that it isn’t one those YA books that primarily tackle about a teenager’s journey towards finally finding real love and romance. Maybe One Day is purely about friendship, about the things you’re willing to give, to lose, and to do for that one person in your life you can’t surely live without; your best friend.

Another thing I loved about this book is Zoe, and the way she connects to the readers through her thoughts and words. Kantor did a good job on that part; the humor was somewhat present, the power to push you on the verge of tearing up was also there. The pain on Zoe’s voice is also consistently evident as she tries so hard to conceal her fears, anger, and tears in front of her best friend, how she pushes herself to exude positivity despite everything, and how she loves Olivia more than anyone could ever have.

Maybe One Day could possibly count as one of today’s best tearjerkers, but it’s all just about that. It has the ability to make you weep even after you turn the very last page of the book. However, the plot was almost cliched that I felt a bit disappointed. Reading the synopsis per se gives you practically the whole idea how the story goes and how it will end. The plot is, therefore, quite predictable in this YA genre. As a matter of fact, I could perfectly summarize the book in five sentences, max.

But regardless of that, Maybe One Day is still a must-read if you are a huge fan of stories that’ll make you bawl your eyes out. It’s a book about friendship, acceptance, grief, anger, and loss that will surely be loved by many.

Sneak Peak:

It would be impossible for any God to ignore that many prayers, that much love.

He would have to let her live.

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Summoned back to life by the God of blogging

First of all, I’d like to say (or type, to be exact) my deepest apologies to this precious little blog of mine. I haven’t posted anything for almost a year, haven’t written anything that upholds the main objective of this blog which is to write book reviews. I’ve neglected the blog that paved a way for my trivial ramblings about my being bookish to be unleashed through written words.

So, why have I gone AWOL for quite some? Simple; my last year in college. It had given me unimaginable stress, and unbelievable workload that I couldn’t even squeeze writing in, which is so sad because writing reviews is basically one of the things that I completely love to do. But now that I already have all the time in the world to do everything I do, and regardless of the fact that I’m already considered as a part of the unemployed population in the Philippines, I’ll be posting reviews from time to time again (YES!). My absence here, on the other hand, gave me the opportunity to read more books to add in my “to review list.”

And oh, I’m resurrecting this blog also because of my uhhh-mazing friend Rio, who convinced me to review books again. Turns out, she “fell in love” with the way I write my reviews, regardless of how crappy I think they are.

I’m finally back. And it just feels so surprisingly good.

Hello again, WordPress.

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Back from the dead.

After two months of such terrible futility and lack of “willpower” to do some blogging and book reviews, here I am again, finally alive and kicking. And oh, this previous weeks I’ve been constantly stressing out about my on-the-job training that I didn’t have enough time to update this. However, although I’m dying to post a review already, I will not be posting one yet, since I am still halfway through this book I’m reading as of the moment, which is Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I know that I’m way too late for reading this just now, but for some bizarre reason, I feel like drowning myself with dystopian literature before school officially starts on Monday *rolls eyes*

I will try to post more book reviews and keep this blog active and going. 🙂 Thanks for reading this quite nonsensical post. Haha! 🙂

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The Matched Trilogy by Allie Condie

matched-trilogy

After all the stress college has to offer,  finally! My third year in college is slowly coming to a close, which means summer is just around the corner, and summer only means one thing to me: more bookworm time for me! *clap clap*

Anyway, so I was walking inside a bookstore, and I saw this trilogy, The Matched Trilogy, propped up carefully on its shelf. The cover of the books look so appealing, and covers have this power to get me so intrigued about what the book is all about. And, since I have this thing for books with cool covers, I immediately grabbed a copy of the first book from the trilogy, Matched, and gave it a shot.

Now, I’m currently on the 6th chapter of the book, and to tell you the truth, I am not so sure if I’m liking it or hating it. This dystopian novel, honestly speaking, can simultaneously push you from reading on and put you on the verge of falling asleep. I mean, can that be even possible?

I’m starting to think that I’m still reading the book just for the sake of finishing it. I mean, at the early chapters of the book, I can just easily formulate what’s the conflict in the story, what will happen to the characters, and even what will be its ending. In short, the story is quite predictable.

Or probably, I’m just being too judgmental at the early stages of reading the book, and that I’m abruptly jumping into conclusions.

I’ll post a decent book review once I (if ever) finished reading the book, because at this point, the only thing I find beautiful and exceptional in Matched is its book cover and book cover alone.

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Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Synopsis: every-dayEvery morning, A wakes up in a different body, in a different person’s life, and tries to act as normal as possible. Learning over years of experiences, he decides not to get too attached with anyone – until A wakes up in Justin’s body and meets his girlfriend, Rhiannon. A falls in love with her, pushing him to take risks and conquer everything for his love for Rhiannon.

Before going on with this review, please let me have this very moment to pull myself together.

My review for Every Day can just be summarized in five words: wonderfully written and exceptionally plotted. David Levithan has indeed created a very unique love story that can be enjoyed by readers of all sexes – whether you’re gay, straight, lesbian, or bisexual, Every Day is something  that can truly touch your heart, and make you pause for a while and list down everything you are willing to conquer and the thing’s you’ll be more than glad to offer in the name of love.

Reading the synopsis per se, I knew from it that A and Rhiannon’s love story will be very complicated, which was the primary reason why I grabbed a copy of this book. While flipping through it’s pages, that’s when I started admiring David Levithan’s prose. Every page is practically filled with lines that will stay in your minds forever.

An oddly wonderful story of love coupled with remarkable quotes and whatnot, Every Day is definitely something everyone, whether you’re a  YA fiction enthusiast or not, that can learn to love with every turn of its pages. Levithan’s work will surely make you realize what does it take when it comes to falling in love: Taking risks, sacrifices, and acceptance.

Sneak peek for Every Day:

This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.

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Review: “If I Stay” and “Where She Went” by Gayle Forman

ifistay Goodreads synopsis: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck..

Initially, what made me grab a copy of this book was because of the numerous buzzes I’ve heard around the YA world regarding this book; several people stating how this book made them cry rivers of tears, how it touched their hearts, and how it moves them so deeply and so on. The second reason why I bought this book was because of the cover design itself, because I find the face of the girl on the cover uncannily mysterious. Lastly, I bought If I Stay because of the title itself. You know, it just intrigued me.

(Spoiler alert! Continue at your own risk.)

True enough, Gayle Forman’s debut novel is something that can really move you and tug your heartstrings. The pain of losing your entire family in a blink of an eye is very unbearable, and simply imagining it is really awful. Putting myself in Mia’s shoes, staying alive could possibly be the last thing I could do, because I already have every reason to give up and completely let go of life. However, because of Adam’s eternal love for her, Mia chose to stay. She still chose to stay, even if it means living without the people she treasures the most, and ultimately, trying to live life without the people she’s breathing for.

Forman’s debut has the power to make its readers feel genuine emotions, therefore coming up with a story that will stay in your minds forever. If I Stay is deeply moving – you can really feel Mia’s heartaches, her dilemmas, and her pain as she tries to choose between life and death, and as she answer the question, “what would I do, if I had to choose?”

where-she-went-gayle-forman

Where She Went, the sequel to If I Stay, focuses on Adam, three years after Mia’s accident. To be quite honest, I liked the second book than the first one. I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is, but there’s something about Adam’s narration that makes you want to read on, and there’s something about his voice that makes you want to fall in love with him and stay by his side forever. His grief, his pain, and his undying love for Mia make me want to embrace him so tight and and never let him go.

Where She Went made me cry a lot more than If I Stay. I find Mia and Adam’s love for music and love for each other after three years of being apart is something I find incredibly touching and and ultimately riveting. Truly, this book will put you on the verge of tears and will bring you forth towards countless chances to make everything right.

Sneak Peek for If I Stay: 

How am I supposed to decide this? How can I possibly stay without mom and dad? How can I leave without Teddy? Or Adam? This is too much. I don’t even understand how it all works, why I’m here in the state that I’m in or how to get out of it if I wanted to. If I were to say, I want to wake up, would I wake up right now? I’ve already tried snapping my heels to find Teddy and tried to beam myself to Hawaii, and that didn’t work. This seems a whole lot more complicated.

But in spite of that, I believe it’s true. I hear the nurse’s words again. I am running the show. Everyone’s waiting on me

Sneak Peek for Where She Went:

But I’d do it again. I know that now. I’d make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she’s somewhere out there. Alive.

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Me as a Bookworm: How It All Started

book-wormIt all started when I was a sophomore in high school. Our English teacher that time, who was very vocal about the fact that she’s a bookworm and that she had read way too many books that you could ever imagine, required as to pass a book report every after a quarter ends. Since she was hell of a wide reader, (and I mean it: really wide!) we were forced to really read a book, and write down the plot, the summary, the characters, and the likes instead of just copy pasting them all from Google.

At first, it was very hard for me to comply with her requirements, my incredibly lazy background being one of the main factors why. Personally, the very idea of drowning yourself with ultra-thick books was quite exorbitant back then when you have reason to drown yourself with fun and whatnot. However, albeit my utmost opposition, I still did it, and for the very first time, I found myself stepping a foot inside a book sale.

I can still remember what was the book I bought: (promise me you won’t laugh!) it was Fourth Grade Celebrity by Patricia Reilly Giff. Recalling everything now, I just realized that choosing a children’s book with illustrations in it and creating a book report out of it is quite mortifying, especially given the fact that I was already a sophomore in high school. Aside from the illustrations, one of the reasons why I grabbed Fourth Grade Celebrity was because it was thin compared to the other books I stumbled upon. So, I read it and wrote a book report about it, and my grade turned out to be, well, mediocre.

While I’m reading Fourth Grade Celebrity, a realization suddenly struck me: that reading a book isn’t as boring as I originally perceived it to be. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed it, big time. After I read it, it left me from wanting more. And since then, the bookworm I didn’t know living inside me was finally unleashed. I started reading the Sweet Valley High books, the Sabrina the Teenage Witch books, and the likes. It was during my third year in high school when I started reading more serious materials from authors like Paulo Coelho, Nicholas Sparks, Mitch Albom, to name a few.

My story was pretty lame, you gotta admit it, but the fact that what introduced me to the world of fiction and literature was a kid’s book is quite . . . funny, I guess. A kid’s book opened my eyes to the world completely different from my own. I’m also thankful that my English teacher back then required us to write a book report, or else I would surely miss the fun of meeting different characters from different books, may they be fictional or not, and have them haunt me for the rest of my life.

As of now, I have already read numerous books, most of them specifically from the Young Adult genre. The fun of sticking up with the protagonist of these novels from the very first up to the very last page is resolute. You have the power to witness, albeit the fact they are just plain figments of imagination by their creators, how the character changes through the course of the story.

Magically, the day I grabbed a children’s book from the book sale was the day I filled my list of “Why Do We All Need To Read Books.”

More bookworms facts to follow, people! 🙂