BUTTON!

SPEED ANNOUNCEMENT.

ONLY A MINUTE.

This blog officially has a blog button!

It can be found on the right column, below the archives and above the catalogue. Check it out, it looks like this:

I'm not that great at generating buttons, but this is the simplest yet cheekiest one I can think of!

What can I say? 

GRAB ME!

xoxo,

Sel

Review: Love & Leftovers

Love & Leftovers


Author: Sarah Tregay

Summary:

Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer-- from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She's left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.   

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "summer vacation" has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you've lost it?

Published 27 December 2011

*

Okay, normally

No, scratch that

I mean-- almost always

I'm not that into novels in verse.

I mean, I know it's 

Beautiful

Poetic

Lyrical.

But I just can't get into it,

Like a good worn leather-bound copy of Dickens,

Or a glossy covered paperback Legend. 

I know a Greek nanny who once told me about Odysseus,
But who cares,
Let me tell you about Love & Leftovers:


I think a funny thought,
I should review in verse.
Perhaps you may balk, 
But I'm not the first. 


Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay,

Warmly surprised me more than I thought. 

Real and heart-wrenching,

A book every conflicted teenager should have bought.

It tells the tale of every girl,

Who ever liked two boys at once.

It can be me or you or perhaps, her,

Looking for another chance. 

Raw emotion shines brightly through

Verses that make you think. 

Never thought that I'd cry,

But my tears were on the brink. 

Of first love and second chances,

How one could feel alone.

She craves every stranger's embrace,

For that little warmth bestowed. 

When distance pulls two hearts apart,

Love is hard to hold on to. 

When absence brings no fondness to the heart,

She is forced again to choose. 

Her father's gay,

Her mother's depressed,

Her family's broken

Beyond repair. 

New house,

New school,

New life,

New friends.

She tried to grasp on to all that she cared. 

But just when it seemed like she could move on,

She had to move back to where she came from. 

It no longer seemed like the place she used to belong. 

What's left of love when there's a gap too large to be filled?

Sometimes when you get a second chance,

Remember what's love.

It's

Healing hearts and giving roses. 

Love

Is always precious.

Don't wait till the door closes,

Until you're already a leftover. 


*


AHHHHH, I'm so proud of myself! I spent loads of time rhyming this string of words, hoping the poem would touch you as deeply as how the book touched me. The book told a real story with raw emotion and truthful confessions that reached me despite the tiny amount of words.

This is my first time reading a novel in verse, and though it's not a compelling classic, I'm glad to say that I liked it very much.

Give it a try. You might be shocked at how similar your life is to Marcie's.


Source: From the library

xoxo,
Sel

Review: The Hunt

The Hunt

Author: Andrew Fukuda

Summary:

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.


Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood. When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

Published 8 May 2012

*

I've just finished this book and I'm an absolute mess. The Hunt. 

It's a novel with everything that its title entails and promises. Fast. Mind-blowing. Action-packed. 

The adrenaline still pumps through my veins, in my blood. Oh, the blood. It's a book with blood, lots and lots of it, and in its pages, blood alone stands for the very core of life-- mortality, humanity and hope. But, fear not, the book gets just about as gory as The Hunger Games.

And oh my, what a terrifying and thrilling ride it was! Prepare to fall in love with the civilized yet harsh dystopian world that Fukuda has crafted, a world where the people are vampires, and what is left of humans is known as hepers-- fresh meat yearned after by all, but a rare and exotic treat eaten almost by none.

In a world that is chillingly similar to ours, Gene is brought up by his father with strict rules of survival. With fake fangs, careful actions and emotions kept in check, Gene disguises himself as a vampire amongst the others. 

Clever details are integrated seamlessly into the tale. The vampires don't smile, they scratch their wrist. The vampires are fearful of nothing but the light. The vampires don't sweat either. And they are fast, as fast as a phantom.

So we watch as Gene slips into his role of an ordinary vampire with meticulous skill. He does what they do, never betraying a slightest tell-tale sign of oddity. He merges into the crowd well enough, but his very existence is at risk when the Heper Hunt arrives.

And what exactly is the Heper Hunt? Seven lucky individuals are selected for this once a decade event, to enjoy a free hunt of a number of hepers. Vampires go crazy at the smell of Heper blood, and everyone wants to be Gene when he is chosen. 

With the world's eyes on him, Gene faces cold danger and brutal surprises at every corner.

Even without that, there's still the ruthlessness of his competitors and a beautiful girl with a secret to hide. 

Lovely, lovely, lovely. 

This book is a delicacy. With a searing plot set in a Promethean world, The Hunt will have you on the edge of your seat, captivating your senses to no bounds.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. You are in the hands of a master.

Source: From St. Martin's Griffin (Publisher) for review purposes

Via Netgalley

xoxo,

Sel

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight


Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Summary:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.


Published 2 January 2012

*

I don't know what to say.

But, you all know when I state that in such explicit terms, it most often means that I am stunned and bursting at seams to share.

Stunned, simply because I didn't expect to be touched so deeply. Stunned, simply because I wasn't anticipating such a sweet true and honest romance. Stunned, simply because the book taught me to believe in love, regardless of the statistical probability behind it all.

I spent the first half of the book with a quirky smile. Witty and down-to-earth conversations between Hadley and Oliver dominated those chapters, and the easy banter about family and life, fears and hopes kept my spirits up. But it was just enough good humour as I slowly plunged into the teenage angst of a divorced child.

Hadley felt suddenly cold all over, wondering when her father had become the kind of man to call the bathroom a ‘loo,’ to whisper to foreign women on hotel phones, to take his daughter on a ski trip as if it meant something, as if it were a promise, and then return to his new life like it had never even happened.

Looking back on, there were several times when I almost put the book down. But thank my lucky stars that I didn't. Because I was put on emotional roller-coaster ride for the next half of the book.

Yeah, just like Piratica I, I couldn't put the book down.

Hadley and Oliver's hasty kiss at the check-out counters. Hadley and Oliver's rushed farewell as they left for two different checkout lines for foreigners and locals. Hadley nervously and hopefully waiting outside the terminal. Hadley pacing away thinking that she would never see him again.

Oh, but she did.

How she went white when she heard that it was a funeral that Oliver was attending. How she followed her heart for once and went to where her heart belonged against all that she was brought up to believe in. How she saw Oliver and thought all was worth it. And how she despairingly left for the second time, thinking that it was the last.

Oh, but it wasn't.

How Oliver came, breathless and panting at the wedding. How Oliver chose to chase something that was worthwhile in his life despite all sense and reason. How Oliver quirkily told her the statistical probability of love at first sight.

What can I say? This couple had my heart on my sleeves.

Ultimately, this book did not teach me about the workings of fate or the probability of true love. It only showed me the irrationality of love and the humor of fate. There's no definite formula behind it all.

It told me to believe in love, not just to wait for it. Because true love finds you when you're least expecting it. And that's enough.


Source: Purchased

(4 stars for the first part of the book & 5 stars for the second part. Do the Math~)

xoxo,

Sel