Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen
(Red Queen #1)
Victoria Aveyard
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 383 pages
12th February 2015 by Orion

Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
My Rating: 3/5

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The poverty-stricken Reds are commoners, living in the shadow of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from the Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Then Mare finds herself working at the Silver palace, in the midst of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control. 

“Anyone can betray anyone.” 

Roll Divergent, The Hunger Games and The Grisha into one plot line and you will have Red Queen. Ta-daaaa!  Minus one star for the lack in originality.  Red Queen is still a good read, however. Great writing, too. Only thing though, I was pissed off at Mare Barrow almost ALL THE TIME. She's ignorant, she trusts everyone too easily with no questions asked, she doesn't use her brain, she's overconfident, she thought she can understand and outsmart everything within 1 month of living in the palace (LMAO I SCOFFED AT THIS). For someone who keeps on saying, "Anyone can betray anyone," she sure can't foresee what's coming her way. She's just plain foolish, full stop. Another one star is deducted for her stupidity. "In the fairy tales, the poor girl smiles when she becomes a princess." Red Queen, in my opinion, lacks in terms of setting. There is no kingdom name (or is there???), no history and background story to tell the readers as to how Reds, Silvers and the wars begin. Everything just simply..... exists. Apart from Cal, Mare and Maven, the other characters are basically put aside with no characterization.  The plot line can easily be predicted halfway through the book. Even the plot twist is not shocking because there were hints given right from the start lmao i still can't believe this. The hints were repeated more than three times! One would be stupid not to guess it from early on.  Somewhere after the Sun Shooting attack, I started to feel bothered by Cal's character. I was rooting for him but then.... I don't know what happened, something about his actions bothers me but I don't know how to put it into words. I still like him, though. Don't worry. (He chooses his father's side so that says something about him.) *rubs palms* Maven on the other hand, HE'S INTERESTING! I like him from the start, even more so after what happened. He's probably the only character that has my attention from start to finish. I understand his actions, why he did what he did. He's intelligent and quick-witted. I just wish we can see more interaction between him and Cal.  I probably will only read Glass Sword if I can find it during BBW or at cheap booksales, if not then adios.

“Red in the head, Silver in the heart” 

The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon #2) by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code
(Robert Langdon #2)
Dan Brown
Thriller
Paperback, 605 pages
1st March 2014 by Corgi

Goodreads Ratings: 3.77/5
My Rating: 4/5

Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to a mystery that stretches deep into the vaults of history.

“Everyone loves a conspiracy.” 

Dan Brown is one bold man to come up with such controversial theories, there's no doubt about that. 

When I first heard about the infamous Da Vinci Code, the only thought that came to my mind was, "Oh, this must be a book on a detective or sth solving crimes through decoding codes that was inspired/created by Leonardo Da Vinci." Well at least half of my prediction is correct. I was surprised however to know that this is a book about Christianity that carries a very controversial theory. 

“By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account.” 

The whole plot is fairly predictable once you've reached half of the book. The plot twist, albeit predictable, sort of caught me surprised too at some points. The whole decoding the extensive and continuous codes is really brilliant, but there are too many codes and plot twists which ends up making it annoyingly repetitive and got me.... a tiny bit bored. But heh who am I kidding, the whole decoding journey was really fun! That ending though, I expect a tiny bit more than that. Oh well.

Okay let's talk about the Holy Blood, Holy Grail theory. Woah. I'd be lying if I say I am not bothered by the Jesus lineage theory or the Christianity talks and discussions. Obviously I have different beliefs and stories from that of Nabi Isa. Sometimes I even scoffed at some ridiculous parts, but that's another story. How Dan Brown links his /fictional/ theory with objects that is totally not fictional at all (Da Vinci's paintings, historical facts, Disneys, etc) got my mind boggled. He brilliantly makes his theory utterly believable and the lines between whats real and what's fictional were so blurred that I had to stop for a while and say to myself, "This is fictional." He's that good of a writer. 

True to the title, this book has a great deal of talks on Leonardo Da Vinci, arts, paintings, Paris and historical facts. This part is really exciting!!! I dont have that much knowledge on Christendom, paintings and whatsoever so this book opens up my mind on that area. However, not all /facts/ written in this book are true since Brown adjusted them to fit his story, and I think that sucks, in a disrespectful way. 

On a more serious note, now I really really want to visit The Louvre :( 

“What really matters is what you believe.” 

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

The Forty Rules of Love
Elif Shafak
Historical Fiction
Paperback, 358 pages
2nd April 2015 by Penguin

Goodreads Ratings: 4.17/5
My Rating: 4/5

Discover the forty rules of love...

Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled by love.

So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work.

It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored. . . 

“Love cannot be explained, yet it explains all.”

The Forty Rules of Love is beautiful. 

The book consists of two parallels. One is of Ella, a 40yo woman who has a midlife crisis, stuck in a life where she never experienced love. The other is of Shams of Tabriz and Rumi the famous Islamic poet. The word 'love' in that title is not only meant for the classic boy-girl feelings. It covers everything, from love between man-woman, human-human, father-son, human-God and every single relationship in between. It talks about humanity, God, beliefs and life, giving you thoughts and discussions that will make you stop and ponder your life for awhile.

“Isn't connecting people to distant lands and culture one of the strengths of good literature?”

Lets talk about Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. Oh dear God. These two figures were once very much alive people, 2 sunni Muslims who had very strong opinions and discussions about life, death and everything in between. (THEIR DISCUSSIONS AND LOTS OF THINGS THAT SHAMS SAID REALLY OPENED UP MY EYES). I checked and did some reading the Internet to see the validity and to see for myself the real history that went down between these 2 men and i can say their story in The Forty Rules of Love follows almost 80% from the real thing. Shams was a Sufi. You know those dervish in Turkey who wear long white skirts and whirl around while chanting prayers? These two men who the creator of the whirling thing. I didnt know much about Sufism but this book opened up my eyes about the topic. 

The story about Ella, in the meantime, was.............. i dont know. Can't really say I like the woman and her thoughts or her decision. Plus, I cant really see the correlation between Ella and Sweet Blasphemy other than Aziz. It's like whatever Ella read from SB, didnt impact her one bit. Pretty sure i'll like her better if I got to know her thoughts about SB and see her mind conflicting about it.

“Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough.” 

The Crown's Game (The Crown's Game #1) by Evelyn Skye

The Crown's Game
(The Crown's Game #1)
Evelyn Skye
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 416 pages
17th May 2016 by Balzer+ Bray

Goodreads Rating: 3.79/5
My Rating: 2/5

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air.

They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side. And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

“Imagine, and it shall be. There are no limits.⁠⁠⁠⁠” 

The Crown's Game has a pretty strong and intriguing start. But as the pages grow, it grows rapidly downhill. Disappointed is an understatement. It could've been SO good if its written and plotted brilliantly, but oh well. 

For a game that promises death at the end of it, Evelyn Skye plotted the whole thing horribly. I expected some life-challenging, gory and a death-threatening Game that would showcase the two Enchanters magic ability. I expected the tsar or anything at all to construct a well-planned Game for the whole Russia to watch because its a legendary Game after all. BUT ALL WHAT HAPPENED WAS SOME USELESS MAGIC TRICKS AND ARTS THROWN ALL OVER THE CITY LOL WHAT IS THIS JOKE THAT GAME WAS MADE TO CHOOSE AN IMPERIAL ENCHANTER AND ADVISER FOR THE WELLBEING OF RUSSIA HOW IS SOME ARTS AND PRETTY ISLANDS GONNA IMPRESSED THE TSAR AND HELP RUSSIA AT ALL THEY DONT EVEN TRY OH MY GOD IM SO PISSED THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST MAIN PLOT EVER whats worse is that there were a few times where Skye hinted that Russia was in a war with the Ottomans and all and these Enchanters could've used that to prove to the Tsar that they are worth it and should be chosen BUT NO THEY ARE IGNORANT SHITS THATS WHAT

The writing style or the sentences itself lol im so sorry but it is so simple so mundane so immature so dull it was laughable its like reading wattpad novels. even wattpad authors can string better sentences than Skye can. 

The romance part in this book is also meh. Nikolai and Vika has a bit of a chemistry and i can tolerate their relationship. But then here comes Pasha the prince aka the other guy to cause love triangle. First thing first, when will YA authors realize that we don't need another love triangles in books? Second, the 'love' Pasha feels for Vika was UTTERLY LAUGHABLE IT WAS SO FORCED BY THE AUTHOR JUST FOR THE SAKE OF MAKING A LOVE-TRIANGLE-BETWEEN-TWO-BESTFRIENDS-AND-A-GIRL PLOT LMAO. Third, some authors (or maybe Pasha himself) really need to read some romance books or sth. i am SO over characters who met their love interests only for a few times then suddenly a 'love' declaration was made and 'i love her/you/him' was thrown over everywhere so easily. DUDE. thats not love that's infatuation. It takes more than that to call whatever you feel about Vika is love, Pasha.

The only thing that truly sparks my interest is the present Aizhana but that also is ruined towards the end by Skye's way of writing. 

Overall, the uttermost letdown was the writing and the Game itself. 

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

The Unexpected Everything
Morgan Matson
YA Contemporary
Paperback, 519 pages
3rd May 2016 by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Ratings: 4.12/5
My Rating: 4/5

Andie had it all planned out. 

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks)

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing - if everything's planned out, you can never find the unexpected. 

And where’s the fun in that? 

“It was like someone had turned off the sun. The center of everything was suddenly gone.” 

The Unexpected Everything is a classic Morgan Matson. All those summer-y vibes, tingling sensation, good ol' summer romance, amazing friendships and family bonds.

The only problem here is that, its TOO PAINFULLY DRAGGY WITH LOTS OF UNNECESSARY DETAILS. I could do without the first 130 pages tbh. I know Matson wanted to introduce the characters and the settings to the readers but u can do that in 30 pages or so. Not 130 pages. I gave up the first time because of this before picking this book up again.

Luckily after the 6th-7th chapter, it starts to kick in and it gets pretty damn good from then onwards. AND AND AND CLARK AND ANDIE IS SO CUTE OMG????? lots and lots and lots and lots of kissing there :p

Another thing worth mentioning, I really really really love Andie and her father's relationship development. One of the best parts of the book, actually. Matson always excels at this whole family bonding thing. OOH AND THE FRIENDSHIP ELEMENT IS GOLD TOO.

Overall, I would recommend it if ur up for some good old fluffy contemporary, but heh bare with this book for the first 150 pages to get to the good parts.

p.s. I LOVE the booksigning event scene.

Graceling (Graceling #1) by Kristin Cashore

Graceling
(Graceling #1)
Kristin Cashore
YA Fantasy
Paperback, 370 pages
3rd September 2009 by Gollancz

Goodreads Ratings: 4.1/5
My Rating: 3.5/5

In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates, and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?

The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer wants to kill. The intrigue around this kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one-eyed king...

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

Um..... okay.

Truthfully, I can't even state clearly what I feel about this book. I'm going to make this into point forms so my thoughts can be a bit coherent.

1) Cashore's writing style is okay but at times the dialogues sound a bit formal and too.... awkward

2) The first part of the book has so many resemblances with Throne of Glass (or should I say ToG has so many resemblances with Graceling because Graceling was published in 2008 while ToG 2012)

3) BUT KATSA IS WAY BETTER AS A PERSON AND HER STRONG, UNBEATABLE FIGHTING SKILL IS MUCH MORE REALISTIC THAN CALAENA HEH SORRY

4) Po is okay. Not really my type lol.

5) Somewhere in the middle of the book, it gets painfully boring I lost all mood to read

6) But then somewhere around the last 150 pages things start to kick in and the story gets really interesting, its a bit too late though. Hence, the low rating.

7) PO AT THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS THOUGH OH MY GOD

8) Bitterblue reminds me of Quintana at times, but not as ferocious

9) The ending/last page is so abrupt and sudden??????

I'd definitely read the sequels, that's for sure 

“Mercy was more frightening than murder, because it was harder.” 

The Revolution of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #2) by Amy Engel

The Revolution of Ivy
(The Book of Ivy #2)
Amy Engel
YA Dystopia
Paperback, 290 pages
3rd November 2015 by Entangled

Goodreads Ratings: 3.96/5
My Rating: 4.5/5

Ivy Westfall is beyond the fence and she is alone. Abandoned by her family and separated from Bishop Lattimer, Ivy must find a way to survive on her own in a land filled with countless dangers, both human and natural. She has traded a more civilized type of cruelty--forced marriages and murder plots--for the bare-knuckled brutality required to survive outside Westfall's borders.

But there is hope beyond the fence, as well. And when Bishop reappears in Ivy's life, she must decide if returning to Westfall to take a final stand for what she believes is right is worth losing everything she's fought for.

I LOVE THIS DUOLOGY. 

The Book of Ivy duology is not perfect. It has a lot of flaws, I can list them one by one. But I still love these 2 books all the same.

The Retribution of Ivy starts immediately after The Book of Ivy ends. This time around, it highlights on survival. From here on, you can see how Ivy's character has developed from her weak self. I like the decisions that she made and I can even understand why she did what she did. I like how Amy Engel gives a few chapters at the beginning solely for Ivy, to show to us what is it like being out there and how she copes with all that. The rawness of the survival, the choices one has to make in order to stay alive. Bishop, meanwhile, is always as perfect as he is. 

“The scars are just something that happened to me. They aren't me. Not anymore.” 

The romance part in book 2 delivers!!!!!! Their relationship has developed way more as it should be. I love every single thing about Ivy and Bishop's take on relationship, and how they handle theirs. I love how they talk to each other through everything. There is nothing about them as a team that I dislike. I treasure them both with all my entire heart. 

“You don't stop loving someone just because they disappoint you.” 

I really appreciate how Ivy was indecisive about Bishop's sudden appearance, how she didn't just throw herself to Bishop. I understand her excuse and insecurities. Her actions make it all seemed more realistic. 

And gahhh I really love how this book is wrapped up. How everything finally settles and comes to an end. I'm immensely satisfied, and dear God I appreciate the epilogue so SO much. 

I wish we could see more of Caleb and Ash, though. It's just not enough. :(

I personally think that Amy Engel is an amazing writer, and I'll look forward to more of her books in the future. 

Whatever happens to Ivy and Bishop now, I hope they get all the happiness they deserve.

“No one controls who we turn into but us.” 

The Book Of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1) by Amy Engel

The Book Of Ivy
(The Book of Ivy #1)
Amy Engel
YA Dystopia
Paperback, 282 pages
4th November 2014 by Entangled

Goodreads Rating: 4.20/5
My Rating: 4/5

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual. 

This year, it is my turn. 

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power. 

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

“You’re easy to read, Ivy, but the whole book of you is complicated.” 

I LOVE BISHOP LATTIMER. 

The Book of Ivy is actually a young adult dystopia, but it feels more like reading a romance book to be honest. It's like, the romance is the major plot, while the dystopian world is the minor. But hey, the romantic soul in me is totally not complaining. 

This book is different from any other dystopian books because it uses arranged marriages as its weapon-- the logic is, 2 sides of a town had a war against each other, and when the fight is over and peace is gained, they came up with an idea of having arranged marriages to ensure the peace will still roll out, the children from the losing side will offer their 16yo children to the children from the winning side. There wont be any massacres because seriously, would you kill your own descendants??? Brilliant scheme, isnt it?

“I'm not sure how we got to this place, where a girl's only value is in what kind of marriage she has, how capable she is of keeping a man happy.” 

The romance is great. Bishop is perfect. I have issues with Ivy at the start but as the pages grow, her character improves so now its all good. and its important to mention, I LOVE how Bishop and Ivy's relationship grows. How they build their trust, how they go around each other, just basically everything really.

“He didn’t save me, though. He allowed me the freedom to save myself, which is the very best type of rescue.” 

THERE WAS THIS PART WHERE BISHOP'S MOM CAUGHT HIM AND IVY MAKING OUT BUT BISHOP DIDNT EVEN BOTHER TO HIDE IT. HE KEPT HIS ARMS WRAPPED AROUND IVY AND HIS LIPS WAS AT IVY'S TEMPLE, ALL WHILE HIS MOM TALKED TO HIM IN THE FRONT DOOR IM DYING CAN I HAVE A BISHOP TOO

Like I said, this book focuses more on the romance so if you wish to read this book, don't expect too much on the dystopian side. But I was told the second book will have less romance more dystopian so yeah we'll see. 

p.s. Bishop is such an ugly name tbh I pity him

p.s.s. I will make it my life mission to kill Callie, however fictional she is. 

“My mission is not to make him happy and bear his children and be his wife. My mission is to kill him.” 

Unwind (Unwind Dystology #1) by Neal Shusterman

Unwind
(Unwind Dystology #1)
Neal Shusterman
YA Dystopia
Paperback, 335 pages
27th September 2012 by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Ratings: 4.19/5
My Rating: 4.5/5

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

FORGET DIVERGENT, FORGET THE MAZE RUNNER. those are trash, anyway. UNWIND IS MUCH BETTER THAN THAT. "In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.” Unwind has a weird concept that the morality bothers me because it's insane. This is a book where unwanted kids below the age 18 are being unwound, hence the term Unwind. Being unwound means that these kids are being eliminated from this world, but having them killed is such a waste on their good and useful body parts. So an idea was formed; why not take these good eyes, ears, arms, kidneys, lungs, teeth-- anything possible, and donate them off to those who need these parts? DOESNT IT SOUND INTERESTING? Let me answer that for you: IT IS INTERESTING!! AND MORE!!! I was terrified, bothered, mad, scared throughout this journey, imagining what if that was my fate? What if all these happened to me? This dystopian world created by Shusterman is so close to the world we live in, where Shusterman brought forth the heavy issues (eg: abortion) in his own way. There's a chapter in which Shusterman brings us through the process of unwinding itself and i swear man, IT WAS HORRIFYING I HAD GOOSEBUMPS I COULDN'T EVEN BREATHE Unwind is the first book of the Unwind series but it can be read as a standalone, as the ending ends perfectly. I wonder how the next books are gonna be plotted because there isnt any cliffhanger. This is different from any other dystopian books out there and you. need. to. read. this.

“I'd rather be partly great than entirely useless.” 

All The Rage by Courtney Summers

All The Rage
Courtney Summers
Standalone
Contemporary Young Adult
Hardback, 321 pages
14th April 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads Ratings: 3.84/5
My Rating: 4/5

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?

THIS BOOK IS SO IMPORTANT. Trigger warning: RAPE

All The Rage makes me mad and furious. Good lord, it's so raw, honest, painful and all things broken. My heart ached the entire time. How can society be that cruel 

"You know all the ways you can kill a girl? God, there are so many."

This is about a rape victim, who gets the blame for getting raped. Who no one believes her tale, not even her call for help. Who lost all hopes in the world for how fate treats her.

This is different from any other YA books with "teenage issues" as their theme. All The Rage is much more powerful than that.

My only problem of the book is the writing style. Courtney Summers may write beautifully but it doesn't work on me :/

"He covers her mouth. That's how you get a girl to stop crying; you cover her mouth until the sound dies against your palm."