Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road
Melina Marchetta
YA Contemporary
Standalone 
Paperback, 432 pages
9 March 2010 (First published in AUS; 2006) by Harper Teen US

Goodreads Ratings: 4.16/5
My Rating : ALL THE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE

In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.

"You just have to belong. Long to be."

"By blood?"

"By love."

Do you know what's beautiful? its THIS BOOK.
Do you know which book I love? its THIS BOOK.

Do you know which book I'm planning to reread every year? its THIS BOOK.

Do you know which book made me cry so effortlessly? its THIS BOOK. (i didnt notice there were tears until my cheeks got wet)

I'm going to make it my life mission starting from now to make sure everyone I know has read this book at least once. And that includes you. Until then, we're not friends.

Its YA but its not very YA bcs its light yet its heavy. Its fluffy yet so full of heartbreaking tragedies. Definitely suits all ages.

(PUSH THROUGH THIS BOOK EVEN WHEN YOU ARE FEELING CONFUSED. ITS GONNA BE WORTH IT, I PROMISE YOU.)

Wise word from my friend Farah :

"I spent the first 50-100 pages of the book in a tug-of-war of boringness and this-scene-makes-me-want-to-read-the-book-more. EVERY TIME I felt like giving up on the book, Marchetta bait me with this scene that made me intrigued to find out what happens next. And it works! EVERY TIME."

(watch her review video here) 

SEEEEEEEEEE?!!1!?!?!?1!!!1?!?!

The only word that describe this book so perfectly is this; BEAUTIFUL.

“It's funny how you can forget everything except people loving you. Maybe that's why humans find it so hard getting over love affairs. It's not the pain they're getting over, it's the love.” 

Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

Love and Other Foreign Words
Erin McCahan
Stand Alone
Young Adult Contemporary
ebook, 336 pages
1st May 2014 by Penguin Group 

Goodreads Ratings : 3.9/5
My Rating : 4/5

Can anyone be truly herself--or truly in love--in a language that's not her own?

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue--the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word--at least not in a language Josie understands.

Leon of Bookalicious suggested me this book few months ago, saying that this is my type of book. "You will love it," he said. I read the blurb and I replied, "Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know." I wasn't interested at the time. 

Today, 19th November 2015, I decided to give it a try and now all I can say is, "Leon knows me well."

Love and Other Foreign Words is about a girl named Josephine "Josie" who is a 15-going-16 high school girl and also a fast-track college girl (Shes THAT genius.) ((The book will explain to you about her school life)). She has a different view about the world, like genius people would. (Think Don Tillman of The Rosie Project but less weird). Josie loves languages and she has her own way to interpret words and languages. 

“I can speak the languages of lots of groups and learn others with some ease, but no matter how fluent I am, when I'm not speaking Josie, I am merely acting. We all are when we interact outside of our natural cultures. It is inevitable, because it is impossible to be fully yourself in a foreign language.” - Josie

The story starts with Josie who disagrees with her sister Kate over the guy Kate chooses to marry, saying that Kate is making a mistake. She tries to make her sister understands that George with a silent p is the wrong man for her while Kate disagrees and says that Josie knows nothing about love. And now we have a story.

One thing by the way, ISNT THE COVER JUST SCREAMS CUTE ?!!!!

Moving on.

Josie is a weird girl. She sometimes comes of as a genius & funny but other times shes just plainly irritating but tolerable-and-can-still-be-loved kind of irritating. Sometimes shes rude and too much. Its just who she is and she cant help it. Shes not perfect and I get that about her. I feel for her, though. Cant say that she and her feelings are relatable to me but I can definitely feel her. I feel her in every way possible. I understand her heartaches, her curiosity, her frustration, and I understand her when she's completely numb and clueless. I really really love that connection between me and Josie. 

I love almost all characters in this book. I love Stu (can i have a Stu too, please?), Kate, Maggie, Ross and Sophie. I love the dynamic between Josie&Stu, Josie&Kate, Ross&Maggie&Josie, Josie&Sophie, Stu&Sophie. They totally spiced up the book even more! 

The ending is totally predictable!!! And I really really love it!!!! But I especially love how the author made it seems oblivious yet so obvious with the right amount of sweetness. Its very natural and not so suddenly thrown, if you get me. 

I love love love how the author connects the title of the book with the content of it. Love and Other Foreign Words. This book discusses all the 'foreign' words there is in the most creative way. Most importantly, this book discusses the topic love itself brilliantly because 'love' means A LOT of things. Romantic-love is one thing but family-love and sisterhood-love is another and both parts are excellently delivered by the author.

I read this is in the ebook form and I might just buy the physical book soon, or at least when I have the money to do so. In the meantime, I'm gonna private message all of my friends and force them to read this book. I AM FORCING YOU TO READ THIS TOO, in case if you dont realize it yet.

"Sometimes, people think they are in love when they choose to see in ties, none of the bad ones-- only the qualities they most admire, none of the flaws or the obstacles. “Good becomes perfect, but perfect is an illusion. And illusions are like all spells—temporary and soon broken. And when that happens, feelings change.”

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey
Stand-Alone
Sophie Kinsella
Young Adult Contemporary
288 pages, Paperback
4th June 2015 by Doubleday's Children



Goodreads Ratings : 3.87/5
My Rating : 3.9/5

Audrey can't leave the house. she can't even take off her dark glasses inside the house.

Then her brother's friend Linus stumbles into her life. With his friendly, orange-slice smile and his funny notes, he starts to entice Audrey out again - well, Starbucks is a start.And with Linus at her side, Audrey feels like she can do the things she'd thought were too scary. Suddenly, finding her way back to the real world seems achievable.

Be prepared to laugh, dream and hope with Audrey as she learns that even when you feel like you have lost yourself, love can still find you . . . 

From Goodreads

I was first introduced to Sophie Kinsella with her Can You Keep A Secret?  book back in 2010 and ever since then she has been my auto-read/auto-buy author. Can You Keep A Secret? and I’ve Got Your Number are the two books I have and will always recommend to everyone. They’re just THAT good. (So if you haven’t read any of those books, YOU ARE MISSING OUT A LOT ! GO BUY AND READ IT NOW !!!)

When Finding Audrey was first exposed to the world, I was ecstatic ! The cover is insanely genius ! The greenish turquoise colour is so beautiful ! If this hasn’t been Kinsella’s book, I would still buy it and make it one of my cover-buy-books.

Finding Audrey is about a 14yo girl named Audrey who suffers from an anxiety disorder caused by a tragic experience in her school. Anxiety disorder or any disorder at all in YA books are often being portrayed as a dark topic. Like the one who suffers from it  will be an emotional, depressed and a brooding character with all their dark and deep thoughts but not Audrey.  And that is very very refreshing. By the time the book started, Audrey is already in a recovery state and she has had a few sessions with her therapist. She still has her episodes but she faces and controls them with maturity. And she knows how to have a good laugh !

And then comes her family. Audrey’s family is insanely chaotic ! I don’t think chaotic even covers it.  Her mom is crazy and obsessed and loud and from a growing teenager’s view aka ME, she is VERY VERY irritating. I’m so thankful that shes not my mom. Honest to God, I cant stand her !

 “The thing about Mum is, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just, no adults do. They’re totally ignorant, but they’re in control. It’s nuts.”

But I really really like her older brother, Frank. Hes my favourite character here. Often in YA and NA books where there is siblings relation involved, the older brother is either too annoying and doesn’t care about his other siblings or too protective, too funny, too dreamy etc etc which make it seems unreal. Frank and Audrey’s relationship is very normal. He seems very teenagerish (considering hes only 15) but he gives enough of the older brother vibe. He supports Audrey and he is very very witty and funny !

"You teenagers need sleep. You should be sleeping 14 hours a night"
"Fourteen hours?" we both stare at her.
"Mum, even comatose people don't sleep 14 hours a night," says Frank.

Only thing though, the whole family matters is given too much spotlight on that the real problem, which is Audrey, is sometimes pushed back to make way for Frank and their mother. Its fun and entertaining to read at first but too much of it is not good. It gets on my skin, really.  

Within the pages, Audrey comes to know a guy named Linus who soon becomes her boyfriend. They are not Lara Jean and Peter K kinda ‘cute and sweet ‘ but its good enough to make me smile. *Cute Alert* The Coconut Ice Cream scene is SUPER cute !!! And here comes another problem; lets get real here, everyone. Having a boyfriend isnt going to solve any of your illness. Full stop. You cant just go on a lot of cute dates and have a few advise or help given by your boyfriend then BOOM ! No more panic attacks ! No. It bugs me a lot actually when Audrey recovers way too fast. It doesnt seem real. 

The thing about Audrey’s panic attack is, the cause for why its happened is never revealed. We are a given a few clue but not the whole story. It’s a major plot hole seriously.  As a reader, I am not satisfied. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED SERIOUSLY ? I keep on telling myself to wait but here I am, already on the last page yet Im still clueless.

“We don’t have to reveal everything to each other. That’s another thing Ive learned in therapy : Its okay to be private. Its okay to say NO. Its okay to say, ‘Im not going to share that.’ So if you don’t mind, lets just leave it there”

Problem is; I DO MIND.

I understand that Kinsella is giving Audrey the upper hand. Like its Audrey’s story so she has the right to not let people know what has happened to her until shes ready (which she never is, considering its never revealed in the book). Yes, some things are better left kept a secret and let it stay in the past, but im afraid this doesn’t fall into that category. And that’s a real bummer.

Knowing Kinsella, her books has always been light, hilarious,  bright and that’s exactly what Finding Audrey is. Its easy and fast-paced too. I like it, but I dont really love it like i expected I would. But its not wrong to give it a try. Except for a few parts, its highly enjoyable ! You would find yourself laughing and cackling at Kinsella's humour, trust me ! If anything, I would say that this is one refreshing YA mental illness themed read

"I think what I've realised is, life is all about climbing up, slipping down and picking yourself up again, And it doesn't matter if you slip down. As long as you're kind of heading more or less upwards" - Audrey, Finding Audrey

P.S. I Still Love You (To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You

To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2

Jenny Han

Young Adult Contemporary

337 pages, paperback

26th May 2015 by Simon and Schuster

Goodreads Ratings : 4.32/5

My Rating : 4.75/5

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

From Goodreads

FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!

Ever since I finished reading To All The Boys Ive Loved Before months ago, I was dying to read the sequel because WHO ENDS A STORY WITH A “DEAR PETER…” ?!!!! That’s evil.

“Sometimes I like you so much I can’t stand it. It fills up inside me, all the way to the brim, and I feel like I could overflow. I like you so much I don’t know what to do with it. My heart beats so fast when I know I’m going to see you again. And then, when you look at me the way you do, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.” 

Oh, my. /swoon/

The book opens up with a confession/apology  letter from Lara Jean to Peter and the story picks up right where it was left off—5 days after their break up. With Lara Jean as the narrator, she slowly brings us to the intense ride of emotions. And when I say emotions, I mean emotions by all meaning and sense of the word. I laughed, giggled, squealed, I teared up a little, I got angry, I was annoyed, everything ! How is this supposedly simple book has everything all in one ?! At some points, I have to stop reading and just take a deep breath to calm myself because the intensity  of the emotions is just too much. And I’m not even kidding.

The main focus of this novel is the romance and oh my God, the romance is KILLING ME. Peter K and Lara Jean is like the walking epitome of ‘us against the world’. Their relationship is cute, funny, sweet and sizzling hot all at once. I don’t think I went a scene of them without at least a chuckle.

'He lifts his head, his eyes are sad and enormous. “Can we hug now ?”

Shakily I nod, and we both get up and I wrap my arms around his middle. He holds me tight against him. His voice is muffled against my shoulder as he says, “Can we never fight again ?”'

I WANT A PETER KAVINSKY IN MY LIFE TOO :(((

We were informed straight from the blurb that there is going to be a love triangle. Which worries me because WHO DARES TO SPLIT PETER K AND LARA JEAN. URGH ! But im so glad that this book isn’t entirely focused on the love triangle part. John is cool, nice even. But my heart will always go to Peter Kavinsky. All through the way ! Team Peter ! /sways pom pom/

I know a lot of people who is annoyed with Lara Jean for being immature in TATBILB but in this book, she grows up a lot. She’s getting mature (although sometimes she stills doesn’t act like her age) and surprisingly, there are a lot of times where I find her thoughts totally understandable and relatable. Like if I were faced with the exact situations as she is, I would think the way she thinks too. And I like this feeling a lot :)

There is also this minor theme that was going on in the book about how boys and girls are treated differently, double standards and all. I wont say much or else it would be a spoiler but I love how the author brings this issue out in this book. Thanks, Jenny Han.

Another thing that I loved about this book is how strong the Song-Covey family relationship is. I love how Lara Jean’s family becomes her fundamental support system. Kitty, although she is still annoying as hell, is cute and funny. Margot is a wonderful sister and their father is sooo awkward lol. And LJ baking abilities is still phenomenal !

The only huge issue I have with this book is the ending. It is a happy ending, but it was unsettled. I get that maybe Jenny Han wants things to be left to the imagination but I don’t ! I’m yearning for answers to the questions in my head. I wish the ending was longer.

Over all, P.S. I Still Love You is NOT a disappointment. Congrats, Jenny Han.

"Let’s do it fucking for real, Lara Jean. Let’s go all in. No more contract. No more safety net. You can break my heart. Do whatever you want with it" - Peter Kavinsky, P.S. I Still Love You