Twelfth Book of Christmas: Before I Fall

You wanna know a secret? Well, the reason I picked this book for my twelfth and last book (for a supposedly year-ender personal reading challenge) is that I am head-over-heels in love with Lauren Oliver. And her writing prowess. I mean, have you read the Delirium Trilogy yet? No? Well, you're the lamest person EVER. Seriously, you have to read it. And this book, too! :)

So...

"What if you only had one day to live? What
would you do? Who would you kiss? And how
far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity,
the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12,
should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next
morning. Living the last day of her life seven
times during one miraculous week, she will
untangle the mystery surrounding her death—
and discover the true value of everything she
is in danger of losing."

Ok, I must admit I didn't like it at first. What, with all the high school drama when popularity and partying and drinking and smoking and being included in the "cool" crowd and losing your virginity and all-the-other-prohibited-things-that-teenagers-shouldn't-do-but-still-do-anyway were the first priority, I almost gave up on it. And the fact that Samantha Kingston or Sam─the heroine─was a little mean and conceited and self-centered (at least at first) didn't help much, either that I thought of just throwing the book in the corner and move on with my life. It was lots-of-grumbling-hair-pulling-and-tsk-tsk-ing frustrating.

But as I kept reading it (what, did you really believe I'd give up on it just like that?), I understood that Sam was on a life-changing transition. It was hard enough for her to accept her death let alone to live her last day on earth over and over and over again. Soon the frustration was slowly morphing into excitement then love. As Sam realized─little by little─the whole getting stuck in a "limbo" and why she was given seven chances to relive February 12, as soon as she realized that it was not even her story to tell, I, too am enlightened and I just couldn't help but be dumbfounded by it. (Tip: Stick through the rocky first chapter because until you see the whole scenario will you understand why it was written there and while you're at it, ponder on the things you're reading. Ask yourself, are you the Sam or Lindsay or Juliet or Kent of this world? Just think about it.)

I was completely blown away by this book. I love that Sam underwent change in a rather slow manner because that's how changes suppose to take place, right? It is a series of self-development and realizations and it most certainly doesn't happen overnight. And Sam truly changed for the better not until on the seventh Cupid Day.

Reading this book was like one emotional roller coaster ride. It made me frustrated (mostly Sam's fault), made me roll my eyeballs too many times (Lindsay's), made me cringe (Alex's), chuckle (Mr. Daimler's), smile (Kent's), wistful (Juliet's and Sam's), cry (Izzy's), and cry some more (Kent's and Sam's) at the ending. I loved how it ended by the way─I couldn't think of a better ending than that─but then I was actually, secretly kinda rooting for Sam to have a second chance in life. To live again and be the good sister/daughter that she was to Izzy and her parents, the better girl friend  to Lindsay, Ally and Elody (who wouldn't tolerate but would call crap on their stupidities), and to be the best person to everyone (without thinking highly of herself).

I highly recommend Before I Fall for everyone. I know I said in my previous post I don't particularly like reading about teenagers doing horrible things, though we can always make an exception to the rule, right? And this Lauren Oliver debut completely deserves the exception. I dunno if it is possible to fall in love even more with  someone (rather with her writing style) but I think I do now. Lauren Oliver is the prodigy.

Respect,
Joey

PS. I wrote this review in between breaks from work so excuse if my thoughts were all over the place as well as the grammatical errors. :)

Eleventh Book of Christmas: The Spectacular Now

Disclaimer: This is not a review. More like a rant.
　　
　　
　　I have a confession to make. I totally have no clue what this book is about when I read it. All I know is that it was adapted into a film (of the same title) that premiered in the Sundance Festival last year which starred Shailene Woodley─who is going to play Tris Prior AND Hazel Grace Lancaster for the film adaptations of the nothing-short-of-amazing books of Veronica Roth's Divergent of the Divergent Series and John Green's The Fault In Our Stars─so I immediately included it into this list with the hope that it would be a satisfying read; after all, it wouldn't be made into a film and wouldn't made THE Sundance if the story behind it wasn't, right?
　　
　　
　　So you could just imagine my utter dismay when I read the book and found out that it was about a guy─who is a teenager and is still in high school, by the way─who likes to distinguish himself as "God's own drunk," and who─for the whole time I kept telling myself to just stick with him because for sure he has a story to tell─couldn't seem to last a day without a flask of 7Up-mixed-with-whiskey in hand (or within reach) and who doesn't have any plans of going college (or anywhere for that matter) AND is probably content with just folding men's shirts for the rest of his alcoholic, hedonistic life. That's Sutter Keely for you.
　　
　　
　　Now, will you take it against me if I say I didn't finish (I stopped halfway through the book and read the last chapter before I totally ditch it, in hopes that there would be something good coming out of it) reading it? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you but I don't read something I don't believe in and I can't believe the "Sutterman." I don't tolerate his teenage drinking-partying-smoking-pot and glorying in it even if it's just in a book. I mean, a lot of kids can have an access to his story and what is the message it conveys? That life is crappy and effed-up already so let's just go drink, party, smoke and just forget about tomorrow's repercussions but just live in "the spectacular now?" Right. That just won't work for me.
　　
　　
　　You know I hate giving negative reviews but I can just call things the way I see it. And this is how I see this Tim Tharp's novel: A beautifully-told story. Funny, even. But that's just it. Yes, the story-telling is great, however I can't say the same with the plot and the characters. Sutter is still his alcohol-drinking self in the end as he was in the beginning. No character development, whatsoever. He is particularly happy with his "Spectacular Now" until the very end which is sadly, disappointing. I really kind of rooting for him to define his spectacular now in a different, more sober light but I guess we can only wish happy endings for everybody, right? It's up to us to choose happiness and actually work for it.
　　
　　
　　Joey

Tenth Book of Christmas: The Beginning of Everything

"Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them─a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life.
No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl, Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike Ezra's ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.
But Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one's singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when misfortune strikes?
Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings."

I was sincerely excited to read this book─what with all the hype it has received last year and have been getting until now from the social media─that I put it on the latter part of my 12-Books-of-Christmas list just to build a little bit more anticipation. And now that I've finished reading it, my emotions and thoughts about it were all over the place (for days now!) that I've been sitting here in front of the computer, writing this very review and I still couldn't find the words to say. Maybe because I was a little disappointed because I really expected so much from it and those expectations weren't met?

Since I don't know what to say, I'll just list down the things I liked from the story (because, really? I don't want to focus on the negative aspects and come on, it's more fun to read about the good stuff, right?): firstly, I liked the opening paragraph.

"Sometimes I think that everyone has a tragedy waiting for them... That everyone's life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary─a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen." 

Thought-provoking stuff right there. Though I think the story went dragging from there. But I truly did enjoy reading Ezra and his story. He's the second thing that I liked most about this book because he was so realistic and I thought Ms. Schneider did a good job writing him. I could easily picture him in my head most especially when he was with his "misfit" friends (even when wasn't or alone) and I found myself chuckling on some parts. Speaking of which, I specifically loved Toby─the awesome, bow-tie-wearing, Doctor-Who-quoting best friend of Ezra. Haha. He was one of the few reasons I continued reading this book, actually. *ducks under the computer table*

Above all, I loved the ending nevertheless I admit that I wished there could have been "more" from it. But I liked how Ezra realized that his maturity was all his own doing and not Cassidy's. I dunno why but I just couldn't motivate myself to like Cassidy no matter how much I wanted to. I mean, I just didn't find her as a real teenage girl, at all. The whole time I was reading the novel and learning more about the characters, I didn't see myself attached to her─which is saying a lot because I could easily do that (at some point) with every heroine I came across with─and I think that was the major disappointment. Or maybe Ms. Scneider wanted to prove a point here and I just failed to get a hold of it? Or was it possible I just misread her entirely?

Anyway, it was an okay read. It has a few similarities to John Green's Looking for Alaska, I realized, so if you enjoyed that one I think you'd like this one, as well. Though I can see myself reading Alaska, again, in the near future, I'm afraid I can't say the same with Ms. Schneider's debut. :(

However, I would love to read more of her works,
Joey