My Book Reviews

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I LOVED IT.

I loved the little twist in the end, I loved how the story was written, I loved how it unfolded.
I loved how it made you think twice of your actions after reading it, and probably make you appreciate the people in your life more.

It is very simply written, but carries an amazing message. Like Charley, there is someone I deeply cared about who died without me having a chance to say goodbye. The second last chapter touched my heart deeply and throughout reading that chapter, I had my ballet teacher, Mr Gino, in my mind. I couldn't help thinking of all the things I would say to him if I had One More Day. I felt like going to my mum's room, at 5.30 in the morning, just to hug her and thank her for all that she's done for me; not like I haven't told her before, though.

I felt like just telling everyone what they mean to me after reading this book. This is a book that touches you deeply, and leaves a lasting impact in your life.
Well, at least I think so.

If I ever come across other books from Mitch, I'm definitely buying them.

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I admit; when I read the synopsis, it DID catch my eye, but the first few chapters bored me. I would read it, but then would quickly lose interest and put it down, and find something else to do; which very rarely happens with me.

I found that the book only got interesting when Matt got to know that Joanie was going to die, because then I found myself 'pulled' towards how Matt handled the situation. Though I must say, the fact that he had to 'rehearse' almost everything he was going to say at the beginning was slightly annoying to me.

And then we have Sid. I couldn't stand the boy's guts, but then softened up to him as the story went on. He wasn't as bad as he was portrayed at the beginning after all. And Brian Speer... OH GOD, I HATED that man's guts when they confronted him at Kauai. I was expecting him to be more... expressive, I guess? I think I kinda understood Matt's feelings at that point; here was Joanie, head over heels in love with Brian, when he didn't love her and was just leading her on. I kinda understand Julie's feelings too, but to say that to Joanie and Matt at Joanie's deathbed was... a tad bit disrespectful, in my opinion.

But if there was anything that I liked about this book, it would be how Kaui described the sadness in the family. It wasn't sappy and all 'oh-the-calamity' kinda thing, and even Scottie was being very strong and brave about it. I liked how they each allowed themselves moments of sadness where they would cry, but they didn't go moping around about it, because frankly, there's nothing they'd be able to do anyway. You can't stop death.

Samphire Song by Jill Hucklesby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I love how this story was very... lighthearted, if you will. Although slightly predictable, the story is very pleasant. There are no complicated words or sentences. Even my 20-year-old sister, who wouldn't read any book that has no pictures/illustrations, managed to finish the book in quite a short time, all things considered.

I admit I cried as Jodie helplessly lost Samphire, as I, like Jodie, have helplessly watched something/someone we love slip away. Jill expressed Jodie's loss so tragically that you can't help but feel pain for her. And to top it off with Ed's illness, it was a very noble sacrifice that I think would tug at anyone's heartstrings.

And then when those guys in the forests were hurting Samphire, I actually felt Jodie's rage, and then her desperation as Samphire clung on for life. It was heartbreaking, but without it sounding too depressing.

On a different note, this book was the first book that drew my eyes in a book fair, and I immediately grabbed it when I saw it. And I have to say, there are no regrets.

Soulless by Christopher Golden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The beginning started out fairly normal. I was surprised though, that the zombies appeared rather early on in the story. The first description of the zombies made me cringe and my heart thumping.

Christopher has a knack for describing the emotions and expressions of people as they find out about the 'Uprising' endemic. He describes the zombie attacks with great detail and gore, too. I usually HATE anything related to zombies (I have a fear for them), but somehow this book sort of 'drew me in', if you will. There was something about this book when I saw it in a fair that although I had originally picked it up and put it back on the shelves, I was somehow drawn to it and ended up buying it.

It might be just me, but I was craving more zombie scenes. Understandably though, a huge chunk of the book writes about how the people keep themselves alive (or not). I got so engrossed in this book that I jumped about an inch in the air at the sound of someone opening my room door.

I was really eager to find out about how the zombies would be stopped, and to be honest, I was expecting the little knit of survivors (Jack, Matt, Sara, Noah, Tania & Zack) to survive through the whole thing (ain't gonna say more to spoil it!), but yeah.

All in all, it's a very gripping story where the zombies are involved. Just wished there was more zombie action, though. ;)

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I admit. For a rather decent-sized book, I never expected the story to come out the way it did.

After reading the synopsis at the back of the book, the beginning's happening (how they got abducted) seemed pretty predictable. But the moment they made for their escape, I found myself almost wanting to skim past the descriptions and just read about how they were gonna escape. I was on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing.

The author is a genius at sucking the readers in to the dark world of Sam and Lloyd as they escape, with just the right amount of frustrations and panic.



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