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.

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This one was a hard book to put down. I was so hooked on the drama that I always end up being late for something because I was too engrossed! I knew this book would have quite a few arguments regarding religion in it, so I was very curious to see what diagnosis they'd come up with for Faith's 'condition'.

However for me, some of the outcomes were predictable, like the relationship between Mariah and Ian. But other than that, it's a good read!