Not All Tarts Are Apple by Pip Granger

Tart
1: agreeably sharp or acid to the taste (a tart apple)
2: marked by a biting, acrimonious, or cutting quality (a tart rejoinder)
3: a dish baked in a pastry shell : pie: as a : a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit b : a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling
4:[earlier slang, girlfriend, probably short for jam tart, rhyming slang for sweetheart] : prostitute

(From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Truth be told, Room wasn't the first book I read narrated by a child. A few months back I borrowed this book from kak Zai. The title somehow tickled me and only when I read the back synopsis did I know why the title was that way because the story is from the point of view of 7-going-on-8 year old Rosie.

She is taken care of by Uncle Bert and Auntie Maggie (whom she knows are not her actual parents, thanks to her cow of a friend Kathy Moon who, quite to her face said, "You're mum's a tart!"). She loves them with all her hearts and is loved by everyone around her too. There's a colourful and amusing set of people who are in her life.

Mamma Campanini who owns the deli and has a hoard of children, one of them Luigim whom I secretly think Rosie has a crush on ☺ There's Sharkey Finn, a shabby lawyer who lives in his office. Then there's TC, the local constable. There's Brenda a.k.a Paulette who advertises for French Lessons but who actually works in the oldest profession in the world. Then, there's Enid Fluck, otherwise known throughout the novel as Madam Zelda, the fortune teller..

..and then there's the Perfumed Lady who always dresses so beautifully and laughs a lot but seldom sober. She always brings Rosie trinkets that Rosie once thought she was a Fairy Godmother.. but in truth, she's Rosie's real mother.

She's actually a very kind woman but she just doesn't have any motherly feelings in her, that is why she dumped Rosie on Uncle Bert and Aunt Maggie, who fortunately love both Rosie and her mother.

One day, Uncle Bert and Aunt Maggie decide to adopt Rosie legally, the problem is, her mother comes and goes as she wishes so they had to track her down first since she hadn't dropped by for months.

Somehow, the news of Rosie came to her step-grandads ears and he came to their little town to figt for custody for Rosie too. Turns out, he molested and raped Rosie's mother, hat was why she ran awak.. but no, Rosie isn't his, as will be revealed at the end of the book.

There's also Dave, Paulettes pimp who beats her up and all until she leaves him and Charlie, Madam Zelda's exhusband who's just as bad as Dave. These two guys drove those two woman to despise guys so much that they found solace in each others.. err, bed! Hahah.. and this is set in the 1950s hokey.. siap move in together lagik Paulette and Madam Zelda, WITH the help of all other townspeople hehe..

One day, Rosie's grandad set out to kidnap her with the help of those two weasels but she was saved by Paulette, who in turning over a new leaf, was a waitress at the diner they were waiting.

All in all, its a very entertaining book that'd keep you reading till the end in a very relaxing way..

..I'm just wondering when am I going to return the book to its owner.. opppssss!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

*I'm actually copying this from my blog since it kinda qualifies la kot for this blog jugak hahah.. and alos coz this blog seems so left out.. sian dia*

Last week I went out with Bart outta total boredom (I think I wrote about going out with her in an earlier entry..). What I didn't write was that I had bought a book entitled The Kite Runner.

Now, I must say, its actually kinda late for me to notice this book, huh.. I read about it in a few of my friends blog.. Ayeen or Adura, I think. Then Dzul wrote about how he watched the film itself and somehow it made me wanna go find the film. But when I was out with Bart at Popular (she was searching for Ayat² Cinta), I found this book and despite having only RM50 in my purse, I bought the book.

Even then, I didn't read the book yet as I still had tons of other books I wanted to read. However, last night outta the blue, I suddenly remembered today was IM's birthday. Heck, I haven't thought about it for years and suddenly I'm remembering a lot of things. Made me a bit nostalgic and not to mention the ever-famous Ayu-being-emotional feeling. Couldn't sleep after that and was just deciding to watch a CD or something when the book caught my eye. It was still on my bookshelf, unwrapped yet with protective plastic cover (I usually wrap my bookms first before reading..)

I was debating whether to read it or watch a CD when once again the synopsis of the book caught my eye.. so it was decided then, I was gonna read the book!

..and I couldn't put it down!

It was a beautiful tale of friendship. Not once or twice did I feel a lump in my throat when I read about Amir and Hassan. Hassan was such a loyal friend, you wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be okay. The part where he was sodomised after getting the prized kite was told very simply but effectively. You could feel the shame in Amir when he ran away, in fear he would get hurt. You could feel Hassan's sorrow in the days that followed.. and feel Amir's confusion in what he had done and what he could have done.

You'd feel amazed at how Hassan still told his son, Shorab and wife (can't remember her name) that Amir was his bestfriend in the world, even when he knew Amir had ran away when he was being victimized by Assef, Wali and Kamal.. and even when he knew, Amir had betrayed him, accused him of stealing just so he had an excuse to rid himself of the loyal Hassan.

But you'd also understand Amir's hope to win the approval of his father that he never understood.. and how he felt when the secret of Hassan's parentage was revealed by Rahim after Amir's father had passed away.. and how he felt when Rahim told him, "It's time to be good again.."

I especially liked the part when Hassan told Amir, "For you, a thousand times over.." when Amir wanted him to go run after the fallen kite. And how it became the tagline of the book. I wanted to cry along with Amir when Farid had said that to him in the hospital as you could see how much Hassan actually meant to Amir (even when Farid was confused on why Amir broke down after those words..) and I liked it in the end when Amir mouthed those word to Shorab as he took the little boy kite flying..

This is one book I'll really treasure.. and I've already made Ija read it heheh..

I'm not a good story teller but to those who'd like to know more about it, you can go here. And believe me, the book is worth every cent. Written in simple english and is suitable for everyone.. I even feel like buying it for my friends, just to share the beautiful story with all.

There are other elements in this story, about Afghanistan, about Taliban, about Islam (See, we're not terrorists! Only sometime people twist the words of Allah to suit their own sick mind, while they themselves immerse their wholeself in sin..) but what I liked most, and what I think dominates this book is the friendship between the two..

Friendship, when sincere, indeed is beautiful!

Room by Emma Donoghue

Whewww.. this blog really needs some dusting!

Recently I came across this book at Popular Sunway Carnival. I was actually looking for other books but the simple cover caught my eye.. the "A Man Booker Prize Finalist" on the topmost of its cover didn't hurt either so even tho it wasn't within my budget for the day, I thought I'd spend just a bit on it..

..and it was worth it! For me la, at least ☺

The novel is narrated by a 5-year old by the name of Jack whose whole world is an eleven by eleven foot space where he lives with his Ma who sometimes gets visited by Old Nick in the middle of the night.

His daily routine is the same each day with slight variations from his Ma who wants him to lead a normal life. He has PE in this world of his by running around the room, math with his Ma who teaches him all that she knows and so on. He has never ventured out of this space and all supplies are brought to them by Old Nick and to Jack, he's content with his life as long as he has his Ma.

He doesn't like Old Nick very much coz whenever Old Nick comes to spend the night, he has to sleep in the closet but other than that, he's a happy kid.

Little does he know that he and his Ma are prisoners. His Ma was kidnapped by Old Nick when she was just starting college (if my mind serves me right) and she was locked in this soundproof, windowless shed in Old Nick's garden. Jack is a result of the 'arrangement' Old Nick made with his Ma and was born years after his Ma was kidnapped.

In the middle of the novel, Ma plans for escape. Jack is afraid coz he doesn't believe there is a world outside his room but when he realizes it would make his mother happy, he decided to be brave and go for his Ma's plan that invloves him pretending to be dead.

They were rescued, and his Ma's family who had thought she was dead was joyous at their reunion.. more so when they realize what an adorable boy Jack is.

But their problems are far from over as Ma got overcome by depression when people questioned how she could bring up a child in captive like that, though if you read the book from the start, you'd know she did quite a pretty good job at it.

Ma tried to commit suicide and was held in an instituition for a while, while Jack stayed with his Granma. They soon learnt, no harm was done to Jack's social skills even if he never had any outside contact for the first 5 years in his life.. and to make Ma proud, his reading and arithmatic skills were way beyong his peers.

When Ma got better, Ma decided they needed to learn to live on their own without expecting help from her family, not that she didn't trust them but because she craved for a normal life after living in hell for the past years.

What I like about this book is how we get to see these problems through a 5-year-olds eyes. He doesn't understand why they had to escape in the first place coz he thought he was happy in the room since his Ma made sure of that. He's naive in his perception of life but somehow, that came out as refreshing.

I truly recommend this book for long weekends without anything to do since I couldn't put down the book haha..

Island, by Jane Rogers

This novel came as a surprise to me, because...well...let's just say that I predicted blindly that something's going to happen to the characters even before I picked it up....and it did happen in the book.

Written by Jane Rogers, the novel is narrated by a conflicted, angsty 29-year-old Nikki Black whose intention was to search for her mother had brought her to a rural Scottish island. And no, this was not your typical 'oh my mother left me I want to be reunited with her and all will be warm and shiny and fuzzy and sweet again' Nicholas Sparks/Maeve Binchy type-novel.

No.

What Nikki Black wanted to do when she met the mother who had abandoned her at birth was simpler than sinister.

She wanted to kill her for revenge.

The mere idea to a sane person may seem far-fetched, and I was one of those people who go, "Is this even a viable idea to base a story upon? Could Jane Rogers make it work?"

Believe me when I say she did, and she did it wonderfully.

Nikki Black was at times disturbed, hotheaded, sarcastic; snarky. A strong-willed character, if you will. Her reasons for wanting to kill a woman she never met in her entire life came across as realistic, if not sympathetic. What was more interesting though, was Nikki's narrative, which made the readers wonder if her theories and assumptions were at all true. This was the simple case of an 'unreliable narrator', the one-sided view of a story that kept the readers on the edge. Her prose were punctuated in such a way that one could readily brand 'Nikki Black's and Nikki Black's only'.

Her journey eventually brought her to a small Scottish island, where she finally confronted her long-time faceless nemesis; only now Nikki discovered that she has a (half) brother; Calum. And this brother of hers was ordinarily unordinary, in the sense that he suffered from a slight mental retardation - and therefore irritating to Nikki at first. Yet Calum's many imperfections also was the reason for his strange, different, almost magical insight of the world - based on the only world he ever knew -- the island. While Nikki was sceptical, using cold hard logic domineered by hatred -- the independent girl who had traveled far and wide, having seen many layers of types of people, Calum was the opposite -- a mama's boy whose simple mind was guided by the many fascinating, almost mythical stories he had heard about the island, whose purpose in life was simply to retell the stories to others who are willing to listen. Although, beneath his awkward tenderness, lies a violent streak thatcould be frightening, even to the murderous Nikki herself.

Of course, like your usual family reunion stories, there is bound to be dark secrets to be uncovered. Skeletons in the closet. Yet even if you thought that you've seen it coming, Nikki's narration will keep you guessing, when suddenly, bam. It's right there in your face and your heart just skipped a beat. And you'll smile at the clever way Jane Rogers tied everything up -- from the irony and the paradoxes and allusions and foreshadowing.

If you had given such a mundane-sounding plotline to any other writer, you would've gotten a sucky ending. THIS however, was filled with witty dark humor laced with revelations that are purely intended to shock the readers. T'was a shame that the novel was rather PG-13, (or maybe I've been reading too much NSFW stuff) given the dark theme it attempted to explore. For 260 pages, I'd say it was succinct (despite the ending which felt slightly rushed); Rogers could've added something more to amplify the shock value.

My favorite interaction has got to be between Nikki and Calum, whose worlds collided and merged in such an endearing, beautiful, twisted way. She hated him, he was indifferent. She was irritated with him and his antics, but grew more attached to him than she would've ever wanted. He liked her, and that brought about a dozen million other problems.

The question is, will she or will she not kill her mother? How does Calum fit in the picture? How would this whole entanglement work out?

A compelling read. I never thought I could finish it in a few hours (and this was me trying to study Genetics).

Island will be adapted into an indie movie titled The Sea Change, starring Nathalie Press as Nikki Black, Janet McTeer as Phyllis Lovage and Colin Morgan as Calum MacLeod. (Ooooooooo, Colin playing a Scottish Islander)

On location, Isle of Mull/Skye(?), Scotland.

The Deathly Hallows

Well, what shall I write about it? Hmmm….first thing to say is that it’s not the best book in the series but, like Ayu said, it’s still a good book nevertheless.

I have to say, this time around, whenever I started to open the first few chapters, I wasn’t able to resist the urge to sleep. I was tired alright, and I can assure you it’s NOT due to lack of exciting plots and excitement in Harry’s journey towards defeating He Who Must Not Be Named (Hey!don’t make me say the name okie..it’s Tabooed!) .

The part I enjoyed most in all the previous books were the Hogwarts part, and even though J.K Rowling has mentioned in HBP that those three wouldn’t be returning to Hogwarts for their educations, I was still disappointed when Hogwart was mentioned only towards the end of the story. Nevertheless, I was truly touched, glad - and all other emotions mixed up - that almost everyone of the wizarding world ever mentioned in the previous series turned out at Hogwarts to “duel to kill” (as Mrs. Weasley said to Bellatrix) Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

I love it that Ron and Hermione still played a BIG role in this book, tagging along with Harry wherever he went and helped him out in his quest to destroy the Horcruxes. I was a bit disappointed at first that Harry didn’t get any help from Dumbledore but as my reading progressed, it became clear that Dumbledore was still helping Harry and The Order going through the dark times, albeit indirectly.

Among all the characters that got killed, I was the saddest when Fred died. I just can’t help but kept on imagining how would George’s life be without his soul mate to share everything with him. The Weasley Wizard Wheezes (or what’s the name of their joke shop again?) surely could not go on without one of the brilliant twins, but come to think of it, maybe George would keep operating the shop as he knew that it’ll the one thing that Fred would really want him to do.

The part that I love the most in this book is the ending; when Voldermort announced to the general crowd of Harry’s death; in hope that everyone would then bow to him and give him their full allegiance. However, what happened was I think beyond his imagination. Neville was heroic in his attempt to stand up to the Dark Lord and with the bravery it’s undeniably that he deserved to be prized with the Gryffindor sword.

I love the scene when out of nowhere; there came hundreds of man and a horde of centaurs thundering across the ground to battle the Death Eaters and their master. It’s amazing how easy Voldemort got defeated by The Boy Who Lived, despite all his arrogance and so-called outstanding magical power.

However, I do think that the final chapter of the book was done as if Rowling was in a hurry to finish it. It was such a sweet little ending that didn’t blend well with the rest of the book. But who am I to say, it’s her story so she deserves to do it whichever way she wasn’t to, rite?
It’s just depressing thinking that there won’t be anymore of Harry Potter to look forward to after this. I just hope there’ll be other stories as good, if not better, than HP in the years to come.

Ayu's HPATDH review

I miss Hogwarts!

I miss Quidditch!

I miss the Gryffindor Tower!

I miss Hogsmeade!

I miss Dumbledore!

I miss Hagrid!

I miss platform nine and three quarters, as well as the Hogwarts express and the candy cart lady!

..and I miss a whole lot more! All of which were not mentioned as much as before and as much as I would've liked in the final book.. but then again, its the finale, huh?

*sigh*

Still, I won't say its not a good book.. not the best maybe, but still very good..

Hahah.. ok, for Baizurah: Sorry for the delay hehe.. I've been a bit busy the past week (busy ke?)

Anyway, it took me quite a while to read the book as I had some classes to attend to (unwillingly haha..) and it took all my willpower to stop me from ignoring my class while giving full attention to THE book. However, it also took all my willpower NOT to fall asleep as I was really tired that day AND I wanted to finish the book on the same day haha.. so ta-daaa, at 12.30am the mission was accomplished *applause to self with a pat on the back*

All in all, I'd say I enjoyed it. Though there were no longer the fun-school-days in it. The only time Hogwarts was mentioned was when the death eaters had come to attack the school and Voldemort had gone there for Harry.

I enjoyed reading about Neville. Rowling managed to potray him as his mother and father's (both ex-aurors who are now admitted to St Mungo's) true son. With the absence of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Neville leading the way with Ginny and Luna went into rebellion haha.. I can just imagine him (though whenever I imagine him now, I see the face of the actor who played him in the movie) being a leader.. yeay for Neville! I've always had a soft spot for him, especially eversince I read about his parents and how his grandmother always seemed to be disappointed in him.. but this time, his granma was sure proud of him. Bravo!

Then there was Luna. I've always imagined her as plain looking with bottle-thick spectacles. I admit, I like the movie-Luna better. She's so cute, so soft-spoken, so.. I dunno, I just really like her. So in this book, whenever I read about her, I see the 'movie-Luna' which I like better than the one I've been imagining all along. When she was first added in the series, I always though she'd just be a small part, but it turned out, I wouldn't want the book without her and her eccentricities. I pitied her father though when the death eaters had abducted her but I was pissed when the tricked Harry, Ron and Hermione.. still, I'm not a parent yet, what do I know, huh? He really loves his daughter..

..and I was touched when Harry went up to her room and saw painted pictures (not moving magical ones if I'm not mistaken) of himself, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny that Luna had decorated on her ceiling with a golden chain surrounding them that was actually the word 'friends' written all over again.

Dobby proved to be a great friend too. I was stunned that he had to die but he died helping the only friend who had taught him trust: Harry! Even his last words were Harry's name but I guess he was glad to die helping Harry get away from the Malfoy's mansion that had somehow turned out to be like Voldemort's fort (though Draco here, to my delight-I never really thought he was THAT 'evil'-was seemingly uncomfortable of being on the dark side)

And hey, how 'bout Kreacher? Turned out, he only wanted attention.. and once Harry and Ron were able to be nice to him (as Hermione had ALWAYS told them to), he was really sweet to them. Always cooking their favourite meals and being the obedient house-elf he was supposed to be to Harry. It helped when they realized his favourite master had always been Regulus, Sirius's brother, who had always treated him kindly as opposed to Sirius who treated him dreadfully.. it goes without saying, you reap what you sow (or is it you sow what you reap??? My English is getting worse haha..) Well, they realized Regulus had actually disobeyed Voldemort and had wanted to make things right by stealing the first horcrux and destroying it and knowing that Kreacher was somehow involved made them see the house elf in an entirely different light (Me too, I always thought Kreacher was.. well, a 'creature' if you know what I mean!)

And whats a HP book without the prankster twins haha.. I laugh nearly everytime their names are mentioned and I guess, for the fun parts, I love their character the most! Like the time George had his ear blown off, he still managed to crack a joke, feeble as it was haha.. and I thought he was dying! They somehow manage to change EVERY dark moment into a jovial one with the punch lines and all.. but when I said 'nearly', it really meant EXCEPT the time Fred died.. though in a way, he did die they way he would've wanted.. while laughing at Percy (Oooooh, I'll come to Percy next).. but still, I felt quite lost for a while as I said, I really love George and Fred and I do wonder why Rowling didn't speak of what happened to George (though Percy WAS mentioned) in the 'Ninteen Years Later' chapter..

The loss of Lupin and Tonks were also sad parts in the book, though I think they deserve more recognition than just being mentioned as fatalities in the battle. I mean, Lupin was the one who taught Harry how to produce a Patronus and haha, this sounds crazy but I almost wish he was Harry's godfather as Sirius was actually too reckless in his own cheeky way while Lupin always seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Yeah, I know, Sirius was caught so Lupin was the one who was always there, but for someone who wanted a father figure, gimme Lupin anyday.

And Tonks, I must admit, for the recent movie, I was really anticipating who would become Tonks and the actress (don't ask me her name) was really good.. in my books at least. She didn't disappoint as Tonks and I have always been quite fond of Tonks and her clumsy ways. And yeah, that Colin boy who worshipped Harry also died, guess he just wanted to be in the front rows with his hero too.. quite sad though!

Anyway, I loved how Rowling bought back most of the characters from the series during the battle at Hogwarts. There was Percy (ooohh, I wanna talk bout him), Neville's gran, Dean (who was not allowed to go back to Hogwarts as he wasn't pure-blooded and has been on the run eversince), the Patil twins, Ernie whateverhisnameis whom I used to get annoyed with in the DA, Cho Chang, the head full of dreadlocks of Lee Jordon (whom if you don't remember, were the twins bestfriend) and the old quidditch team: Oliver Wood, Alicia something, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson (?).. and thats just to mention a few :)

Hahah.. I always thought Percy would, well, be Percy-ish till the end (He still is bossy anyway 'Ninteen Years Later' though I'm not sure what post his was holiding and why his voice was heard booming at the station) . turned out, he couldn't stand being too ambitious anymore and turned back to his family. It was quite a suprise as he wasn't mentioned that much in Half Blood Prince so I thought his character had somehow faded. But I'm glad as I always feel as if the Weasleys are the kind of family everyone wants to be in :) I laughed when Percy apologized to his family while Geroge/Fred rubbed it in (called him all sort of names haha) BUT while holding out their hands to him in a peaceful gesture.. awwww!

So, in a nutshell, its not the best book (I love happy books better), but I guess it has the greatest ending and is a fine finale for the series (C'mon, you can't expect a happy book for the end, right.. what with Voldemort and all those death eaters and dementors walking around like having a brisk in the park?)

Anyway, I keeping the book now. Don't think I can read it again in a few weeks as I'm quite full of it now.. AND since a lot of people seem to wanna borrow it.

Gee, I wonder if another book could ever make me feel this excited again??

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

...As requested by Ayu, I am copying the review I did for my blog here...

Like everyone else who has the smallest smidgen of enjoyment of Harry Potter I was looking forward to reading the last of the series (allegedly).

In fact, I went to Borders at 7.40am just to get my copy... after receiving an annoying buzzed text message from a certain someone in Ireland saying that she's got HER copy... Previously, I planned to go and get my copy with Nini at around 10.00am (yeah right!!). However, I could NOT seem to wait and thought back on Ayu's entry.. not to mention Baizurah's entry and of course Syuhada's entry... I SIMPLY HAD TO GET OFF MY BUTT AND GET MINE! So, I did. I called Nini to inform her about the change of plans (once my copy was in my hands) and called back to check her current progress to get her copy... and hahahaha sure enough, she's left house to get her copy. Note to Nini: Hahahaha.. tapi tak ada your *ahem BF (wink wink) plak Nini!! :D

Anyway, upon returning home and preciously holding my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I promptly sat down and tried to read it cover to cover in one sitting - didn't manage that, but I did manage to complete in in 24 hours! :D What to do?!! I'm a bookworm! Caterpillarbuku LIVES ON!!! This fantasy reads rather well, it has to be said, flowing nicely along at a good pace. It's dark and bloody, but then again what do you expect with Voldermort kicking around?

Alas, one could argue that therein lies the problem. There are not really any of the plot twists and turns that one expects from Harry Potter books. In fact, one could argue that must of it was rather predictable in extremism. That is not to say it is not a rather enjoyable romp through the final tale of the boy wizard. One thing that strikes one throughout the book is that it is rather visual, almost cinematic. The book was clearly written in a manner that would not make it too terribly hard to turn into a script... so look out people... coming soon to a cinema near you!

J. K. Rowling seems to have recovered the part of Hermione and she is not a whining teenager anymore. She does have a strop, which is a bit of predictable foreshadowing to the end of the book, well rather, the epilogue of the book. There are a lot of loose ends that are tied up rather well for all the characters, although I have to say that I was disappointed to see one of my favorite characters in the whole set of tales, Hagrid, reduced to a bit part in this novel. In fact, truth be told, much of the book only really revolves around the core three, which one might have expected.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is probably not Rowling's best book in the series and adults might find it to be a bit thin at times. It reads a bit rushed, and there are some plot glitches. But taken as a whole series, Rowling has done something only few other authors like Tolkien have done. She has created a series of books that can be read by child and adult alike and enjoyed in similar but slightly different ways. By the end chapter, I felt like there were no closure to a few things... like did Harry became the Auror that he wanted to be..? What is Hermione doing? If Rowling's intention was to create a"nineteen years later" chapter, maybe it should not be so hurried and answers all the questions that were raised in the earlier books... but that's just me and my opinion...