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...

Secret Hour

Title: The Secret Hour
Author: Luann Rice

I was feeling a bit bored and decided to go to kak Yun's house to borrow some books for the raya holidays. going through her books, I came across this other book of Luann rice and since I was impressed with the first book I had read that she had written, I thought it would be a good idea to go for this book.

This book centres around this family of three with the mother missing after being killed in an accident along with another woman who was searching for her missing sister. The father in the family, John O'Rouke, works as an attorney, a criminal defense lawyer who at the time was defending a serial killer who took young girls as his victim. He has two children, 14-year-old Teddy and 11-year-old Maggie. his wife was killed in an accident after coming home from having a rendezvous with her married lover who is also John's bestfriend. John's sorrow in losing his wife to his friend clouded the sorrow he felt for losing the only woman he had ever loved, thus he buried himself in his work just to forget it all.

Enter Kate Harris, a woman who was in search of her sister. Her sister, Willa, fled from her home when she was caught sleeping with Kate's ex-husband. But somehow, Kate's love for her sister was stronger, thus prompting her to go search for her sister who had been missing for six months. She had received a postcard from her sister but only got it recently so she knew her sister's whereabouts during that date. However, her sister went missing after that and with the case surrounding John's client, Kate figured that there might be a connection.

When she arrived at the O'Roukes household, she was greeted with a chaotic situation where locals who didn't like John defending for the serial killer had thrown a brick in his house, causing the police and neighbour to flock around the house. Through the confusion of thinking that Kate was the new babysitter for his children, she managed to calm the siblings down, gaining trust from Teddy who didn't trust strangers who got around his sister.

The story went on on how Kate won the hearts of Teddy and Maggie when she showed them how much she also loved her sister. Teddy even invited her to his soccer match as his father has seldom went there himself eversince his wife died.

Eventually, Kate won John's trust when she told him of his sister. However, John didn't want to betray his client eventhough Kate really wanted to know if he had ever encountered her sister. Discreetly, he DID ask and found some interesting facts that made him want to investigate. However, Kate beat him to it and he found her at the spot he wanted to go.

Bla.. bla.. bla.. I guess they fell for each other at this point haha.. but the novel didn't exactly centre around the love story, which is why I liked it :p

In the end, Maggie, while on a quest to find some wildflowers to cheer up her family came across this bracelet charm which Kate instantly recognized as Willa's. Kate went to rescue Willa on her own just as John realized who was behind Willa's missing AND a recent copycat murder that happened while Merril (thats the name of the serial killer) was in prison..

Hahah.. I'm outta practice writing book reviews here but I recommend this book to those who love the Hallmark type of stories. A nice read and I'm looking forward to searching for more books from this author.

Summer's Child

Title: Summer's Child
Author: Luann Rice

Wow! Its been a long time since I last wrote a book review. Must be more than half a year. There are quite a few books I've read eversince the last time I wrote a review but things have just been getting in the way for me to really sit down and write a proper review <--lousy excuse, huh?

Anyway, my stock of books have been running out, and in wanting to go read some books, I went to kak Yun's house for a fresh supply of books. Though there were not much new books, I became interested in a few old books she had so these books are what I'll be writing about here.

The first book I read was this book. The cover was so 'English' I just had to find out what the story was about haha..

The beginning of this story was about Mara Jameson, who was heavily pregnant and living with her grandmother after running away from an abusive husband. Her whereabouts were supposed to be hidden from her husband but one day, when she went out to water her plants, she was never seen again.

Her elderly grandmother mourned the loss of her grandchild years after it happened. And the police officer, Patrick Murphy, who was in charge of the investigation was still obsessed with the case eventhough he had already retired. He still visited the grandmother in hopes of finding a lead.

The next scene, we are brought to the coasts of Nova Scotia with Lily Malone and her daughter Rose. She had opened a giftshop or something in that town and was well liked by the locals as she had come there a few years earlier. It was almost home to her and everything was calm until the arrival of another mum-and-daughter.. Marissa and Jessica. Unknown to the residents of the small town, those are not their real names. They had changed everything in order to flee from her abusive husband.

It is in this town that both woman discovered that the world wasn't built entirely out of bad people, out to hurt them and their daughters. And Lily as the more experienced one, showed that there was still kindness in this world for Marissa and Jessica. Marissa in return, who had an education to be a nurse, helped Rose who had quiet a weak heart.

There was also a Dr Liam Neill, a scientist who loved children and loved to entertain them with his stories of the oceanlife. He was in love with Lily but she though her trust in people had been restored, she was still afraid to trust a man.

One day, Murphy heard of the stranger who had come to Nova Scotia and judging form the age of Jessica, he guessed that this woman might be the missing pregnant mother of years ago. He went to the town to question her and also met with Lily who helped to shelter Marissa from anymore hurt that might be inflicted from old wounds.

Well, the story was pleasant enough, not so much romance, much to my delight haha.. not that I don't like romantic stories. But stories about families appeal me even more..

It was really surprising to find out that Lily was actually the missing Mara, and not Marissa. Murphy just couldn't believe that she had been practically under his nose all the while. just a few miles away from her home.. and as he had once suspected, she didn't really go missing. rather ran away when both grandaughter and granma heard that her abusive husband was coming to get her. The reason her grandma was sad, wasn't because she had lost her grandchild but rather because they had promised not to contact each other in fear that her exhusband would find her.

Another twist was that, Marissa's abusive husband was actually Mara/Lily's husband too. They had been drawn to that town in spite because their husband had a picture in their homes that was similiar to this town.. and as Jessica had always wanted, she got a sister in Rose!

Well, there wasn't actually no romance at all. Lily finally let Liam into her life while Murphy somehow found a way to be in Marissa's life.. Hehe, alls well ends well, eh?

Good read though. I loved the book.. in fact, I'm thinking of borrowing the book again so you guys might wanna try this book out :)

When Dad Killed Mom

Title: When Dad Killed Mom
Author: Julius Lester

When first the book was in my hands, I was swamped with work and assignments. I was hesitating whether to start reading and when I could complete reading the book - with all the other factors crowding my mind. The title of the book had me hesitating as well, as I didn't want to be brought down with heavy reading that will take up my time and distract me from work and assignments.... However, against all these notions, I opened the book and glanced through the first page, second page.... fifth page... tenth page... and by then, I knew I couldn't put the book down. I had to continue or not sleep for the night wondering how the book went. Admittedly it did took me at least three nights, before I could finally complete the books (Ayman was very jealous of the book... it did took up my time from him! hehehehe)....

Hmmm.... The book is a well written book about the aftermath of a murder. At first the title did portray something gory, that I was afraid of, but I am glad I read the book. The book revolves around Jenna and Jeremy.

Jenna and Jeremy's father Eric has just killed their mother Rachel and they are left with to pick up the pieces of his heinous crime. The story is narrated alternately from both Jenna and Jeremy's point of view. It is really interesting to read from their perspectives and how they felt - betrayal, coming to terms of their mom's death, coping with each other, dealing with their volatile feelings towards their father...

The story follows the two children as they struggle to come to terms with the heart-breaking legacy their father has left behind. Not the closest of siblings, with Jenna having been a Daddy's girl, and Jeremy getting on better with their mother, the two siblings are forced to reconcile their differences in order to survive the future. Not easy when you both have the weight of the world on your young shoulders.

There were times, reading as someone on the outside, you feel anger at the way the children are manipulated by some of the adults... in order to get what they want from the children. There were also times when I felt like family life before the murder were taken lightly and a lot of unresolved issues were the keypoint for the cause of the murder. It reminded me back to the time before I got married. An aunt of mine passed a little something to prepare myself for married life. She said not to bring the squabbles of today to tomorrow. Live a new day with a new perspective. She also told me to settle anything that is troubling the mind on that day and not sleep on it, as then the uneasiness and pricks of anger will be nourished to something ugly.

Anyway, back to the story, apart from their confusing feelings and uncertainty, there is their father's trial to deal with, a traumatic experience for both youngsters, plus secrets that need to be told as well as old family conflicts that have to be dealt with. I won't tell you what secrets, as you'll have to find the book and read through it yourself.

I highly recommend this book and thanks to Zelureus for recommending the book. This is a sharply written book with good dialogue, some of it very grown-up in places. Jenna is a precocious 8th grader, whilst Jeremy is almost bird-like, fluttering uncertainly at first as he tries to sort out in his head what made his father kill his mother. Both children bounce off the adult characters, such as Karen their father's first wife, their grandparents and an assortment of friends and curious hangers-on.

A thought provoking book that deals with the concept of violent death in sensitive and none-condescending manner.

Pillars of the Earth

Title: The Pillars of The Earth
Author: Ken Follent

Kak Zura was the one who intorduced me to this book. She noticed the bookworm in me and recommended this book as it was one of her favourite books while she was pursuing her PhD in the UK. I was looking forward to read the book, however, when the book finally arrived here, I went a bit 'off' it when I realized it was 1076 pages long with fonts as small as size 6 (I presume!). But since kak Zura was excited about the book, I just took it back home.

I've started reading it about 5 times (and stopped not halfway, but one-tenth way is more like it) before I really sat down and read it. Tu pun sebab I saw the book in kak Zai's collection so it sorta made me think that maybe there is something more in the book than I assumed.

The book doesn't really have any main characters but it revolves around Tom Builder and his family, Prior Philip and his monastry as well as William whateverhisnameis and Aliena, the Baron's daughter. The story goes with a span of 51 years from 1123 to 1174.

Now, the story is way too long for me to make a decent review of it but once I got the hang of the story, I suprised myself when I found it hard to stop reading it (and to think that I thought the book was boring).

If I were to chose a main character, I might say its the cathedral. This is because the story started when the cathedral was just a dream and continued throughout the construction of it, with two master builders taking lead in the construction, namely Tom Builder (who died halfway o the book) and Jack Jackson (who was Tom's stepson as well as 'scholar' and who took over the construction of the cathedral). From just a simple but large cathedral (Tom's idea) to a more beautiful one (modified by Jack). Jack even got married in the cathdral itself.

The story deals with architecture and structural engineering (which no wonder appeals to me! Tu dalam tak suka belajar structure dulu tu.. and its not the boring details which are usually heard in my class but it talks about the wonders of buildings.. and the architect in Baizurah might appreciate this book!)) which gives a glimpse of how all these fields started once upon a time ago. One thing I like about western writers is that they deal with the FACTS (compared to Malay, no offense here coz I'm Malay too, yang suka tulis facts ntahapahapa) so eventhough this book is loosely based on a church and christianity, it admits the fact that Muslims were not only the pioneers, but also the best in architecture, maths and engineering :-)

And to those who hate books mixed up with facts, this IS a novel so those facts are only to make it more interesting. The book still revolves around life and death, love and hate, success and failure as well as everything in between.

What I'd like to comment is on the writers ability to make you visually 'watch' the story in your head. I could picture Jack (one of the charcters) growing up from a peculiar looking child, to a strikingly handsome builder. I could feel the joy and frustrations of Prior Philip and his ambition for a cathedral dedicated to his people. I could somehow understand the pain Tom Builder felt when he had to hide the fact that he was little Jonathans father. I could sense the pain Lady Aliena felt when she had to stand up from her fall at the hands of William. In fact, you'd feel a deep connection with all the characters, you'd think you've known them all your life.. no wonder kak Zura and kak Zai both praised this book!

The book is still in my hands now, but I just don't know HOW to write a review outta it as it has so many high points in it. The only solution I can give is to ask you guys to go and grab a copy.. if you can! I don't think its sold in the stores anymore as its quite an old book.. but maybe if you go to Chowrasta or Novel Hut, you might just stumble on the book. So if you do, buy me one copy, will ya!

The Wedding

Title: The Wedding
Author: Nicholas Sparks

"Sparks knows how to tug at the reader's heartstring"
-Chicago Sun-Times

"Excellent.. After reading this book you really will want to convey your feelings to someone you care about before its too late!"
-BestsellersWorld.com

"Sure to leave you breathless.. In this stunning follow-up to The Notebook, readers new and old will remember the joy of falling in love and the challenges of staying in love"
-RoundTableReviews.com

"The Wedding left me with a smile on my face. The ending suprised me, and left my heart aflutter. this is a book that will forever have a spot on my bookshelf"
-TheRomanceReadersConnection.com

Haha.. okay, enough about the reviews from 'outside'! I orignally wanted to put down only three reviews but the last one surely hit the spot for me, so I was 'obliged' to throw in that one too.. :-) What can I say, the story really DID leave a smile on my face that continued till I fell asleep that night, in fact, I'm positively sure I slept smiling <-- okay, this might be a bit exaggerating!

I've never really been interested in Sparks books as I find the movies (A Walk to Remember and The Notebook) quite ordinary, though pleasantly sweet. But I guess I forgot one thing, those story are realistic stories that could happen to anyone. I mean, most big-named authors write love stories for the wealthy; tycoons, earls, dukes.. okay la, at least ONE half of the couple must be indecently rich while the other one might be a bit poor or misfortunate or something! As if ordinary people, like you and me, don't really experience romantic love.

Well, back to Sparks! A Walk to Remember caught my eye one day at a book store, and the book-addict in me wanted to add it to my collection. However, the avid-reader me found this book quite different from the movie. Not really vastly different, but the book made the movie seem so much more real and I really understood the movie after that. If at first I thought it was just pleasantly sweet, after reading the book, I realized it was really wonderful <-- poor choice of words here!

I wanted to sample his other works too, so when I came across his books at a book fair, I immediately sat down to chose between a wide range of titles he had written. At first, I wanted to buy The Notebook since I already seen the movie and found it quite touching. On second thought, I already knew the story was beautiful, though quite slow for my liking in the movie. So I decided to try another book and came across The Wedding. With such a simple title, I was suprised to read the reviews, though as all of us know, reviews CAN be misleading!

It took a long time for me to start reading this book, what with my thesis and piling work but a few days ago, I managed to get hold of this book and start reading it. And to tell you the truth, I didn't want to put it down!

Its a story of old folks love really. About a man, Wilson, who was suddenly afraid that his wife, Jane, had fallen out of love with him, after 30 years of marriage, when he was still as much in love with her as the day the took her as his wife. The starting point was when he forgot their 29th anniversary. Since he had never been the romantic one (they even got married at the registrars office je pun), he didn't really care at first, hoping that in buying an expensive piece of jewellery would make his wife forgive him. But a few days later, he realized how hurt his wife had really felt and this made him vow to give her the best 30th anniversary ever.

In his plan, he includes all their children who were suprised at the change in their father, his father in law (Noah in The Notebook) and their mutual friends as well as their extended family. He even took a week off to make sure he was at home on their anniversary. However, a week before their anniversary, their daughter came home with news that she was getting married and she had planned to get hitched on her parents wedding anniversary. (And I thought THE WEDDING was for the old folks when I first read the synopsis, which turned out to be someone elses.. or so I thought.. hmmmmm..)

After that came a whirlwind of activities to get ready for the wedding though clearly, Jane was the most excited since she wanted her daughter to have a much better wedding than she had. And she made it clear to Wilson that a wedding is a day a woman would one day look back and wants to be happy about it. She doesn't want her daughter to regret the day of her marriage. It goes without saying of how much Jane felt her wedding day wasn't what she had dreamt of.

Anyway, the story is alternated between the preparations of the wedding, to Wilson's talks with his father-in-law (which I really liked) and about him reminiscing the days he and Jane first met and how their relationship blossomed!

I stayed up till 2.30am reading this book and when I finally turned the last page, my face had this dreamy look on it with a smile that didn't seem to want to go away! I never expected this book to have this effect on me, but it did.. and I'm glad to have a dose of a love story for us ordinary people!

Earth's Children series - The Valley of the Horses

Title : The Valley of Horses (Earth's Children)
Author: Jean M Auel

Okay, since there has not been any review, I thought I'd write about the book that I'm rereading again... At least, let's get the blog moving again people!

Anyway, the book is the second series in Jean M Auel's Earth's Children series. A continuance from the Clan of the Cave Bear, the Valley of the Horses is an intesting story of the infancy of civilization. It's more of an adult epic, rather than the romantic novels that I love reading. This has a historical sense of the civilization during the Ice Age period.

This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla (the main character of the story), now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman.

Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. Im not much of an anthropologists, but the description of Ayla kinda reminds me of viking people... tall and fair. May be waaaayyy off base but just a thought.

Anyway, in the story she travels to find the others and stumbles across a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, where she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead.

Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. It's interesting to read the in-depth description given by the author of the way of living from olden times. How they manage to do somthing we take for granted now with technology and how simple needs were then. It's also interesting to note the importance of women that was given by the people, yet not so acknowledge by the flatheads (not nice, but that's the name mentioned in the book. I think they are referring to the neanderthals).

Ayla finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship.

One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.

The author manages to handle these two seperate story strands with ease and switching between them never is never awkward. Eventually the stories intertwine and become one as Ayla finally comes face to face with one of her own kind.

As rich in detail as the first book in the series this book is an absorbing read and one that is difficult to put down. I highly recommended this to those who wants to read the richness of life and sexuality, appreciation of civilization and companionship of human and its humanity.

ERAGON

Title: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini

I saw this book in MPH, Midvalley, while running around after my son. The cover of the book caught my attention - with a huge picture of a BLUE dragon... I love the cover... it proved to be a good conversation material between Ayman and myself! :)

Anyway, almost similar to the LOTR, Eragon is apparently the first series. I saw the sequel of Eragon, Eldest (which featured a RED dragon), but didn't get that copy yet, as it is still expensive. MYR 79.90 maaa!!! isk isk isk...

Eragon, the first novel in the Inheritance Trilogy, is a story about a farm boy who finds a dazzling sapphire-blue stone which, as it is revealed later, is in fact an egg that hatches a blue-scaled dragon. The dragon, Saphira (duh!! wut else??!), establishes an unbreakable bond with the young man who learns that he is the only dragon-rider to have come into existence in many years. Many of the dragon-rider are either dead, hiding from the evil king cum dragon-rider, Galbatorix (whose names does not make me shiver with fright... rather reminds me of a robotic king. Kinda like from Sonic the Hedgehog!)

Eragon will have to choose whether to resist the evil king/dragon-rider Galbatorix or surrender and join him. With his home destroyed and his uncle murdered by the Ra’zac (evil dragon hunters employed by Galbatorix) Eragon sets out on a journey with his mentor, Brom, to learn the dragon riding craft and enact his revenge on the Ra’zac. In essence, Eragon has all the traditional ingredients that make a fantasy novel enjoyable.

While Eragon is a very entertaining story, Paolini’s writing is at times a little immature. I mean come on, he wrote this story when he was at the age of fifteen and published it through Knopf at age nineteen. However, he does have a gift storytelling. You'll notice though that Paolini borrows a bit obviously from the authors that inspire him: For example, his mimicry of Tolkien’s proper names (“Mithrim,” “Farthen-Dur,” “Beor Mountains,” and “Urgals”) is a bit distracting at times.

The novel’s pace is quick and exciting throughout most of the book. Packed with action and magic, Eragon is a fun read. The only lag was the 40 page, desperate last-leg of Eragon’s journey. Not a lot actually happens during this time with the exception of the group worrying about their situation, and this has the unfortunate effect of turning the reader into critic. However my suspension of disbelief was restored once the travelers reached the Varden and new adventures ensued.

Paolini shines at creating interesting characters without a great deal of depth. In particular, Eragon is rather flat, vacillating between being heroic, cocky, reckless, and petulant - typical boyhood material. Saphira, Murtagh, Solembum, and Arya yield the promise of further development, and hopefully their characters will reveal more complexity in the later novels of the trilogy.

______________________________________________________

Eragon to me is a good novel. Deep, yeah... but not too deep. Fun and exciting at parts... and go grab a copy!! :P

Carrie

Title : Carrie
Author: Stephen King

Like I said, I'm not a fan of Stephen King, but still, I have a lot of his books at home so I thought of reviewing this book in our seemingly quiet page now.

Carrie is one of King's most popular books. If I'm not mistaken, it has been adapted into a film a few years back, but I've never seen it though. What made me interested in this book is because, most of King's books are compared to Carrie, putting this book on a high pedestal so naturally, the book enthusiast in me set off to find it.

Suprisingly, its not a very thick book, just around 250 pages. You could finish the book in one sitting. I initially thought the book would be full of horror and thrills but seems like I'm mistaken. This is really one of King's more relaxing books which deals more with psychology.. well, with a bit of horror thrown in jugak la!

It revolves around Carrie White, a girl with extraordinary telekinetic powers. You might imagine a haughty high and mighty girl, but Carrie is more like a timid mouse. She was born in a family so obsessed with religion that her father believed sex was a total dirty sin, even among husbands and wives. After he married Carrie's mother, they slept together for the first time and then beat themselves up to repent on their so-called sin. The result was Carrie so her mother believed she was the spawn of the devil since she was born from a dirty sin, thus, her mother hated her from birth.

She was always punished for the smallest mistake with her mother's favourite punishment:locking her in the cupboard without food and water for days. She never knew the love of a mother and father (her father died or something, I think..) and this might have contributed to her low self esteem. She always wore ugly clothes which her mother thought was best for her, making her the butt of jokes at school.

One day, while watching the daughter of her neighbour sun bathing (she was suprised to see someone expose so much skin when her mother said only the devil did that), her mother suddenly carried her inside while hurtling insults to their neighbour. Somehow, that was the turning point. Not being able to be like other people was one thing, but humiliating Carrie when she just wanted friends was another. Her anger somehow triggered the telekinetic powers she had but this just made her mother believe that Carrie was in fact, from the devil's spawn.

One day, when she was sixteen, she got her first period. Since her mother never told her anything, she thought she was dying and she was taunted by the girls. This really made a scene. However, one of the girls, Sue Snell, who really felt guilty about the whole tampon-throwing thing proceeded to apologize and tried to be Carrie's friend. Somehow, she got the idea to have her boyfirend, Tommy Ross, ask Carrie to the senior prom <--apa la punya idea! Still, she did it with good intentions!

However, another girl, Chris kot nama dia, decided to crash the prom (she wasn't allowed to go to the prom coz she didn't admit to taunting Carrie). Carrie, who at first was skeptical, was really enjoying the prom at this moment (after fighting with her mom about the 'sinful prom event' and making her own dress) was the target. However, in a turn ogf events, the prank somehow backfired and killed Tommy while Carried was drenched in pigs blood.

O-oh.. it seems like I'm wrinting my own long version of Carrie here, and it doesn't sound as interesting haha..

So to cut the story short, Carrie was so confused and frustrated that for a while, she believed her mother so she decided in commiting suicide, BUT she wanted to bring along the whole town with her. With her super telekinetic powers, she managed to destroy half the town, killing more than half of the other innocent seniors.

The chalpters in this books are alternated between the past and the present. The past of when this incident happened, and the present where experts are still trying to understand the telekinetic powers, by interviewing the surviving teachers and students.

Hahah.. I dunno why my review is in such a mess. I didn't have high views of this book really but what I've written is worse.

Really, just borrow my copy. Its simply entertaining though no thrilling moments here but, I'd read it again!

The Broker

Title : The Broker
Author : John Grisham

The narrative started in January 1996, with 3 young Pakistani computer scientist -Fazal, Safi and Farooq- hired by the Pakistani military to locate, access and monitor the surveillance system of a new Indian spy satellite hovering 300 miles above the Pakistani ground.

In just a short time, they were able to determine it to be just another one of the ordinary surveillance system not unlike their own, that has been doing nothing more than snapping photographs of unimportant stuff to be broadcasted to the Indian government.

However, during the course of their work, they accidentally stumbled across another suspicious surveillance system unlike any they've seen so far. It was of the best technology the world have yet to see. After secretly tapping into the system, they were able to locate the network of 9 satellites linking to one another, which made up the most sophisticated surveillance system they've ever come across- code-named as Neptune. Being the computer whiz they were, the 3 young Pakistanis were soon able not only to monitor it's activities but also to manipulate the system and jammed the rest of the applications related to it. Of course, these were done by them writing a new home-brewed software that take total control of the network of the surveillance system. The software were code-named JAM.

After silently contemplating what they could do and make with the newly developed software, Fazal and Safi got greedy and wanted to make money by selling it to the highest bidder. Farooq wanted nothing to do with it, suggesting that they should just hand it over to the military and wash their hands off it before trouble starts. But the other two wouldn't hear any of it. A bitter fight erupted. Thus, began their fatal venture into the world of the greedy...

In September 1998, both of them travelled to Washington and from there they met with The Broker (Joel Backman) who was known as the man who could open any doors in Washington.
He was just the right man to help them market JAM to the various interested government.

Eventually, after much aggravation, a deal was struck with the Saudi government. The Saudi paid a transaction fee of a million upfront, and the rest of the $100 million will be wired to their newly opened account in Zurich.

Then all hell break loose.

The feds attacked with warrants, indictments, investigations and the Saudis got spooked. Some people got murdered inthe process. Joel himself fled to teh safety of federal prison, leaving behind some very angry people with serious grudges.

However, after spending only a short 6 months hidden away i federal prison, he suddenly found himself being hauled away outta prison by a controversial presidential last-minute pardon. What very few people know is that the pardon was granted only after the president received enormous pressure from the CIA, due to some unknown reason.

Minutes after the pardon, Backman was quietly smuggled out of the country to Italy, living under new name, new identity and a new life. What he didn't know was that the CIA has plan to leak his whereabout to the people holding grudged against him- the Israelis, the Saudis, the Russians and the Chinese. Then CIA will do what it does best, sit back and watch. The question they needed answered is who will kill him in order to solve the mystery of the Neptune and JAM.

Well, basically that's what the stroy is all about. As Grisham's die-hard fan, i still gotta admit that it's just not as interesting as his earlier writings. Not really a page-turner, this one. I guess i was still hoping for some courtroom brawl to spice up the story (that's what he's good at actually, the courtroom scene ). But still it made a good leisure read in bed over the weekend.

As for the rating, i'd give it 5 out of 10. And that's coming from a Grisham's die-hard fan. So...hmmm, go figure.

Are You Afraid of The Dark

Title : Are you afraid of the Dark
Author: Sidney Sheldon

Okay.. I know some of you might be thinking, "Why on earth has she chosen to review this book?" Haha, I know, somehow, Sidney Sheldon has made a name for himself for his predictable outcomes. All his books (nearly all la..) are based around women, sometimes je men. About their lives and how their lives change after 'something' happens. Don't forget his personal touch of conspirations and government secrets and voila! You get a classic Sidney Sheldon book.

Not that his books aren't interesting. I especially like 'the Rage of Angels' and have a tattered copy at home, but, well, all his other books are just typical, right? However, I seem to have this attachment to him, somehow. Maybe its because his book was the first adult fiction I read (when I was in primary school, mind you!). Haha, still remember how shocked I was to learn that adult scenes are permissible to be written on paper. Mama was so suprised seeing me with that book (The Other Side of Midnight, I think), that she must've panicked when she took the book away from me and told me that this book is not suitable for my age. C'mon la, I found the book on the floor in our library anyway, and she DOES know that I'll read anything I get my hands on! Heheh.. so long ago lah..

Anyway, this book, like his previous books, revolves around two newly widowed woman whose life was so different, they never guessed they had this connection between them. Their husbands died in two separate murders that looked like suicide, leaving them wondering if they had done anything that lead to the suicidal feeling their seemingly normal husbands' had.

Fate bought them together to finally realize that was a bigger story behind all that had happened. Mostly the book was about how they ran away from the clutches of the 'bad guys', with a lot of luck on their side la since the 'enemy' is someone very 'huge' in the industry. I mean, ade je cara dia to find those women, and ade je cara for the women to barely escape.

One thing I like about the book is the scientific facts that are described in such a simple way, you could really understand it. Sebabnya, some books just ramble on nonsense that we ourselves can see as fake, betul tak? But I guess, thats about that la.. the other things in the book are mostly expected (So I DO wonder why they call him the Master of The Unexpected?)

Even in the end, the widows were saved by, lets say, luck! It wasn't really their own effort that saved them in the end, rather that a stroke of luck of something that happened on the 'bad guys' side. Quite frustrating since most of the book was dedicated in showing how smart and quick acting these women were so why don't let them get the spot light jugak in the end?

Anyway, don't buy it, unless you're a Sidney Sheldon fan.. If you want to read it, just borrow my copy.

Rating: Hmm.. how about 2 stars and a half?

Digital Fortress

Title : Digital Fortress
Author: Dan Brown

This is one book I'd like for keeps (Hehe, don't worry Pojie, I'm NOT taking your book away)

The differance in this book and other Dan Brown books I've read is that here, we are faced with modern day puzzles. Ok.. what I meant to say is that, In da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, we are confronted by puzzles from the arts side, and I mean ancient arts here (errr, not REALLY ancient, but not our modern day types here) like centuries-old paintings and sculptures. but in Digital Fortress, we came face to face with the digital era type codes, something we're more familiar with. It was easier to try to break the code when you can imagine it, rather than trying to remember how did 'The Last Supper' or 'Monalisa' look like. Err, I take that back, not 'easier' but more interesting! I mean.. arggghhh, I'm lost for words here! Writer's block, I guess..

Anyway, once again Dan Brown chooses a lady as the main star here. See, the women of the world are not THAT low in the eyes of some men. Susan Fletcher is the head cryptographer in the National Security Agency where nearly all coded messages that are sent here don't stand a chance to stay crypted. They have developed this invincible code-breaker machine that breaks thousands of codes everyday. However, one day, their normal routine changed. Apparantly, they found a crypted message that the machine couldn't decipher.

Things got worse when they realized this coded message was really sent as a threat to the NSA for some wrong doings they might have done early on and it was up to Susan to find out what was really happening. She had loved working with the NSA, being attracted to coded messages eversince she was small, so she fought hard to save this agency. When she realized the life of her fiancee was suddenly also at stake, it just drove her to double her efforts in breaking the code that was destroying the NSA.

Throughout the book, she learnt a lot about betrayal and how trust is a vulnerable thing to look after. Human greed tops it all off, shoving aside loyalty towards the agency and country. When the truth finally emerges, realizing they had trusted the wrong person who staged a murder for his own need, it changed the woman inside her, but also made her stronger.

This book shows that sometimes, the most complicated problems have the most simplest (dah 'most', 'simplest' plak lagi..!) solution. Haha, you gotto read it yourself to find out what I mean.. but really, I enjoyed this book thoroughly!

One thing though, I still can't decipher this coded message at the end of the book.. any help here?

128-10-93-85-10-128-98-112-6-6-25-126-39-1-68-78

Haha.. ok, ok.. my review here is a bit lame. I was supposed to do this review right after I read the book but I couldn't find the time so most juicy parts I wanted to share are now a blur in my head. But seriously, if you like a relaxing book that could still tease your mind, go grab this one! Its an all-in-one type of book that I'd recommand to anyone :)

Cheasapeake Blue - The Quinn Saga

Title: Cheasapeake Blue
Author: Nora Roberts

The amazing Quinn family is back!

Seth, the youngest Quinn, is home for the first time in years. An acclaimed painter, who is blessed with a gift he can't quite explain, Seth is as handsome and dynamic as the other Quinns. He comes home to find things in St. Chris much the same, with the exception of lovely Dru Whitcomb-Banks, a new shopkeeper in town. Dru is not what Seth expected and he soon finds himself drawn to her, despite his unsavory roots. She's carrying quite a bit of baggage herself, but finds that she's falling for him just the same.

Seth as pictured by Nora is a long haired artist, with long, lean, sinewy frame that complements with Dru's elfish-like beauty. With hair that is cropped short, she reminds me of Angelina Jolie in the Hackers. I love that kind of hair style! :P

Nora Roberts had already built a compelling family that intrigued readers through the first of the Chesapeake Bay saga, Sea Swept, Rising Tides and Inner Harbor. This book is in response to overwhelming reader demands (if you see the front page of the book, she dedicates the book to "Every reader who ever asked, "When are you going to write Seth's story?") she writes Seth to be as dreamy and decidedly alpha as the other Quinn men. Dru is a perfect match for Seth, strong willed and determined and also a bit of a lost soul. The combined traits make the couple vibrant and interesting. On top of that, you get to revisit your favorite characters from the first three books and find out what's become of them and their children. Nora's greatest gift is her ability to write a family that keeps the reader's attention.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to both first time, or habitual Noraholics! If this is your first Nora book, I suggest that you read the first three in the saga before reading Chesapeake Blue. You'll find your enjoyment of the story even greater having met the secondary characters before.

Nora's done it again!

p.s I have been reading a few on the shelf for a while romance novels. Didn't have much time to go out and buy a new book except for The Wives of Bath. Will definately go back to Populat soon... muahahahahaha!!!! Do enjoy.... the type of book that does not need to think but enjoy as majalah picisan! :P

The Wives of Bath

Title: The Wives of Bath

Author: Wendy Holden

It was finally a weekend whereby I could breathe easily. I took several days leave from work and spent most of it with my son and family... especially since Syuhada is flying off to Dublin, this month, Ayman finally out from the hospital and yeah.. work not so hectic... I went to Popular, to browse... Book hunting too as well! It's been soooooo long since I've reade a good book (and also did my review) that I thought it was past due for me to do my review...

The title itself, The Wives of Bath, grabbed my attention.... plus also the fact that Ayman was contentedly sleeping in his stroller, I have the chance to really browse through without worry that he might topple books or run through stacks of it in the store...

I guess the charm of the book itself was because it is about first time parents, and duh! I immediately clicked with the topic... hahahaha, yet the story to me would intrigue even you guys! :P

The story revolves around two couples - Hugo and Amanda, and Jake and Alice. In a strange twist (it always happens only in storybook!), Amanda and Alice, works in the same place - Styles magazine in New York. Amanda a tabloid journalist (these are the people who gives bad name to the profession of journalism - haha) and Alice is the legal advisor in Intercorp - the company that owns Style magazine. Alice is the person who saves Amanda's butt in several occasions...

Anyway, an article written by Amanda finally brought her in a pot of boiling lava, that Alice was finally tired of saving her ass. Alice during that time was not yet married and she didn't have a significant other as well... To cut a long story short, she met someone named Jake at her cousins wedding and click off. Jake, being a person who was very very into rubbish and recycling seemed very interesting to a legal advisor who is suddenly tired of life and wants a child and a new life.

Amanda was persuaded to quit her job and on her way back to London (in the economy class section of course!), while pissing mad at the company and telling herself that it's their loss, she was browsing through the glossy magazines and in a way, convinced herself that she is ready to move into the next step - have a child. Of course that is the next course of action to take since EVERYONE who is EVERYONE is pregnant of has children! WHy else would there be Guess Kids, those cute little baby paraphernelias that only designers would produce for top celebrities!

Amanda loves Hugo and Alice loves Jake - or so we are led to believe. All are in the throes of first parenthood, linked by birthing classes and a posh maternity center, the Cavendish, where moms rest in four-poster beds while dads enjoy whiskey at the well-appointed bar. Though planning a birth at home (“on a shower curtain”) Alice has Rosa at the Cavendish after an emergency C-section, and Amanda would have expected no less than the grand sweep of Cavendish services for her little Theo. But Amanda really knows nothing about babies and cares less, and quickly escapes to her career as a high-powered magazine writer, leaving Hugo to blunder through fatherhood, losing his job in the process of trying to do right by his son.

To figure out such basics as how to change a nappie, he consults the lonely Alice, whose husband is gradually drifting into fanaticism as publisher of a recycling rag called Get Trashed!. The brush strokes are broad as we see Hugo boldly rescuing Rosa’s beloved teddy bear and winning Alice’s heart, and Amanda striking out on a mad junket landing her up in the arms of a “fantastic guy called Rick.” Jake, who’s been a pill throughout, forcing Rosa to eat pureed veggies grown in human manure, finds out he’s in love with a fantastic guy, too, and things come full circle, with Hugo and Alice back at the birthing center working on a sibling for Rosa and the winsome Theo.

Along the way there are many reasons to laugh, as Alice defends her beloved Jake despite his domineering ways (the Christmas gifts wrapped in toilet paper, the feast of Brussels sprouts served in what was once the glass door panel of a clothes washing machine, the wormery in the garden). Amanda is wicked as the career non-Mom who almost forgets her son’s name, and then there’s Laura, the sexy siren who tries to seduce Hugo and winds up saving him from Amanda’s wrath. Holden is fast with a bon mot and great at naming things: Theo’s childcare center, Chicklets; Hugo’s real estate firm, Dunn and Dustard; and Jake and Alice’s love nest, The Old Morgue (because it once was one).

If you love Brit humor as I do and like it laid on thick as old paint, you’ll crease up as you follow the hilarious doings of The Wives of Bath.