2013 BOOK CHALLENGE 6/35: SOMETHING BLUE

I know I always say that time flies sooo fast so forgive me if I'm going to say it again- time flies so frickin' fast. Why? Because it's been two years since I read Something Borrowed, the prequel to Something Blue. I really enjoyed Something Borrowed but I hated Darcy so I never really was interested in reading about her side of the story. But then I got into Goodreads and read all the good feedback, so here I am delighted & surprised with my latest read.

Something Blue was related from Darcy's point of view and even if it was, she still was hateable. Weird cos when you're telling things from your perspective, you somehow try to get the people on your side but with Darcy, it just doesn't has the same effect. Actually, you hate her more for being so sure of herself, for being proud of her shallowness and she actually reminds me of someone I hate. Ha. So when her world came crumbling down, there's a sense of schadenfreude there. Even if what Rachel & Dex did to her was despicable, I felt that she deserved that. After all, what goes around comes around, ya? And I really, really feel that Rachel had first dibs on Dex.

See, I really dislike Darcy that I feel that she doesn't deserve Ethan. Oh well, she did after all went through metanoia which makes her deserve Ethan even when I feel he is too nice for her. Speaking of Ethan, I really like him. While I was still reading Something Borrowed and didn't know yet how the book will end, I was rooting for Ethan and Rachel to end up together.

Never had I expected that Darcy and Ethan would happen. Never. From what I remember, Ethan didn't like her. Even if they were childhood friends, Ethan's loyalty's with Rachel and it seemed that he was actually annoyed with Darcy. So maybe his annoyance was actually bitterness, yes?

It was a fun and feel-good read. Though this doesn't change the way I feel about Darcy.

It's already February tomorrow (time flies! :P) and I'm having this little theme for books I will read in the month of loooove~ will read books with the word "love" in the title. Yeeha. Ang cheesy, no?

DOWN TIME

I haven't been in the best of moods these days. Actually, I feel the 'hostile' me is back. I don't like it one bit because it is exhausting!!! I feel lethargic (AGAIN). I am not happy. Sige na nga, I'm blaming it on the hormones.

So I found this new series that is kinda floating my boat nowadays and I do a little research on it and I find out that it's been canceled. CANCELED!!! Half -season. Not even full. And I think it deserves a full season, at the very least. I thought it was interesting enough to keep me awake until 4 in the morning. This is devastating. Anyway, the series I'm referring to is Emily Owens, MD. FYI. This is just too tragic for me. So how else will be able to look at this face???

Tragic. I guess me and my favorite series are star-crossed lovers... never meant to be together. Me and Chuck. Me and Emily Owens MD. Too tragic. Just two episodes left. How else can they give me a decent ending with just two episodes left? I guess Emily just ends up with Micah then? This series deserves a full season, hell, even a second season, more than Glee!

2013 BOOK CHALLENGE 5/35: LOCK & KEY

Lock and Key
Sarah Dessen

When 17-year-old Ruby's mom didn't come, she tried to make it on her own until one day, her landlords found out she's been living alone. She thought she was doing just fine, winging things out perfectly so there's no need to really put her in social services custody or worse, under her sister Cora's care.

Ruby felt Cora abandoned them- took off to college and never been heard from ever again. So when Cora and Jamie took her under their wing, she didn't feel welcome at all. She just wanted to get out of their ginormous house and that's what she has planned to do on her very first night. Ruby's escape failed but as they say, all things happen for a reason because the night of Ruby's escape, she met Nate- the boy who made her give things a chance.

If you come to think about it, Ruby was surrounded by good people- Cora, Jamie & Nate. She has been pushing these people away, shutting them out but they still try anyway. She wanted to go back to her old life, thinking she doesn't belong to this fancy schmancy neighborhood, in this fancy schmancy school. She calls her friends back at home but they seem to be always unavailable. So when Ruby felt that these people weren't really noticing her absence, she gave her new home a try.

Teen Book with the Most Real Teen Problem

     Out of all YA books I've read, I feel Ruby has the most legit reason to feel all depressed and rebellious. I mean, her issues were understandable. She was abandoned by her mother and she thought her sister abandoned her, too. And now that she's at Perkins Day, she tries to reconnect with her friends from back home, Peyton and Marshall, but they too have betrayed her. Her so-called friends clearly abandoned her during a time she needed them the most. I guess the only glue holding them together was pot. Harhar. So here's a lesson for us- Never expect real friendships from potheads.
 
I am not dissing other teenage problems but in this book, things are happening to her and she's only reacting to them. She's not overthinking things like Will this boy like me? (as Edie in French Kiss) or Gahd, who are these people? I'm so above skateboarding (or something like that. I forget) (as Auden in Along for the Ride). But ya, I get it that everyone's dealing with their own problems and we can't tell that theirs don't matter. It's just that, in my opinion, Ruby's problems are valid.

Dessen Could Have Used Prettier Names

Ruby. Cora. No offense to all the Ruby's and Cora's but I'm not a fan of these names. They sound so ordinary. Or maybe because I know this person named Cora and I don't really like her so I associate my dislike for the person with the name. But this is fiction... you could name your characters pretty names so why go with Ruby and Cora? Just sayin'

Jamie (Zuckerberg)

Jamie reminds me of a nice Mark Zuckerberg. I'm not saying that Zuckerberg is not nice because my opinion of him is only based on The Social Network. Haha. Jamie's my favorite character in the book. He's nice. Actually, too nice that you'd think what's the catch? I guess the catch is that when he tries to help you, you don't reciprocate it by lying and doing pot.

Close to Home 

In the book, there's this character I can relate to the most- Harriet. When she said, "I'm a one-woman operation. To my detriment, at times," and the fact that December is her busiest month- THAT'S SO ME. I SO CAN RELATE. Well, minus the nerves. I guess a little of the nerves and a little bit of the paranoia but not that extreme :P


So yes, I liked this book. Better than Along for the Ride, imho. I'm just not a fan of brooding boys. I like 'em like Nate, always up and at 'em. So even if Nate doesn't have his own Minor Heading, I like this fictional boy. Too good to be true (hmm, actually, he IS a fictional character). Anyhoo, going back to the book- I liked it. It's teenybopper and a little serious but not too pa-cute and not too serious. I hope you get what I mean, haha. Sorry I'm naturally incoherent and bad at making reviews (that is why I call them non-reviews).

It's never something huge that changes everything, but instead

the tiniest of details, irrevocably tweaking the balance

of the universe while you're busy focusing on the 

big picture.

HART OF DIXIE 02X12: ISLANDS IN THE STREAM

I have so much backlogs when it comes to my series (non)reviews and inasmuch as I would love to do them, especially with Hart of Dixie, I think it's practical that I don't. Instead, let us focus on the here & now. And now is already the 12th episode- we're halfway through! Hmm, not really sure if I'm happy or sad about that fact.

George's parents came for a surprise visit; but, George isn't the only one surprised. They found out George is living in a boathouse and dating Tansy. If they didn't like Lemon for George, just imagine how much they'd be against Tansy (they like Zoe!). And so George's mother schemed this little entrapment plan, which actually made it clear that everyone's (and by everyone, I mean George & Tansy and Wade & Zoe) with whom they should be. No more room for insecurities for Tansy and Wade.

In this love triangle that was Wade-Zoe-George, I was vying for Z and G. That was before and now I feel so shallow for dumping George's ass because I'm totally going for Wade now all because George got fat. He used to be really dapper in his business suit but now he's like busting out of his plain, long-sleeved tees. Well not only that- I see how Wade really adores Zoe and I get all kilig whenever I see them together. But we all know fully well that all this harmonious coupling now won't last for too long and I'm dying to find out how :P

And what else is happening in Bluebell? Brick is dating Shelby who is half is age. Lemon tries to find out who this gold-digging bimbo is.

At first she suspected it was Annabeth but after she "busted" them, Brick comes clean to Lemon that he is dating Shelby. And speaking of Annabeth, she comes across this English bloke whose accent has sort of attracted her to him- something about that "deep in her soul she has always believed that she would meet a dashing Englishman right out of a Jane Austen novel." Only the Englishman wasn't actually English but an American from Alabama with Foreign Accent Syndrome; so when the accent came off, so did Annabeth's admiration for the chap.

I like Annabeth. I didn't like her initially but she sort of grew on me. Remember that episode when she suddenly had this admiration for Lavon, but Lemon came clean to her that she has dibs on him (and still, sort of, have feelings for him)? Well, that pretty much sent AB the message that Lavon is off-limits. But what if the mayor likes AB?

After saving AB from the British Deception, he all of a sudden turned all-googly eyed on her which is so not good. So will Lavon pursue this? And if ever Lavon does, will AB respond to it in a manner that will infuriate the citrus fruit? Gahd, that sounds like a bad translation from a bootlegged DVD cover made in China. But anyhoo, the plot thickens...

Can't wait for next week's episode.

ALL I NEED IN THIS LIFE OF SIN IS ME & (ez)TV

So now I have time to watch all the TV series I want. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, actually. You see, I kinda like having my hands full with orders because it means I am not sitting on fat lard ass and I am productive and productivity translates to moolah, but rest is also good.

Anyway, I don't think I can catch up with Hart of Dixie episode (non)reviews anymore. The good news is I haven't gotten to watching the remaining Gossip Girl episodes just yet so that means I can still do my (non)reviews on them. But the sad part is I already know who Gossip Girl is even though I haven't seen the final episodes yet. No thanks to my cousin who accidentally spilled the beans. Boo!

I don't usually post about my 20-minute series but this week's Suburgatory episode is just too funny. Tessa's supposed to have all her four wisdom teeth taken out, to which heavily anesthetized Tessa refers to as the Wisdom Teeth Conspiracy Thing. Ha Ha.

What is the one thing that we have that they don't? Teeth. Have you ever seen an alien with teeth?
- Well, the alien in the movie Alien had huge teeth.
I'm talking about real aliens, not Hollywood aliens. They're here for our teeth.

What's this?!? You've captured their souls?!

Seriously, the actress who plays Tessa's good. And oh, this scene-

is a reference to Claire Danes's breakdown in Homeland. Funneh.

Ryan is super sablay but he's really sweet and he likes Tessa for real.

Ryan: I'm super attracted to you right now... and your face is puffy and your gums are bloody
and your lips are dry and lusterless. That must mean something, right?
Tessa: Don't make me smile, it hurts.
Ryan: See, I make you smile even if it really hurts to smile. Maybe that means something, too.

I guess Tessa also likes Ryan but she thinks he's a little too dumb & dumber for her. She tries to explain to explain to Ryan that they're opposites, to which Ryan replied, "That's good, because opposites don't push each other apart, they do the other thing." But he's really sweet... and he has abs, too ;)

And Sheila Shay is scary. Really scary.

Anyway, I also started watching this new series- Bunheads. I love it. Maybe it is the frustrated ballerina in me. Ha.

She throws funny comments but I still think she's a little annoying. That smile is annoying. Or creepy. I haven't decided yet.

It's interesting and fun to watch.

I really love these girls. I like Boo the most :)

2013 BOOK CHALLENGE 4/35: THIRTEEN REASONS WHY

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher

After reading a no-brainer, teenybopper book that is French Kiss, I thought I should read something serious, something that deals with real problems (which, of course, is still in the YA category). So how do I feel after finishing the book? ANG BIGAT.

Everything affects everything. 

We may think that calling someone names may be harmless but then there's also this snowball effect when one thing leads to another and before we know it, it has become too big to stop. This was what happened in Hannah Baker's case.

When Hannah Baker committed suicide, she recorded tapes for 13 people people to hear, 13 people who were instrumental to why she took her own life. When Clay Jensen received the box of tapes, he was baffled as to why. But before he gets to his part, he needs to listen first to the others, the role the others played which led to someone's suicide.

So technically Clay wasn't one of the reasons why Hannah killed herself. Hannah actually liked Clay, and incidentally he also liked her back. He just thinks he's out of her league and because she kind of has a "reputation." So when Clay found out that Hannah likes him back, he still feels that he is somewhat to blame for not seeing the signs, for not being able to stop it.

Which I think is unfair on Clay's part. I mean, sure he likes this girl and I agree that he could have helped her out of her misery but when Hannah made him hear all of these horror stories, it was as if she has dumped all her problems on him. I don't care about the other bastards and bitches who were actually instrumental to Hannah's suicide but Clay wasn't and again, it was unfair to let him on in this. For sure this event will affect him forever.

But then again I think you can't help people who don't want to be helped. Sabi nga ni Gojocco- that according to Sartre, 'we always have a choice,' and this is the choice that Hannah made. She just lost faith in humanity and with the kind of people there are in this world in this time and age, that is not hard to do. Sometimes I, myself, doubt that humans are innately good.

Anyway, speaking of faith, I noticed that never did Hannah mention religion. Not even once. I am not referring to any religion in particular, but I believe that believing in a Higher Being helps us get through life IMHO. And I guess not taking life too seriously helps, too.

So what did I learn from this? To be careful of our words and actions. Sometimes we think we're just commenting or making harmless jokes, but to someone it may be aggravating something. I know this is fictional but this happens in real life. Bullying is not a big problem locally (at least it wasn't back in my time) but in the States it is and it is sad that there are still girls and boys who do mean and cruel things to others. Sometimes when these people on TV feel bad about a teen suicide because of bullying, I think of them as hypocrites. The teachers, the authorities know this is happening so why don't they do something about it.

{source}
apparently, not.

So I feel for you Clay Jensen. I feel for you that Hannah's suicide will burden you until your dying day. Omigaaahd, I need to read a happy, feel-good book after this. Someone recommended I read The Kite Runner, but I guess not anytime soon. **happy thoughts happy thoughts**

2013 BOOK CHALLENGE 3/35: FRENCH KISS (DIARY OF A CRUSH #1)

French Kiss ( Diary of a Crush #1)
by Sarra Manning

Oh nothing like young love infatuation to make a thirtysomething old hag like me to feel even more bah humbug about love. Ha Ha. Kidding aside, I enjoyed reading this book so much- makes one reminisce about the joys and pains of unrequited love. But it didn't remain unrequited in Edie's case so yeah, whatever.

Edie was new to the school. She didn't know anybody that well and her first attempt to make friends actually backfired. So here she is pining for this beautiful boy, Dylan, (who has a reputation, if you know what I mean ;)) who everyone likes (or loves). Again, here is our pretty protagonist dissing herself and thinking she's not good enough for this beautiful boy so she admires him from afar.

Edie signs up for Photography class and guess who else is taking up the same exact course- Dylan. And by the looks of it (or should I say, by the way Dylan looks at her) beautiful boy is also interested. But because Dylan has this reputation she tries to avoid him but to no avail. Which leads to their first kiss. Which I think must be so electrifying that it's all that the both of them can think about. So yea, the book's title isn't French Kiss for nothing. I swear the word "kiss" makes up, like, 20% of this novel.

When it comes to fictional boy characters, Marcus Flutie is still my all-time crush. Dylan sort of reminds me of him maybe because of the brooding nature, although I bet Dylan's not as lovable as my Marcus. Hmm.. let's see- I need to get my hands on the other books in this series. But if I were to judge Dylan based on French Kiss alone, I'd say not bad.

Okay, it is an easy (and a very shallow) read but hey, whatever floats your boat, right?