Tag Archives: review

Green (Ted Dekker)

Rating: [rate 4.5]

Green by Ted Dekker AS FORETOLD BY ANCIENT PROPHETS, an apocalypse destroyed Earth during the twenty-first century. But two thousand years later Elyon set upon the earth a new Adam. This time, however, He gave humanity an advantage. What was once unseen became seen. It was good and it was called…Green.

But the evil Teeleh bided his time in a Black Forest.

Then, when least expected, a twenty-four year old named Thomas Hunter fell asleep in our world and woke up in that future Black Forest. A gateway was opened for Teeleh to ravage the land. Devastated by the ruin, Thomas Hunter and his Circle swore to fight the dark scourge until their dying breath.

But now The Circle has lost hope. Samuel, Thomas Hunter’s cherished son, has turned his back on his father. He gathers the dark forces to wage a final war. Thomas is crushed and desperately seeks a way back to our reality to find the one elusive hope that could save them all.

Enter an apocalyptic story like none you have read. A story with links to our own history so shocking that you will forget you are in another world at all. Welcome to GREEN. Book Zero.

FOUR NOVELS. TWO WORLDS. ONE STORY.

The last time I read the Black, Red and White by Ted Dekker was almost three years ago, and it’s been a while since I picked them up. I was planning to reread it, but because of time and all the other things life threw my way, I couldn’t get to read it. When I heard about the release of Green, I was excited because it’s Ted Dekker, and I loved the Circle Trilogy.

When I got my copy of Green, I was excited to read it but hesitant to read it because I can hardly remember what happened to the three books. But then the book cover said that it can act as the last book or the first book, I plunged in and read.

And what a ride it was, because Green is just as awesome as the other three books. Even if my knowledge of the trilogy was rusty, the book reminded me enough of what happened in the three books. I liked how it sealed the trilogy into a complete circle. The story was solid, almost very believable. There was a time when I felt like I couldn’t read anymore because I did not want to see what will happen next. There was a time when I wanted to strangle some of the characters and tell them that they should not stop believing in Elyon, and what they were doing is silly and pointless and would make them die. Books that make readers react this way mean they actually reached their audience. :D

Reading Green makes me want to re-read the other three books again, to fully relive the story of Thomas Hunter and his romance with Elyon. Great work, Ted Dekker. :D

When it Happens (Susane Colasanti)

Rating: [rate 3.0]

When It Happens (Susane Colasanti) Sara and Tobey couldn’t be more different. She is focused on getting into her first-choice college; he wants to win Battle of the Bands. Sara’s other goal is to find true love, so when Dave, a popular jock, asks her out, she’s thrilled. But then there’s Tobey. His amazing blue eyes and quirky wit always creep into her thoughts. It just so happens that one of Tobey’s goals is also to make Sara fall in love with him. Told in alternating points of view, Sara and Tobey’s real connection will have everyone rooting for them from the minute they meet!

I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since I spotted it as a recommended read in Amazon, and it took a while before I finally got myself a copy. When I saw it at the newly opened Fully Booked in Eastwood Mall, I grabbed it (in an impulse, I might say).

It’s an interesting read. I think the last he-said/she-said novel I read was Flipped, and I loved that novel. This one is just…well, interesting. I liked the two characters fair enough, and even the supporting characters were more interesting than say, an  orange nj dentist. I did find myself rooting for Tobey and Sara, and I’m actually quite interested to watch Say Anything, the movie mentioned in the novel.

However, there’s just something in the storytelling that felt a little off for me. I don’t know if it’s the present tense format, but I felt like the story lacked a bit of description, except when Sara starts painting or drawing or something. I felt like it lacked a bit of the smooth flow that other books have. I mean, for example, during one party that the characters attended, there was a part there that says: “Going Under is playing. Evanescence rocks.” I know it may be because it’s written to make it sound like how teens probably think nowadays, and maybe it just doesn’t gel with me quite much. Maybe because I’m not so good with descriptions that I like books with long and flowing descriptions?

But again, the overall story is good and a pretty much enjoyable, but it’s not really going to be in my favorites list. Maybe I was just too used to Sarah Dessen type novels, hence the conclusion. I’m still looking forward to reading Colasanti’s other novels, though. :)

Kapitan Sino (Bob Ong)

Rating: [rate 3.5]

Kapitan Sino (Bob Ong)THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

Naunahan na naman ang mga pulis sa pagtugis sa mga holdaper ng isang jewelry shop. Bago noon, may iba na ring nakahuli sa isang carnaper; sumaklolo sa mga taong nasa itaas ng nasusunog na building; nagligtas sa sanggol na hinostage ng ama; tumulong para makatawid sa kalsada ang isnag matanda; tumiklo sa mga miyembro ng Akyat Bahay; sumagip sa mga mag-anak na tinagay ng tubig-baha; nag-landing ng maayos sa isang Boeing 747 na nasiraan ng engine; at nagpasabog s aisang iganteng robot. Pero sino ang taong ‘yon? Maliligtas nya ba sila Aling Baby? At ano nga ba talaga ang sabon ng mga artista?

Bob Ong is known for his funny yet thought provoking books about the life of a Filipino. I’m sure you’ve heard of him at one point, or have received a forwarded email regarding his little thoughts on life and love (ex. “Kung maghihintay ka nang lalandi sayo, walang mangyayari sa buhay mo. Dapat lumandi ka din.” Don’t wait for someone to flirt with you. Learn to flirt as well.) and I know that most people have certainly agreed with a lot of what he has written.

Kapitan Sino is Ong’s 7th book, and it takes us in an adventure in the town of Pelaez. There we find Rogelio, an ordinary man who makes a living by fixing different appliances in their shop named “Hasmin’s Sari-Sari Store” that they’ve planned to change but never got around to. He lives his life one day at at time, enjoying his little jokes with the kids who insist on buying candies at their sari-sari store turned electronic repair shop, listening to his neighbors Aling Precious and Aling Baby best each other and sing to the different songs he hears on the radio. All this changes one day when his friend Bok-Bok visits his place and they both find out Rogelio has super powers.

Kapitan Sino was born, and from there, Rogelio started saving other people’s lives, disguised in a silver costume and helmet that his blind friend and childhood love Tessa made. Pretty soon, Kapitan Sino was everywhere — on the children that play along the streets pretending to be the hero and the villains, on snacks, gums, newspaper, radio, TV. Everyone was thankful for Kapitan Sino’s heroism, and Rogelio was just happy that he was able to help. This was up until his encounter with the town’s monster, which he defeats but then fails to save someone that mattered to him.

Kapitan Sino is a lot like his previous book MacArthur, but a bit more fun. The thing I did not like about MacArthur was how depressing it was, and I didn’t want to read it afterwards. Kapitan Sino is funny in the sense that it brings in a lot of late 80’s to 90’s Filipino culture, such as snacks like Rinbee, Bazooka Bubble Gum and TV shows like Pinoy Thriller or  Batibot — things that Generation X and Y will surely understand and remember. However, Kapitan Sino is kind of sad too, because it shows us just how our nation is, reflected in the small town of Pelaez: from the corrupt government officials to the people who spend time trying to best each other with their riches, spending more time gossiping than doing something productive and even blaming other people for things that are not their fault. It’s a startlingly accurate picture, and it’s kind of sad to realize the reality of what Bob Ong has written.

But do we really need superheroes to be able to fix our situation? Do we have to have super powers to be heroes? Or can we be heroes on our own?

I’ll leave that up to you to answer.

A Little Ray of Sunshine (Lani Diane Rich)

Rating: [rate 4.5]

A Little Ray of Sunshine (Lani Diane Rich)Emmy James is not the kind of girl who attracts angels. In fact, after she sent her life into a nosedive six years ago, she’s tried to attract as little as possible -attention, people, or responsibility. She skips from town to town in an Airstream trailer, working odd jobs and keeping to herself until a sudden whim lets her know it’s time to move again.

And this works just fine, until the day two unexpected visitors show up at the New Jersey trailer park she calls home. One is a childhood friend with news: her mother and his father are getting married, and they want EJ to be there. The other is a sweet but odd woman named Jess, who says she’s an angel specializing in cosmic relationship mending…and blueberry pancakes. Jess doesn’t think it’s any coincidence that this is all happening at once, but EJ would rather run herself over with her own Airstream before reconnecting with her neglectful, self-absorbed mother. When she wakes up to find her trailer cruising down the highway with a determined angel at the wheel, however, EJ realizes that sometimes what you want and what the Universe intends for you can be two very different things…

I am really starting to love Lani Diane Rich‘s works. There’s something about what she writes and the people she writes about that really piques my interests, and this one is no different. (Plus, don’t you just love that cover? :P)

EJ is a girl who’s been around for the past six years, going from one place to another, taking jobs as a cashier, using a receipt printer and just living on her own. What people don’t know about her is that she’s the daughter of Lilly Lorraine, a famous actress, and it’s something she doesn’t really want people to know. Frankly, she’d rather bury her past and just live the way she lives now — it’s less painful that way.

But one day brings her two unexpected surprises: one is a visit from an old friend telling her that her mother is getting married yet again to his father and probably the closest and most real parent he’d ever had. And she gets a visit from an angel — or someone who thinks she is. Jess, the angel, is convinced that the Universe wants her to help EJ, and would stop at nothing in doing so — even going as far as “kidnapping” EJ.

After much reluctance, EJ finally decides to go home just for the wedding, but what she saw when she got back was something she never expected. Oh, and her old friend and ex-fiancee was there too — with a lot of old hurts that she never thought she’d have to deal with all over again.

A Little Ray of Sunshine is exactly what the title says — it’s a little ray of sunshine in a book. It’s a really entertaining story, with a wacky cast of characters. EJ, with all her rudeness to her mother and the people around her and her need to go to be alone, is still very endearing. Jess is such a darling, and I almost thought she was a real angel until her own secrets were revealed. Lilly was annoying and lovable at the same time. The tension between the characters was the kind of thing that you’d see in real life, and the resolution was realistic enough that you know it’s just the right way for the story to go to.

It’s a really good book, and I’m sure I’d want to read more of Lani Diane Rich’s work. :)

Demon (Tosca Lee)

Rating: [rate 4.5]

Demon (Tosca Lee) Recently divorced and mired in a meaningless existence, Clay drifts from his drab apartment to his equally lusterless job as an editor for a small Boston press — until the night Lucian finds him and everything changes with the simple words, “I’m going to tell you my story, and you’re going to write it down and publish it.”

What begins as a mystery soon spirals into chaotic obsession as Clay struggles to piece together Lucian’s dark tale of love, ambition and grace — only to discover that the demon’s story has become his own.

And then only one thing matters: learning how the story ends.

What a haunting book. I heard about Tosca Lee from Camy, and after reading about the book on the official website (especially after reading this page) I knew I had to get this book.

Demon: A Memoir gives us a view of the whole Salvation history from another point of view: a demon. It’s kind of creepy at first when you think of it, but like Clay, I got curious. What could a demon know about salvation? What could he possibly tell Clay, and what could Clay possibly gain from all this?

The novel had no frills about it. Clay wasn’t a righteous guy, he wasn’t even religious at all. He’s drifting in his life, finding no meaning until his encounter with Lucian. Tosca draws a very different picture of a demon — not one with an image we know, with horns and bat-like wings, but drawing from the story of the first fall: Lucifer. There were no bargains for the soul for Clay, although it seemed like he almost sold his soul to the devil as he became obsessed with the story.

Lucian was a very interesting character too, taking on a lot of forms of humans because he liked to “test” them out. He started out as a Mediterranean-looking man and then later met Clay as a woman and then a geeky teen — it seemed like he could not get enough of the “clay” people, regardless of age and use of best wrinkle cream. He was also fascinated with humans eating, and made sure Clay was eating almost every time they met. His hurried manner at some parts of the story makes you wonder who exactly is out to get the demon — Lucifer? Another hoard of demons? But why? And why is he talking to Clay in the first place?

Like I said, it’s a way to view the story of our salvation from another side. It almost comes to a point that I felt some sympathy for Lucian and I wished there was something better for him…and in the same way, it made me realize how lucky I was to be created in God’s image and likeness. How infinite my chances are, how much patience God has for me. How forgiving God is for someone like me who commits the same mistake over and over again. It’s…amazing. And humbling.

The ending of the novel is satisfying in a way that it’s not wrapped in neat bows nor it is terribly disturbing. The book reminds us of a choice that everyone has to make in this life. What will you choose?

Lock and Key (Sarah Dessen)

Rating: [rate 3.5]

Lock and Key (Sarah Dessen)Ruby can take care of herself.

She’s usd to counting on no one and answering to nobody. But all of that changes when her mother vanishes and Ruby is sent to live with her older sister, Cora. Now Ruby’s got her own room in a fabulous new house, she’s going to private school, and — for the first time — feeling as if she has a future. Plus, there’s an adorable and sweet boy next door, Nate. Everything should be perfect. So why is Ruby so wary? And why is Nate keeping her at a distance? Ruby soon comes to realize that sometimes, in order to save yourself, you’ve got to reach out to someone else.

Don’t you think that’s such a pretty cover? There’s really something about Sarah Dessen‘s book covers, and I know how much it appeals to its target audience.

Lock and Key is about Ruby Cooper, who moves into her siser’s place after her mother left her behind to fend for herself. Ruby has gotten used to taking care of herself ever since her sister left and her mom could hardly be counted on. She was so used to not owing anyone for help that when she moved to her sister Cora’s place, all she wanted to do was go back. But her new family was insistent on letting her stay and taking care of her, especially Jamie, Cora’s husband, who wanted to provide a good future for Ruby. Ruby is stuck, and despite all good things happening to her, she couldn’t help but feel wary of all this good fortune. She knows that Cora’s world isn’t her world, but she knew she couldn’t count on her mother anymore. But can she really learn to trust all the other people that’s coming in her life?

All the typical Dessen elements were in the story: Ruby, the sort of troubled child who’s left to fend off for herself; Nate, the cute neighbor who Ruby falls for but then has a secret of his own; Olivia, her classmate who she didn’t really like at first but then became friends with; Harriet, her boss at her job who was even more of a control freak than Ruby. There are also old friends who are only in the book to appear that they’re not really “friends”: Marshall, Ruby’s sort of boyfriend and Peyton, the closest thing she had to a best friend. Though not set in the summer, like other Dessen books were, this one still spanned a couple of months, almost half a school year if I got it right. There’s a lot of looking into the past, and backstories and family events and little symbolisms that made the story poignant.

I liked how Dessen was descriptive with Ruby’s past and everything around her  — from Ruby’s new room to the key that she kept hanging around her neck. The thing about Lock and Key for me, however, is that it read too much like Love Walked In by Marisa Delos Santos, with the mentally unstable and possibly a drug addict mother (who would probably pay for appetite suppressants over her daughter’s needs) leaving the daughter to fend off for herself and someone coming in to save the daughter. I couldn’t help but recall that other novel while reading this one. It’s not entirely the same, but the similarities just feel a bit odd.

But if you’re a Dessen fan, you’ll love all the Easter eggs in this novel. You’ll find a character from almost all of Dessen’s past novels. I especially love it when Kristy and Bert from The Truth About Forever showed up in one scene. :D

Lock and Key is a good read, but I think it’s not really as good as The Truth About Forever or Just Listen or This Lullaby.

The Truth About Forever (Sarah Dessen)

Rating: [rate 5.0]

The Truth About Forever (Sarah Dessen)A LONG, HOT SUMMER…

That’s what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the loss of Macy’s father.

But sometimes unexpected things can happen — things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister’s project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the boy who could turn any girl’s world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

The blurb does not do justice with the whole book. It says a lot about the story, but nothing about the amazing characters.

Macy Queen strives to be perfect. Not because she wanted to, but she felt like she needed to. After the death of her father, she started hiding inside herself, convinced that her mother needed her to be strong. Macy tries to get perfect grades, gets the perfect (and smart) boyfriend, and is prepared to face the long summer with the things expected of her.

But with anyone who tries to avoid the proper stages of grieving in losing a loved one, it always catches up on you. That summer, Macy’s world turns upside down when she meets the Wish Catering crew. There’s Delia, the very pregnant owner of the business; Kristy, the fashionable girl who befriends Macy and gets her to go to the parties they go to; Monica, Kristy’s sister who barely utters a word (and probably can’t say a word about weight loss pill); Bert, the Armageddon-obsessed dorky guy who drives an ambulance; and finally, Wes, the guy with the past (as the blurb mentioned), and probably the hottest fictional guy I’ve ever read about. :P Seriously, there’s something about how Dessen wrote about Wes that makes me crush on him. :P

The cast of characters is one of the things that make this book interesting. I can’t imagine not having any of them there, even the two snobby girls at the library that Macy hates. Their reactions to the plot felt so real that I felt like I was there with them while reading it. I don’t think there’s any catering company that has as many disasters as the Wish catering crew did, but it’s that chaos that makes them who they are.

Story wise, it’s pretty straightforward. The things that happened aren’t that unexpected, really, like Macy’s mom’s breakdown or her leaving the job. It’s what you’d expect to happen in a storyline like this, and even if it is expected, it worked. The characters managed to carry the whole book through and leave an important lesson about grieving and imperfection.

And again, on Wes: I agree with what Sarah Dessen wrote in her book info:

I think that in a lot of ways, he was the kind of guy I was always looking for: one who wasn’t so interested in the “perfect,” girl, whoever she might be. A boy who likes flaws, who sees potential in everything. While Delia’s company may represent chaos, Wes to me is hope. To him, nothing is ever finished, or broken. It’s just waiting to be incarnated, to begin as something new, again.

Now who wouldn’t fall for a guy like that? :P

This is the type of book that I will re-read every year, just to get that tingling and fluttery feeling whenever Macy and Wes would start getting close. :) This is certainly one of the best YA books I’ve ever read. And if you’re into YA, I suggest you read it too.

City of Ashes (Cassandra Clare)

Rating: [rate 4.0]

City of Ashes (Cassandra Clare)A murderer is loose in New York City…and the victims are Downworlder children. Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary’s father, may be behind he killings. But if he is the murderer, then what’s his true motive? To make matters worse, the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen and the mysterious Inquisitor has arrived to investigate, with his eyes vigilantly targeted on Clary’s brother, Jace.

Clary will need to face some terrifying demons and even more terrifying family decisions. No one said that the life of a Shadowhunter would be easy.

And finally, I got to read this book. Talk about resisting from buying the hardbound version and searching high and low for the paperback version just to read this book. :P

City of Ashes picks up some time after City of Bones ended, with Jace trying to forget what he found out and Clary trying to start her life again with her best friend Simon. But being who they are and everyone knowing is not easy, especially when the Lightwoods arrived at the Institute, driving Jace away and Clary coming to his aid, even if he didn’t want to.

I’m going to stop there because if I continue saying anything else about the story it would be a spoiler already. The second book of the Mortal Instruments is just as much as a wild ride as the first one, maybe even better. There were new characters introduced such as Maia, a werewolf, and even fairies who are also tricksters in Cassandra Clare’s world. We meet the ruthless and sort of crazy Inquisitor — who’s really a she, so it may be a typo on the blurb up there — and Max, the youngest Lightwood. There are also the old characters: Magnus Bane, Luke, Raphael the vampire.

There was a point in the novel when it started to feel like there’s so many things happening and that it’s taking too long to get to the actual climax of the story but after a while, it starts to get faster and we get somewhat of a satisfying fight scene with Valentine. We also get to know a bit more of what Clary can do, and I kind of wished she did it more in the novel. Oh, and there was a lot of angst, too, but it wasn’t too much that I didn’t want to read it anymore. The ending was surprising, heartbreaking and yes, very hanging, which is why I don’t know if I can wait for a year before getting a paperback copy of City of Glass. :P

The series shows great promise, and I’m really excited to know what would happen next. :) This series seems a real keeper, and I think I may start to rave about it now since I liked what I read for the past two books. I wonder if someone will ever pick this up to make a movie out of it…or maybe offer some tv deals, but I honestly think it would be hard to give proper justice to the book once it’s made into that. So I’d really rather read the books. :)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Rating: [rate 4.5]

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III’s England, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet — a country squire of no great means and his scatterbrained wife — must marry off their five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise are the headstrong second daughter Elizabeth and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy, two lovers in whom pride and prejudice must be overcome before love can bring the novel to its magnificent conclusion.

Altogether now: FINALLY! After two years of being on my to-be-read list, I have finally, finally read Pride and Prejudice, the so-called “mother of all chick-lit”. I bought my copy of the book in 2006, when after reading through a lot of instructions on how to write chick lit for my 2006 NaNoWriMo novel, I keep on getting references to Pride and Prejudice. It suddenly became a requirement for me, because I want to write chick lit, and what better way to learn it than to read old ones too, right?Now, I’ve mentioned it a lot of times here — I am not a fan of classics. The only classics that I ever read more than once were A Little Princess and Anne of Green Gables. I found the language daunting and some of them unbearably long. *looks pointedly at copy of Vanity Fair on to-be-read pile* I told myself back in 2006 that I’d read 10 classic books in a year but I only got as far as To Kill a Mockingbird (which I loved). I tried to read Pride and Prejudice a couple of times after I bought it, but like The Time Traveler’s Wife, I keep on getting distracted by other books, or I would stop reading it for a couple of days and feel completely lost whenever I’d get back to it. After discussing Austen stuff with some Wrimos and getting a suggestion to read it when I would be least interrupted, I set out to read it during the Holy Week. But The Time Traveler’s Wife took up my time during vacation so I couldn’t afford having uninterrupted time to read this. I can’t possibly wait until next Holy Week again, right? So I made a resolve to read at least a couple of pages everyday just so I wouldn’t get lost.

In a time where the modern technologies we know of such as computers, iPods and flash drives don’t exist just yet, is the world of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. Pride and Prejudice is basically about Mrs. Bennet trying to get her daughters married — because really, what is there better to do? Okay, I’m being harsh on Mrs. Bennet, sorry. :P But the story is really about getting the Bennets married, first with Jane, the eldest, especially when the friendly Mr. Bingley arrived. However, there was another gentleman with Bingley, the brooding Mr. Darcy, who manages to insult Elizabeth Bennet too early in the story by saying that she is not handsome enough to tempt him.

It all starts from there — Elizabeth dislikes Darcy, and then she gets to join him for a couple of days because Jane gets sick when she visited Caroline Bingley. Then Darcy seems to be having a change of heart, with the notice of Elizabeth’s “fine eyes”, but his pride was too high for him to actually admit that.

Then started the teasings (or teazings, as Austen wrote) from both sides. Elizabeth gets an interesting proposal which she declines, learns her best friend is marrying, crushes on an officer who turns out to be Darcy’s enemy, and then finds out that Bingley has left the country without a word to her sister. In an effort to move on (or somehow, catch Bingley again), Jane goes to London while Elizabeth visits her best friend who is married to the benefactor of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is the aunt of Darcy.

I’m going to stop there because revealing things after this would spoil the story, but that is exactly where things started getting better in the story. I admit I kind of trudged through the first part of the book because of the language, but when there was more Elizabeth-Darcy interaction, I was thrilled. There was something about the way they “sparred” with each other that made it very, very romantic.

Pride and Prejudice (2005)As with the few other classic books I read, there’s a lot of things going on in the story that sometimes felt like they didn’t really need to be there but turns out it has somewhat of a role to play for the ending. Well, okay, Anne of Green Gables did have a lot of short anecdotes about Anne that made her endearing and didn’t necessarily have a connection with the ones at the end, but Pride and Prejudice has them, and Austen managed to tie them all very neatly in the end. :)

In fewer words…I loved it. Okay, I may not really LOVE it, but I really, really liked Pride and Prejudice and I wouldn’t mind re-reading this one because of all its quirkiness and class. :) I even watched the 2005 movie version which was also good, but I kind of wish the second proposal was more faithful to the book. Ergo, I must watch the 1995 BBC version, yes? :)

Ah, Mr. Darcy. ♥

The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)

Rating: [rate 3.5]

The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare’s struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

It took me a long time to stick to reading this book without being distracted by any other one in my to-be-read pile. I’ve had this book for almost a year, and I was really curious about the story when I first saw this book. But somehow, after reading through the first few chapters, it just…bored me. Maybe it was because the first few chapters involved Henry jumping through time for the reader to make sense of his condition and to establish his history with Clare, before the story starts flowing in an almost sequential manner.

I admit it was really a chore for me to continue reading the book. I don’t know why. Probably it’s because the book feels too serious to me, and it almost read like a classic and we all know how hard it is for me to get through a classic book. Maybe it’s because I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, even if they were pretty solid. Or maybe it’s because of all the sexual parts of the book that is normal for couples — especially the ones trying to conceive — but the ones that were done before their wedding was really…well, it’s really an issue against what I believe in, which isn’t really necessary to discuss in this review.

However, after the part of their wedding, I started to get more into the story. I don’t know why or how, but I started to be more interested in what was going on. I found myself rooting for Henry and Clare’s relationship, especially when they were trying to conceive. I found the same joy when their daughter was born, and the sadness when Henry found out what would happen to him sometime in the near future.

The ending was sad, and yet quite satisfying. It must have been a really hard thing for Clare to keep on waiting for Henry, not knowing where he was at a lot of times when he’s time traveling, or not knowing if she should believe when she sees two different Henry’s in front of her (makes you wonder how Henry would get identity theft protection if ever he wanted one).

I can’t say that it’s one of my favorite books, and I honestly can’t say I would be willing to read this one again. I didn’t think it was an Omg what a totally amazing book like some people thought it was, but it’s a pretty good one, and I’m glad that I finished it and I got to know what happened.

I’m probably watching the movie, just to see how they would interpret it in the big screen. :P