Tag Archives: review

Sushi for One? (Camy Tang)

Rating: [rate 5.0]

Sushi for One? By Camy Tang

Lex Sakai’s family is big, nosy and marriage-minded. When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the oldest single female cousin in the clan.

Lex has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a list of traits for the perfect man. but the one man she keeps running into doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex starts to let God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.

After being a visitor and reader of Camy’s blog since last year, I finally got a copy of her first book. I stumbled into Camy’s blog while searching for books to buy from Amazon from my dad, and I’ve been following her blog ever since. I waited for her book to come out here but it seems like it hasn’t yet (so sad), but I’m glad I finally got a copy of this now. :D

I read in one of the reviews from Amazon that the blurb at the back of the book (written above) does not do the book justice…and she’s right: it totally did not. There was so much happening in the story that I felt like I was watching a TV series. I couldn’t let the book go because of all the enjoyable characters and scenes — Lex’s very annoying grandmother, her silly brother who keeps on setting her up with every guy he meets, Aiden, the silent observer and her physical therapist, Mimi, the flirtier cousin and her three closest cousins and friends, Trish, Venus and Jenn. Even if there was a lot happening, everything went well together and was somehow significant as the story goes on.

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Love, Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)

Rating: [rate 5]
Click here to buy Love, Stargirl from Amazon.com

Love, Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)

Dear Leo,
I love beginnings. What better way to elaborate than to begin writing a letter to my once (and future?) boyfriend.

Stargirl has moved and left everything behind: Arizona, Mica High, enchanted desert places – and Leo.

He’s all she can think abbout, and her life begins to feel like a parade of unhappy anniversaries. Then Stargirl meets her wonderfully bizarre new neighbors: Dootsie, the curly-headed five-year-old “human bean”; Betty Lou, who hasn’t stepped outside her house for nine years; Charlie, who sits among the tombsones; hot-tempered Alvina with that one glittery nail; and Perry Dellophane, the blue-eyed thief who soon lays his own claim to Stargirl’s heart.

In letters to Leo in a course of a year, Stargirl comes to find hope in new places: mockingbirds, donut angels, moon flowers and the Winter Solstice — that turning-point day when dark tips to light. But what’s life without Leo? Will he — can he — answer that one crucial question she asks every morning to the rising sun? – Book blurb

It was around three years ago when I first bought Stargirl. I’ve been curious about the book ever since I saw it but I only got to buy it after a bad day at the photo lab at school. I loved the book — it was magical and bittersweet and reading it always left me a sad feeling over my heart, wondering if Leo and Stargirl will every meet again.

In this sequel, Mr. Spinelli brings us into Stargirl’s world, making us see through her eyes, and making us realize that amidst all the “magic” she held in the previous book, she is still a human being, and more importantly, a girl who fell in love, was “dumped” and is trying to move on with her life without her love.

This book kind of reminds me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written in the same way, only in a girl’s point of view and with less “serious” topics. Stargirl was introduced as a very unique individual in the first book, and Mr. Spinelli wrote it in a way that we can never know what makes her tick. We just know that she does what she does, and that’s it, like if she was explained, all magic would be lost. I admit that as I read the book, I also looked at Stargirl in wonder, also wondering how she could act that way in an environment that calls for conformity. The ending of the prequel left me wanting answers to who she really is.

Love, Stargirl doesn’t really answer this question, but it takes you into an adventure into Stargirl’s world without Leo. It’s interesting to see that even if she seemed “magical” at first, she is just very ordinary…just brought up very differently. It was interesting to read about her trying her best not to fall for Perry, or for launching into her different adventures with Dootsie or being a sister to Alvina…it’s amazing to see that even if she seemed so sure of herself in the prequel, she’s can be as awkward and unsure as the next person. She reminds me of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables, only a bit less “head in the clouds”. :)

Stargirl is to someone to be loved. She’s a sweet person who “sheds light when she cries”. :) She’s one of the characters that will stay with you for a long time after reading the book.

I definitely recommend that one must read the prequel first before reading this one, just so you really get to feel and know Stargirl. :)

Blue Like Jazz (Donald Miller)

Rating: [rate 5]
Click here to buy Blue Like Jazz from Amazon.com

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

For anyone wondering if the Christian faith is still relevant in a post-modern culture,

For anyone thirsting for a genuine encounter with a God who is real,

For anyone yearning for a renewed sense of passion in life…

Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love and redemption.

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself…I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.

I’ve heard of Blue Like Jazz ever since Happy borrowed this book from her friend. I read some excerpts of it, but then what I really wanted was Searching for God Knows What by the same author because another friend recommended me that. I got that book, liked it, and planned to get this one as soon as I can…or ask for it as a birthday gift or something. But no one ever gave it to me, so I got it last Book Fair.

One of the things I really love about Donald Miller is how his books doesn’t feel like books; it feels like you’re listening to a story of a friend. Blue Like Jazz contains different stories on Miller’s life, about how his dad left them and how he sees God the Father, how he first sinned, his friends Penny and Laura and their conversions, studying in an “atheist” university in the US, being a recluse, church, tithing, love and of course, Jesus. How he tells it is very casual, never preachy. He makes things sound so simple, like when he says that what God really wants us to do is to love people, and let Him do the rest.

The book obviously makes one think, but not in a guilty way but in a way that he makes you realize that the things we think are so difficult to understand are actually quite easy. Did I make sense there? Ultimately, the book also made me feel like Jesus not only loved me, but He genuinely liked me too. :)

It’s a good book. It’s not too heavy, but not too light and fluffy to be dismissed. :) If you’re not much into church or Christianity but want to discover a bit more, then I’d recommend this book for you. :)

Some of my favorite lines in the book:

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Resident Evil: Extinction

Rating: [rate 3]

Resident Evil: Extinction

Years after the Raccoon City disaster, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is on her own; aware that she has become a liability and could endanger those around her, she is struggling to survive and bring down the Umbrella Corporation led by the sinister Albert Wesker (Jason O’Mara) and head researcher Dr. Isaacs (Ian Glen). Meanwhile, traveling through the Nevada Desert and the ruins of Las Vegas, Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), L.J. (Mike Epps), and new survivors K-Mart (Spencer Locke), Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), and Nurse Betty (Ashanti) must fight to survive extinction against hordes of zombies, killer crows and the most terrifying creatures created as a result of the deadly T-Virus that has killed millions. – from IMDB.COM

In this third installment of Resident Evil movies, the T-Virus made by Umbrella Corporation has spread out of Raccoon City and has killed the world to extinction, leaving only a few survivors on the move as they fight for their lives. Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), leads one convoy and they go around, continually searching for survivors as well as supplies. Nearby, Alice (Milla Jovovich, from RE1 and RE2) returns, looking for survivors to save as well. She has been keeping away from Umbrella’s satellites to avoid being caught, but after a day of looking for survivors and gas for her bike, she gets discovered again because of the power she acquired while she was inside Umbrella. She then meets the convoy of Claire and saves her old friend Carlos Oliviera (Oded Fehr) from certain death from the flames after being attacked by zombie crows. Meanwhile, Dr. Isaacs (Ian Glen) is continually trying and failing to create a serum which would domesticate all the zombies affected by the T-Virus using Alice clones. After finally finding the original Alice, he plans to capture her to create the serum, but then finds out that he could be the answer to what they’re all looking for. Or so he thinks.

(spoilers under the cut)

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With This Ring, I'm Confused (Kristin Billerbeck)

With This Ring I'm Confused by Kristin BillerbeckRating: [rate 4]

“Confusion is part of God moving you out of a comfort zone. A comfort zone that should cease to exist. God’s way is never the easy path, but it’s by far the most exciting.”
Ashley Stockingdale

She’s got the rock, so when does happily ever after kick in?

At long last, Ashley Stockingdale–patent attorney, fasionista, and homeowner–can finally add “fiancee” to her spirited resume. That means the next four months will be a dizzying and decadent waltz through aisles of Vera Wang, Kenneth Cole, Sheridan sheets, Kate Spade place settings, and Oneida flatware. Well…maybe not.

For starters, the HR department has hired Ashley’s ex-boyfriend (yep, the one who ran off to India with that other woman) as the new director of software. And now her fiance is starting to sound crazy–something about moving across country, to Philadelphia of all places. Worst of all, right before her eyes, Scarlett-I-need-some-Prozac O’Hara is hijacking her wedding plans!

Life for our heroine is spinning from out of control to downright confusing. But whether she makes it to the end of the aisle or not, she’ll never be at a loss for drama!

This is the third and last installment of the Ashley Stockingdale series, and the book (obviously) focuses on Ashley’s wedding preparations. In this novel, it occured to me that Ashley is pretty normal for a protagonist — albeit a bit neurotic sometimes — but she does attract chaos quite often.

Ashley faces a lot of challenges in preparation for her wedding, mostly concentrating on her in-laws who seem to be driven to make Ashley’s most dreamt-of day to be a disaster. Her future sister-in-law (Emily) is determined to make Ashley a laughingstock in her own wedding by following a “theme” while her future mother-in-law (Elaine) is set to make her look unworthy of her son. Add her commitment-phobe ex Seth’s comeback into her life, her fiance Kevin is always out and he has plans of moving to Philadelphia, and the fact that she is broke, how will she plan the day she has been waiting for all her life?!

The characters of the past two novels make a comeback in this last installment, giving a particular familiarity with the wacky Silicon Valley bunch. Although Ashley’s struggles seem too far-fetched at times, it could happen to anyone still.

The Christian point of view of the novel is a bit hard to grasp at first, but then the author shows it all in the end: marriage requires a lot of hard work, and it doesn’t end at the wedding; in fact, it only starts there.

With This Ring, I’m Confused ends with a happily-ever-after-like ending, which is a great feel-good novel to read on a lazy afternoon. :)