Retro Friday: Invisible Lissa by Natalie Honeycutt

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My shelf post was long…but no, I’m not yet done writing. :P I thought I’d take the time to participate in Angie‘s Retro Fridays, just for kicks.


Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Angie of Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc.

I’ve been meaning to re-read this book for a while, but because I had too many other books to read, I haven’t gotten around to it. I read this one last year and I’ve honestly lost count when I read this book and found comfort in its old and slightly yellowed pages. It’s already out of print, but I’m pretty sure this can be found in bargain bookstores. What book? It’s Invisible Lissa by Natalie Honeycutt.

Invisible Lissa by Natalie HoneycuttIt was around Valentine’s Day that Lissa started feeling invisible…

That’s when she sent out 31 Valentines and only got 8 back. Lissa didn’t have much trouble figuring out who was behind it all – Debra Dobbins. Although Lissa couldn’t stand her, she had to admit Debra had the whole class in her power.

Things started getting worse when Debra started a cheerleader’s squad and Lissa didn’t get in. But the last straw was the FUNCHY Club, Debra’s exclusive lunch group that Lissa’s best friend Katie had the nerve to join. That’s when Lissa decided she was tired of being invisible…and that it was time to show Debra that her days of being queen of the fifth grade were definitely numbered.

I remember spotting this book in one of those small Book Sale branches how many years ago — probably during freshman year in high school? I read a lot of middle grade fiction then, but I know I was reading more of Animorphs back then. I can’t really remember why I got this, except maybe because it was cheap. And I’m glad I got it. :)

I think the main reason why I liked this book so much was because I could relate to Lissa. Like her, I used to give everyone in my class gifts during our yearly Christmas party. Well, okay, not everyone, but all girls in my class since they’re easier to give gifts to. Like Lissa, too, I never got as many gifts as the ones I give out. It never bothered me, really, because I wasn’t spending for my gifts, anyway. It extended outside of the gifts too — I remember writing a retreat letter to everyone in my class. That was tiring. It’s a good thing everyone else felt the need to return a retreat letter if you wrote them one.

Invisible Lissa is a very smart middle grade (or is this kid?) fiction that deals with serious issues that kids experience in school and at home. There’s the normal school work, family issues and most importantly, bullying. I think the great cast of characters really helped that too. Lissa is a flawed but easy to relate to protagonist, and she’s hardly angsty so I know she wasn’t exaggerating any of her emotions. Debra Dobbins is the classic female bully, one who gets people to do the dirty job for her. The other characters were also a delight, from Joel (Lissa’s guy best friend) to Jason (Lissa’s younger brother) to Bernice the class drip and finally to my favorite character, Zack, who seemed like he liked Lissa, but it was never really revealed.

I don’t know how fifth grade is in the US, but I feel that this painted a pretty accurate picture. I liked how Lissa’s problems were resolved, because it didn’t involve any shouting match (does that ever happen in real life?) nor was it very clean cut that everything went in Lissa’s favor. Sure, it did work out for her, but there’s much to say at what could happen next.

I have yet to read this again to see if my opinions of its greatness has changed (seeing as I think I already outgrew middle grade fiction), but as of now, this still remains to be one of my favorite books. :)

Rating: [rating=4]

My copy: paperback bargain copy (P35) from Book Sale

Cover: personal photo
Blurb: back of book

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Shelf Space

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I have been trying to stop myself from buying books lately not because money is short, but because I have no shelf space. Ever since the flood last year, my room has been made into semi-storage that can only be livable. See, the flood destroyed my brother’s room so he no longer has a closet or a desk or whatever. He may be moving out soon since he’s getting married in a month, so having no storage is okay with him (I think). So now, my room stores his clothes, other clothes and of course, my things. I don’t sleep or hang out much my room unless necessary, so it’s really just more of a storage room than an actual bedroom.

That just made me realize that I haven’t had my own bedroom for almost a year now. OH.

But I digress. So I have to stop myself from buying books because my shelf is an absolute mess. My bookshelf used to only house books, and it was my favorite parts of the room. I mean, look how neat and organized it looked before (photo taken March last year):

My bookshelf in 2009

Of course that picture isn’t accurate since I added a lot more books after my birthday. But I always tried to keep it organized since this is the bookshelf I had been waiting for for how many years.

Fast forward to a year and a half (and again, the flood) later, this is how my shelf (and immediate areas around it) looked like:

Look at that bookish mess.

My shelf has become a house for not only books but for other things because I lost my desk and my original bed to the flood. Most of the other stuff in my headboard and my table were stuffed in the available space on my shelf, making it quite a mess. The books in front of the shelf on the table are the new books I bought for the past months, which had no room on the shelf itself. See why I am hesitant to buy new books? It’s going to add to that mess. Ebooks are more convenient!

Here's how it looks like without the table in front.

But I digress again. Since today is a non-working holiday, I decided to finally, finally tackle the mess that is my shelf and put some semblance of order in it. I also wanted to see if I can clear up some shelf space by selecting books that I didn’t like and/or know I won’t read anymore to give away/donate/put up for prizes/whichever.

So how did I tackle the book shelf cleaning?

Continue Reading →

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Books vs. Ebooks

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Saw this image over at Because We’re Curious and thought this is pretty much accurate. :P I’m not sure who the source is, so if you know, please leave a comment so I can link it properly. :)

Books vs. Ebooks

Click to embiggen

Well, I’m definitely not one who will give up print books — I’ve just bought a couple earlier. But I do love my Kindle, and I think it’s a really nice gadget for bookworms.

What do you think? :)

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A Grief Observed

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A Grief Observed by C.S. LewisA Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Harper, 112 pages

Written after his wife’s tragic death as a way of surviving the “mad midnight moment,” A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis’s honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period: “Nothing will shake a man — or at any rate a man like me — out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself.” This is a beautiful and unflinchingly homest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

Just yesterday, I was chatting with one of my best friends who is also my old household head in Youth for Christ (YFC). She was telling me about her latest Kindle purchase (if you’re curious, it’s Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel). I told her about how I was reading A Grief Observed in my Kindle, and added that I wanted to buy other C.S. Lewis books there, too, because I realized that his books are a bit too expensive if I buy it here in full price, and I don’t really have the patience to dig for them in bargain bookstores. My friend laughed (as much as you can online, anyway) and she said she’s not ready for C.S. Lewis, at least not yet now. This is coming from my friend who would spend her spare time watching Hillsong United worship videos, mind you.

Today I realized that I’ve read so many Christian books but I’ve never really read any of C.S. Lewis. It’s not that I don’t have his books, too. I have Mere Christianity and the boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia but I haven’t finished any of them. Strange? In a way, yes. But thinking about that and my conversation with my friend yesterday, I think it may not be that strange, because I realize that I may have not been ready to read C.S. Lewis’ books back when I first got them.

Truth be told, I wouldn’t have gotten A Grief Observed if it wasn’t one of the books for discussion in our Goodreads group. It’s been a long time since I actually cracked open a non-fiction book, and whenever I do, I never finish them. Another reason why I would not have gotten this by myself is because I can’t relate to grief, at least, not yet.

I am a stranger to grief. Sure, I know some people who have passed away and I have shed tears for them, but I have never really felt the same kind of grief that I know other people have felt. The last closest relative I know who passed away was my maternal grandmother, and that’s ten years ago, and all the other deaths I’ve heard about is not close enough to me for me to actually grieve the way other people do.

But I’m not taking this one lightly. I still feel afraid, because I know that as I grow older, the closer I am and everyone I know and love and care for is to death. It’s a fact of life. And then I remember: it’s not a matter of growing older. Everyone is close to death, myself included. No one can escape it, and the only question we can ask (and will probably never get the answer until we are right there at that moment) is When?

A Grief Observed doesn’t have an answer to any of what I said, unfortunately. I knew C.S. Lewis was a great writer, but this book is not like any book I’ve read before. I can’t empathize because like I said, I haven’t lost anyone very close to me to death just yet (and I’m very grateful for that of course), so I read this as if I was a spectator. It almost feels like I was intruding into something very private, as if I wasn’t supposed to be reading them. These are the thoughts of a man who has lost the love of his life to something he can’t fight. These are the ramblings of a man who has a solid foundation for his faith yet he couldn’t find foothold now that he experienced this big blow. This is a man who is grieving, period.

I don’t think anyone can ever explain how it is to grieve. I believe, like falling in love (yes, I have to connect it to that), everyone has their own process of grieving. Crying, writing, hiding yourself — what works for you. Like death, no one is exempt from grief, but I think we do have a choice on what to believe while we grieve. Do we believe that the other person is already in a better place? Do we believe that he/she is at peace? Do we believe that God has them? Do we believe that death actually exists? What would you believe in?

I’ve written so much, but I think this is one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever written. There’s so much in A Grief Observed that can be said, that can be quoted, that can be criticized, even, but not so much words to write on what it is really about.  It’s unlike any other non-fiction book I read, and maybe this is because it’s raw, and it really comes from the author’s heart. This is probably the first book that I couldn’t really relate to, yet I also could at the same time. Perhaps C.S. Lewis wasn’t just grieving about his wife, but maybe he is also grieving about his faith, and his primitive notions of how he sees God and His love? I’m just speculating. But if that is right, then I also grieve with him for the same reasons.

Kuya Doni is right: this book is heartwrenching. I’m glad I read it.

Rating: [rating=5]

2010 Challenge Status:
* Book # 77 out of 100 for 2010

My copy: Kindle version from Amazon Kindle store

Cover & Blurb: Goodreads

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Where She Went

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Lately, I’ve been feeling kind of iffy about sequels, and series, in particular. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that I always feel pressured to get the entire series when I find out that the book I’m reading is a part of a series. I like having more time with fun characters, but I am finding standalone books more and more attractive lately that I’d really rather read those than start reading a series that I’m not even sure I will like. Except maybe for the highly recommended ones.

However, I may make an exception for this one. If I Stay by Gayle Forman is one of my best reads for this year. It’s that kind of book that left me almost wanting for more, but also quite satisfied with how the story ended. I really wouldn’t mind leaving the story that way, but I also won’t think it’s an overkill if there would be some kind of sequel. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out from Adele of Persnickety Snark that there will be a sequel for this book entitled Where She Went. :) Squee!

First, let’s look at the cover:

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Gorgeous, isn’t it? It perfectly complements the paperback cover, and Mia looks so different and so…I don’t know, free?

And then the jacket copy (if you haven’t read If I Stay yet, major spoiler warning ahead):

My first impulse is not to grab her or kiss her or yell at her. I simply want to touch her cheek, still flushed from the night’s performance. I want to cut through the space that separates us, measured in feet—not miles, not continents, not years—and to take a callused finger to her face. I want to touch her to make sure it’s really her, not one of those dreams I had so often after she left when I’d see her so clear as day, be ready to kiss her or take her to me only to wake up with Mia just beyond reach.

But I can’t touch her. This is a privilege that’s been revoked.

It’s been three years since Adam’s love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it . . . and three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard’s rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia’s home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future—and each other.

Told from Adam’s point of view in the spare, powerful prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

This is absolutely…wow. I’m guessing this will be told in Adam’s POV this time? I wonder what exactly happened that made Mia walk out of Adam’s life? Did she do what Adam told her at the end of If I Stay? What happened in between?

So many questions, and such a long wait until this gets released. Where She Went will be out on April 19, 2011. In the meantime, there was a Where She Went blog tour, which provided teasers for this book. The complete list can be found in Gayle Forman’s blog. This will definitely be one of the books I’ll be looking out for in 2011. :)

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