The Year of Secret Assignments

secretassignmentsThe Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
Ashbury/Brookfield # 2
Publisher: Scholastic
Number of pages: 340
My copy: paperback, from Aaron

Three girls. Three boys. One of them’s a total psycho.
It’s teenage life as it really feels. Only funnier.

The Ashbury-Brookfield pen pal program was designed to bring together the “lowlife Brooker kids” (as they’re known to the Ashburyites) and the “rich Ashbury snobs” (as they’re called by the Brookfielders) in a spirit of harmony and the Joy of the Envelope. But things don’t go quite as planned. Lydia and Sebastian trade challenges, like setting off the fire alarm at Brookfield. Emily tutors Charlie in How to Go On a Date with a Girl. But it’s Cassie and Matthew who both reveal and conceal the most about themselves — and it’s their secrets and lies that set off a war between the two schools.

* * *

I’ve been meaning to read more Jaclyn Moriarty books ever since reviews about her Ashbury/Brookfield series popped up in other blogs I follow. I’ve been meaning to, but I never got around to buying one because I wanted to start with book # 1 but it was kind of hard to find. I ended up getting the second book from one of the book swaps we had in the book club, put it on my TBR pile and forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when I was looking for something light and quick to read.

I was probably halfway into it when I checked Goodreads and realized that I was reading the second book, but then it didn’t matter anymore because I’ve gotten over my being nitpicky with the series I read. That, and I didn’t even notice that it’s the second book already, because I didn’t feel lost at all while I was reading this.

Best friends Lydia, Emily and Cassie are students from Ashbury and are all in the same English class. One of their assignments for the semester is to send letters to their penpals from Brookfield, their rival school. They didn’t want to, but they ended up doing so for the grade. Lydia meets Seb, and they spend most of their letter writing times exchanging challenges to get one out of class or to recognize the other. Emily teaches Charlie how to be good with girls. Cassie gets Matthew, who threatens her at first, and then turns nice after Cassie talks about herself more. Told in letters, emails, transcripts and diary entries, The Year of Secret Assignments is a fun and touching story of rivalry and friendship with a good dose of pranking fun.

I really enjoyed reading The Year of Secret Assignments. I enjoy reading books in letter format, but only if they’re done right. I liked how the letters in this book gave me different perspectives of a certain event, and it wasn’t that hard to follow even if I had to go back again and again on the same scenes. The voices of the characters were all distinct, and their stories were all different but interesting enough for me to latch on and watch them unfold. I really liked Emily and Charlie because they’re so likable, but Lydia and Seb seem more fun with all their pranks.
But the best part of the book has to be how their friendships were written. There was no doubt that Lydia, Emily and Cassie were good friends, and it was shown from how they cared for each other and how they mention each other in their letters. I liked how they all come to defend each other, and how they all come through for each other at all times. Their friendship reminded me of some of my favorite ones in YA fiction, such as the ones in Jellicoe Road, or Saving Francesca. I guess that’s also another similarity in Australian YA?

Even if this was the second book in the series, I didn’t have a hard time following the story. I think the books are based on different characters, anyway, and the characters in the other books are just part of the secondary cast. I liked how real the Ashbury/Brookfield world is, and I look forward to reading more of them when I get my hands on the other books. :)

I think the amazing thing is this: that you are just as lovely as you ever were, except stronger and braver than before.

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
Chachic’s Book Nook

The Moon and More

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Puffin
Number of pages:  416
My copy: paperback, ordered from Book Depository

Emaline is spending her last summer before college in her home beach town of Colby. Everything is familiar – from working for her bossy sister Margo at the family rental company to Emaline’s gorgeous (and regularly shirtless) childhood sweetheart, Luke.

But when an out-of-town brash New York filmmaker, and her young assistant Theo, come to stay at one of the beach houses, everything Emaline thought she knew about herself changes.

But can her heart let go of a life she’s loved for so long?

* * *

Finally a new Sarah Dessen. It’s been a while since I last read one because I’ve already gone through all of them, and I was really glad when I heard that her latest book, The Moon and More is out this year. Even if I didn’t exactly love What Happened to Goodbye, I am always looking forward to Dessen’s books because her books are automatic comfort reads.

It’s summer in Colby and Emaline is spending her last summer before college working in their family business. She’s used to everything in Colby — her stepsisters, her mom, her (usually shirtless) boyfriend Luke — and she’s really just waiting for summer to be over before she heads over to the university. Then Emaline’s father comes to town and stays there for the summer, reminding her of everything that did not happen between them in the past year. As if that’s not enough, a filmmaker and her assistant, Theo, from New York comes and stays for the summer and Emaline somehow gets roped into their project. She thought she knew everything and she wasn’t expecting her summer to suddenly change, but now everything is changing…is she ready for them all? Does she even want to change?

The Moon and More latest has all the usual elements of a Dessen novel — summer, an ordinary girl on the verge of a big change, best friends, family and a cute guy. Or, make it two cute guys. This is the first time I’ve read a real love triangle in Dessen’s books, one where I don’t really know who to root for because they are both good and charming and full of faults all at the same time. I liked that it wasn’t an annoying love triangle, and I felt Emaline’s confusion and pain and happiness and her attempt at adjusting with the changes coming her way. But I think what I liked about this set up is how I ended up rooting for Emaline in the end, hoping that she’d make the right decision for herself and nobody else. I think that’s one of the things that made this novel really good for me.

As always, I loved the secondary characters that surrounded Emaline here. I love her family and I saw how their home was always wacky (with people who won’t get out of her room) but supportive, and her half-brother is one of the most adorable siblings I’ve ever read in Dessen’s books. I also love Emaline’s best friends, Daisy and Morris, and their quirky relationship is really begging for a spin-off. There were the usual easter eggs from Dessen’s previous novels (specifically Along for the Ride and Keeping the Moon), although I needed to refresh my memory about them because it’s been a while since I read those books.

I’m glad that that I really liked The Moon and More. After the previous Dessen book, I was kind of afraid that her magic is getting lost on me, but this book proved that it was just a fluke. It was a pleasure getting lost in Colby for hours, and I can almost feel the sand between my toes and hear the waves crashing on the shore as I read this. The Moon and More is a good summer book — it’s just too bad I didn’t really read it during summertime in the Philippines. :)

Rating: [rating=4]

Required Reading: July

Other reviews:
The Midnight Garden
Stay Bookish

The Next Best Thing

The Next Best Thing by Kristan HigginsThe Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin
Number of pages: 400
My copy: ebook review copy from Netgalley

Lucy Lang isn’t looking for fireworksÂ…

She’s looking for a nice, decent man. Someone who’ll mow the lawn, flip chicken on the barbecue, teach their future children to play soccer. But most important: someone who won’t inspire the slightest stirring in her heartÂ… or anywhere else. A young widow, Lucy can’t risk that kind of loss again. But sharing her life with a cat named Fat Mikey and the Black Widows at the family bakery isn’t enough either. So it’s goodbye to Ethan, her hot but entirely inappropriate “friend with privileges,” and hello to a man she can marry.

Too bad Ethan Mirabelli isn’t going anywhere. As far as he’s concerned, what she needs might be right under her nose. But can he convince her that the next best thing can really be forever?

* * *

I read The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins because I need to get into the “romance” mood while I was writing my romance novella. Back that time, all the books I was reading were not in the romance genre and I needed the appropriate feels, as well as a reference for my story, and this was the closest I could pick. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to read this as much as I wanted to during the time I was writing the first draft of the novella because I was too busy. Plus my mind just won’t get into the mood without it being influenced too much)

I’ve had my eye on this book ever since I read (and liked) Somebody to Love. I met Lucy and Ethan in that book from Parker’s POV, and I liked them so much that I wanted to read how they got together anyway, especially when the dad of Parker’s son is Ethan. Strange set-up, don’t you think? In The Next Best Thing, Lucy Lang is a young widow who is ready to date again. She isn’t looking for spark — just a nice man who wouldn’t die on her anytime soon or even make her too in love because she’s not sure if she can suffer the loss again after her husband died. With that in mind, she had to take the first step: she had to tell Ethan Mirabelli, her brother-in-law and best friend, that they have to stop hooking up. But Ethan isn’t convinced that Lucy needs anyone else — will he be able to convince her that he’s what she wanted all along?

This was lots of fun. I loved Lucy and the people that surrounded her in that small town. The entire town felt so real, with Lucy’s mom and aunts who were also all widows (The Black Widows), Lucy’s in-laws, her ‘nemesis’ Dorall Anne and even Jimmy, her deceased husband. I love that Lucy is a baker, and she’s also as neurotic and lovable as Kristan Higgins’ other heroines are. I liked how Lucy and Ethan’s relationship was shown, from when they met to how it all finally ended — the push and pull, the tension and how they tried to be around each other. I loved how Lucy got to the realization at the end, and how she made peace with her past. That “grand gesture” in the end was messy and funny but still perfect for the two leads.

I really liked The Next Best Thing, and I think I liked it especially because Parker was also there and her character was quite consistent there as it was in the spin-off. If I were ever to have Lucy moments, I would want to have a friend like Parker. (But I think I already have several Parkers in my life :D)

The Next Best Thing is another really good book from Kristan Higgins. I’m still working through her back list, but I won’t read too fast because I want to make sure that I always have one of her books unread in my shelf whenever I need a pick-me-up. :)

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
Good Books and Good Wine

All’s Fair in Blog and War

All's Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie PeriaAll’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria
Publisher: Independent
Number of pages: 109
My copy: ebook, from Amazon Kindle Store

Five Cuevas @fivetravels
Three guesses to where I’m going next. Starts with an M. Ends with a U. Has a lechon named after it. #travel

Travel blogger Five thinks she has hit the jackpot when the Macau Tourism Board invites her over for an all-expense-paid blogger tour in exchange for blogging about Macau. But while she happily signs up for the trip, she didn’t sign up to be travel buddies with the infuriating Jesse. Will her dream vacation turn into a nightmare junket? Or will falling in love be on the itinerary?

* * *

I’ve been in a reading rut in the past month because I was too busy doing something else, and that “something else” is writing my novella. I took my own sweet time reading our book club’s book of the month because I couldn’t focus on it, and I didn’t have any desire to read anything else that isn’t contemporary romance because it was all my mind can handle that time. When one of our classmates in #romanceclass released her book into the wild last week, I automatically bought it and loaded it into my Kindle. For one, it’s contemporary romance, which is just what I need; it’s Filipino; and finally, it’s a classmate’s work, so I should support! (Plus, look at that gorgeous cover!) I finished reading this in a day, and when I was done, I found myself thinking, “What reading rut?

In Chrissie Peria’s All’s Fair in Blog and War, we meet Five Cuevas, a virtual assistant by night and travel blogger the rest of the time, reading an email from the Macau Tourism Board inviting her for an all-expense paid trip to Macau. It was something I would joyfully jump into, and Five does the same thing. It was exciting, until she meets Jesse Ruiz, the photoblogger who gets in her way and on her nerves. She’s determined not to let him ruin her trip, but it’s proving just a bit hard when she was partnered with him for the rest of the trip.

Okay, this is fun. So much fun. I love books with blogging, regardless of whatever kind of blogging that is. I love Five’s voice, and her passion for traveling and writing about it. I love the entire set-up and how she and Jesse met, and how their relationship grew in the story. It was a short trip, but it was believable, and reading the story made me want to go to Macau, or at least, find myself some egg tarts! There were so many lines in the book that made me smile, and it’s no surprise that I breezed through it because I just wanted to keep on reading to know what happens to them in the end.

Granted, the story could be longer, and there could have been more tension, but for a quick and light read, All’s Fair in Blog and War really works. It’s the kind you’d want to read on a trip, or the kind you’d recommend to a friend who’s going on a trip (I did that), or the kind you’d recommend to a friend who’s looking for a light read (I also did this). I was happy with the ending, and how they got to the ending, especially for a social media/blogging junkie like me. :P If you’re a blogger, a traveler or a reader (or, maybe even all)  who is looking for a light and sweet contemporary romance fix, then All’s Fair in Blog and War is a book for you. :)

Rating: [rating=4]

* Follow Five (@5travels) and Jesse (@wanderingcamera) on Twitter for more swoon online! :D

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Number of pages: 846
My copy: paperback, Christmas gift from Aaron

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England’s history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England—until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

* * *

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is one of those books that passed by my radar, and I briefly considered reading it because I knew some people liked it…until I saw its length. Then I walked away, thinking that this is probably one of those books that I will not read anytime soon, and I would be quite content not to read it within my lifetime since it’s too thick, and I’m not exactly a huge fantasy reader anyway.

But you know what’s the most effective way for me to read a book that I never thought I’d be reading ever? Peer pressure. Or, give it to me as a gift. That is exactly what my friend Aaron did last Christmas, and I always make it a point to read the books gifted to me. The good thing is, he also gave a copy of this book to other friends in the book club, so we formed a little reading group for this last April to get us through this chunkster together.

It’s not that I was really intimidated by it. After all, I finished the tome that is Les Misérables. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is like, 700 pages less than Victor Hugo’s book. This should be easy.

It’s the 19th century, and magic has been long dead in England. Or so people thought, until an English gentleman named Gilbert Norrell showed everyone that magic is not dead. He becomes the only magician in England for a moment, helping the English government win in the Napoleonic wars, and maybe raising a certain dead woman on the side, too. Then another magician comes – young Jonathan Strange, who becomes Mr. Norrell’s apprentice. But the two of them are as different as night and day: while Norrell relies on books and follows magic to the letter, Strange likes to play with it, try new things and maybe even find a way to summon the Raven King just to learn more about magic. Clashing personalities, fairies, prophecies, war and a ton of footnotes follow these two magicians,

I finished reading this book in 34 days, 4 days late than the supposed reading schedule. I figure I would have finished this earlier if my April wasn’t so busy, because Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is quite engaging. The old English language wasn’t so hard to understand, and we get treated to interesting characters and situations from the start. I honestly had no idea what the book was about when I started reading it except that it was about these two people on the title, and for a moment I thought Strange was Mr. Norrell’s biographer. Heh. The book isn’t just about magic, though, or just the two gentlemen. If it was, then it would’ve been far shorter, yes? This is part historical (or alternate history, rather), so I found myself in a lot of war scenes in the book that were far more interesting than the ones I read in Les Misérables. Case in point: I slogged through the Waterloo part of Les Mis but breezed through the one here, because of Jonathan Strange. It is true: magic makes things more interesting. ;)

Another thing that I can’t not mention about this book is the footnotes, and the sheer amount of them. I don’t mind footnotes — in fact, I find them quite fun when I encounter them in books. Granted, they were distracting, especially when they span pages and pages in the book, just like how it was in this book. Theyr’e not really important, but as some of my buddies said, it provided a richer reading experience of Strange and Norrell’s story.

I enjoyed reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, I really did. Perhaps my only gripe in this book is how it really dragged at some point. It wasn’t exactly boring — not as boring as say, that chapter on Parisian slang in Les Mis, or the part about the sewer — but man did they drag. The second volume was interesting, but it took a really long time before some things really started happening. I suppose, like Les Mis, it adds more texture to the story, but it can get pretty tiresome after some time. Let’s get moving, please.

I have to hand it to the author, though, because when things started happening, they really started happening. Then I find that I can hardly put it down. While I wouldn’t exactly describe the last part unputdownable, the action made me want to just keep reading because I need to know how it ends. I liked how the ending wrapped up a lot of the loose ends in the first parts, but not without leaving a few more to leave the readers longing a little. Getting to the end was slightly bittersweet because I spent a lot of time in their world, and also just because of that ending.

So while there were some dragging parts, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was quite enjoyable, even for someone who was peer pressured to read it. ;) It’s a happy kind of peer pressure, though! And yeah, add me to the list of people who’s excited to see its BBC adaptation. I’m quite excited to see how they’d show the magic on the screen…and that man with thistle-down hair. :)

Rating: [rating=4]

Required Reading: April

Other reviews:
marginalia