Roaring Reviews: More Than This by, Patrick Ness

Title: More Than This
Publication Date: May 1, 2014 by Walker Books Ltd
Author: Patrick Ness
Format: Hardback

Plot Synopsis:

A boy drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments. He dies.

Then he wakes, naked and bruised and thirsty, but alive.

How can this be? And what is this strange deserted place?

As he struggles to understand what is happening, the boy dares to hope. Might this not be the end? Might there be more to this life, or perhaps this afterlife?

The Actual Review:

I found this book when I was casually browsing through the aisles of Fullybooked, when my sight landed on its spine, and as soon I saw the word Ness, I imediately picked it up, hoping that the writer would be Patrick Ness and not just someone who happens to share the last name. 

AND I WAS RIGHT!

The book is written by him, and reminiscing my fantastic experience upon reading his other book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, I ran up to the counter as fast as my two feet could carry me and bought the book.

The entire concept of More Than This, seemed promising when I was reading the blurb. The idea was so fresh and de novo that what really happened wouldn't come to you whilst reading because it's far-fetched but at the same time seem plausible and likely to happen in.the future. 

I never expected to like the characters in this books, most especially Seth. I could relate to his character in almost every which way possible, his angst, his loneliness, his self-pitying temperament; Patrick Ness really captured the inner turmoils a teenager goes through at this stage of life. I applaud how the readers get to explore more to Seth's character and life (antemortem) though the consistent flashback chapters. 

And although the blurb, as said before, seems really the first one-third of the book dragged quite a lot! I was this close upon giving up on the book itself if it were not  for my reservation I get when putting a book down unfinished. And as repercussion of the draggy start, I didn't seem to get the message portrayed; I felt  of the action movement happening from the story that I wasn't able to focus o the character's self actualization.

Overall, More Than This is a nice good read - albiet with a draggy start- filled with whom you can't help but feel a certain liking to. 

My Rating 

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Resonant Recaps: Stephanie Perkins Book Signing

I have reiterated numerous times in this blog that YA Contemporary has never been one of my strongest suits. So the moment I finished reading Anna and the French Kiss, I immediately knew I was hooked to the writing style of Stephanie Perkins, and the only problem I was facing that time was, "What time do I come to the book signing event?"

I don't know whether or not it was sheer luck or divine intervention in the process, but here comes my friend, Laurence of The Lucius Flux -I didn't know him that well at the time- asking me what time I went to the Veronica, Tahereh, and Riggs and Jenny Hann book signings so he could estimate what time he should go there. And when he decided to camp out in front of NBS in the middle of the night, I decided "Might as well join him in camping".

I arrived in NBS at around 5 PM last July 5. We decided to shift our time of arrival from 8 to 5, because there were A LOT of rumors going on around the internet about people camping out for the night. And lo and behold; when I got there, there were already 2 people - Jerzon and Pamela - who were already camped out, and I was the third, and after 40 minutes, Laurence came. A couple of minutes passed then two more arrived, Anjeli and Vanessa, and an hour or so later Wenna arrived. AND OUR SEPTET IS NOW COMPLETE

Left to Right:
Vanessa (6), Pamela (2), Anjeli (5), Laurence (4), Wenna (7), Godwin (3), Jerzon (1)

And then the actual camping experience, that lasted from closing time to the reopening of National Bookstore.

During around 1 AM, everyone was basically tired and over-fatigued, and all of us just want a long relaxing sleep, and then we discovered the secret to beating those drooping eyelids.

Fanboying!

One of our friends kept of tweeting National Bookstore and the author herself, Stephanie Perkins, and god were we surprised to see STEPHANIE PERKINS AND HER HUSBAND when they decided to drop by and say hi. THAT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL BOOK SIGNING EVENT!!!!

Of course, as soon as their visit was over, all of our droopy eyes were now alert;  it's like all of us drank 5 cups of dark coffee. We were that hyped up! And for me, the adrenaline coursing through my veins lasted until the registration time of the signing. I was supper hyped up!

And then come registration 10 AM everyone started taking pictures, talking, pictures, catching up, taking pictures, fanboying/girling, and taking more pictures.

And then the moment we have all been waiting for arrived. Stephanie Perkins came in the house with all her green dress glory, and along with her was Jarrod! Everyone went ballistic the moment she passed through those doors.

Stephanie talked a lot about her inspiration about her series. She told us it started in a dream of her in Paris; she was with an extremely hot guy with an English accent. And when she woke up, she can't seem to get rid the thought out her head, and thus the birth of our favorite YA Contemporary book series.

When the interview was over, the host called the names of the first seven fans who camped outside National Bookstore, and of course, Laurence and I were there. And then the author noticed I tried to cosplay as Josh Wasserstien from Isla and the Happily Ever After, from which resulted the obliteration of my dignity in front of nearly 700 people.

Stephanie: Oh look, he dressed up as Josh! *points to my Sharpie drawn tattoo and then gives the mike to me*
Me: Uhhhhhhh. . .  HAI!!!! *internal facepalm*

No one told me we're supposed to hold out our ARC's to the
camera, so I held the mike instead

And then the actual signing event she signed our stuff; our books, customized shirts, everything!

THANK YOU NATIONAL BOOKSTORE FOR THE AWESOME EVENT, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING STEPHANIE PERKINS HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!

Roaring Reviews: Isla and the Happily Ever After, by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Publication Date: August 14, 2014 by Dutton
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Format: Advanced Reader's Copy

Plot Synopsis:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

The Actual Review:

Isla and the Happily Ever After is the last and final installment to Stepahnie Perkins's Anna and the French Kiss series. A review of the first and second books could be found here and here. 

I managed to snag my copy of Isla and the Happily Ever After after being one of the first seven people to fall in line in National Bookstore's Stephanie Perkins Book Signing. So, thank you National Bookstore!!!

I really love the romance scenes of this book; everything between Josh and Isla were so awkward but extremely cute and fluffy at the same time. Even from the first chapter, you see that the two of them already have that spark but are just too shy to admit it to each other. And when they start doing their romantic trysts you can't help but feel gooey and giddy inside.

I was really impressed with the development of Josh and Isla’s relationship throughout the book. At first it, everything seems to be happening way too fast to be believable; I immediately knew that the two of them have to overcome some sort of ordeal for their romantic rapport to solidify. So when things started going downhill, I knew that this is finally my long awaited trial that would make the two of them realize that they were really meant for each other.

One of the characters that I loved in this was Josh. At first, Josh was introduced to us as a laid-back character who doesn’t take his studies at SOAP pretty seriously - even though he could top the entire class. But in Isla we dive more into his character; we see the actual cause of his nonchalance; we see more to him about why he takes everything with his in usual que sera sera type of manner.

Except his relationship with Isla

Isla’s is one only thing that I had problem with the book. I can’t seem to grasp her overall personality; it’s like I couldn’t relate to her and everything. There were even times that I would find myself completely confused with what’s going on because I don’t understand how she ticks.

Overall Isla and the Happily and the Ever After is good read that would give you a very satisfying ending to all the ships in the world of Anna and the French Kiss. Especially the Etienne and Anna shippers.

My Rating:

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Roaring Reviews: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Publication Date: September 29, 2011 by Dutton
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Format: Trade Paperback

Plot Synopsis:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the negihborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

The Actual Review:

Lola and the Boy Next Door is the second book in the series, and my review for the first book, Anna and the French Kiss can be found here.

In Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins gives us a new and fresh set of character protagonists. Of course, we still see a lot of cameos from Anna Oliphant and Etienne St. Clair, the former protagonists of the first book, just enough for the fans of the old book and couple to make that transition between the new set of leads, because the book now revolves around the romantic story of Cricket Bell and Lola Nolan.

The two books are almost completely opposites (in a good way) of each other. While Anna and the French Kiss will totally hook you and make you fall immediately in love with its characters, this book needs more time before you fall for its characters. I don’t know whether it’s because I'm still hung over with Etienne and Anna, but this one will slowly ensnare the reader into its trap and you won't realize it until it’s too late! You'll only notice it when you’re in the last hundred or so pages and the FEELS are suddenly catching up to you.

The story may seem to quite drag a bit at the start because I felt that I’m being left in the dark about what happened. Why did the trepidation suddenly boom up inside of her ever since the Bells came? How exactly did Cricket break Lola’s heart? And during that entire wait for the revelation, I can’t help but be aggravated because I don’t understand what Lola was going through, and one it was revealed in page 130, the story picks up from there.

Cricket and Lola, aside from needing time to fall for them, I found that they are much complex than our former to protagonists. You see that there is this deeper, inner turmoil that surrounds the two of them, and that being compared with Etienne and Anna, you realize that they have their work cut out more for them because of the things going on with Lola and Max, and then with Lola and herself after the Lola and Max incident.

Aside from Lola, there were also some characters that I didn’t expect to love. In the case of Calliope Bell, you get to the reason behind her hostility and affront, and once the book had shed some light on her character, you can’t help but to take pity on her. Another character that I have loved was Norah. At first I can’t help but o dislike her for being wasting her life but as the story progresses, you see that there’s more to than just being a total mess. We see that she is actually one of the wisest characters in the book, and that even though she left Lola to the care of her uncles, we see that she still cares for her. I just loved the development of her relationship with her daughter.

Overall, I think that the book is amazing, albeit the characters need some time to be getting used to, but once you do, you’ll realize that you can’t make yourself to put down the book. And once you’ve finished it in one seating, you’ll find yourself craving for stories about the characters, and that this is a book work being hung-over.

My Rating:

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