Personal Rating: There are two types of north: true north and a mere cardinal north of the compass. If Shadow and Bone (2012) is a direction, then it is the true north of the fantasy genre. Written by Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo — this New York Times bestselling first novel in the Grishaverse series is a high-fashioned fantasy adventure […]
The American Dream: Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” EVANESCENT GREEN Overview Set in the Roaring 20s or the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby, follows the story of a mysterious gentleman, Gatsby, whose name became well-known for arranging and organizing grandiose parties. The novel was […]
Life lessons you won’t forget: Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs
“In other words, being born with a certain ability does not mean we are obliged to use it, and in rare cases, we are obliged no to. All.” Personal Rating: Everyone with different abilities, maybe just a mundane possession or filled with peculiarity, could lead to different consequences. That’s why for every action we made, […]
Quest of a Life-time: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
BOOK VS FILM *This review contains spoilers.* INTRODUCTION Ready Player 1 is a dystopian science-fiction YA hybrid debut novel by author Ernest Cline, about an adventure quest for three keys leading to the game creator’s massive fortune hidden inside a worldwide virtual reality called OASIS. It was originally published in 2011 and was adapted to […]
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
Personal Rating: An Enthralling Tell-All Tale of Race to Victory From an iconic brand logo of a swoosh that conveys motion, designed with a cheap price of only thirty-five dollars to a multibillion-dollar company name that revealed itself from a midnight sleep, named after the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, comes an inspiring success business story […]
The Butterfly with the Broken Wing: Young Elites By Marie Lu
Personal Rating * Spoilers Alert * “A newborn babe takes its first breath, And creates storm that rains down death” Young Elites Trilogy is a popular YA fantasy novel written by Marie Lu. It is set in a Renaissance-like era after a deadly plague called blood fever ravaged the land and left a mass of […]
The Ultimate Virtual Reality Beyond Imagination: Warcross Duology by Marie Lu
Personal Rating Warning: it contains spoilers. The Warcross duology (Warcross and Wildcard) is a young adult fiction novel written by Marie Lu and nominated for several awards for Young Adult. It is reported that the book rights had been optioned for a TV adaptation by Made Up Stories and John Cameron. It is about the […]
The Antithesis of Romantic Comedy: Beach Read by Emily Henry
Personal Rating Sixteen weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list, Beach Read by Emily Henry (2020), dubbed as contemporary romance fiction, is actually more of a novel that encapsulates the realities and complexities of an adult life — where there are money problems on trying to make ends meet, health concerns of parents arise who are either battling […]
Finding a Family in an Unexpected Place: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Personal Rating A book should not be judged by its cover, but who would not be tempted to read TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) when it has an enticing artwork that speaks for itself? Not only is it a treat for the eyes, but simply looking at it already gives an idyllic nautical […]
A Childlike Wisdom: The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Personal Rating: The Tao of Pooh is an introduction to Taoism for Westerners explained through the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh. It all started when the author Benjamin Hoff observed that the English language writings about Taoist philosophy often miss the point. According to him, they are more concerned with “bickering over minute particulars” than telling the […]