Book Review: The Boy in the Burning House by Tim Wynne-Jones

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OVERALL RATING: 8.5 /10

            STORY: 8/10

            CHARACTERS: 8/10

            THE FEELS: 10/ 10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 10/ 10

PLOT: 8/ 10

How does it feel to lost your father mysteriously? I mean, loosing him in just a glimpse of an eye and having no idea why did it happen? The novel, The Boy in the Burning House is an Edgar Award winner novel of Tim Wynee-Jones. A novel that revolves around the world of Jim Hawkins. Jim Hawkins lost his father two years ago. Is he dead or just gone? Then Jim meets Ruth Rose. Moody, provocative, she’s the bad-girl stepdaughter of Father Fisher, Jim’s father’s childhood friend and the town pastor, and she shocks Jim out of his stupor when she tells him her stepfather is a murderer.

Book review: Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld

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OVERALL RATING: 7.5 /10

            STORY: 7/10

            CHARACTERS: 6/10

            THE FEELS: 9.5/ 10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 10/ 10

PLOT: 8/ 10

Nobody is safe in the secret hour. Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma. Time freezes. Nobody moves. For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour — only they are free to move about the midnight time. These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School. Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they’re determined to stop her before she can use it. A story of courage, shadowy perils, and unexpected destiny, the secret hour is the first volume of the mesmerizing Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld.

Book Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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“You are as real as anyone, and your doubts make you more real, not less.” 

OVERALL RATING: 9 /10

            STORY: 8/10

            CHARACTERS: 10/10

            THE FEELS: 9/ 10

            ENTERTAINMENT: 10/ 10

PLOT: 9/ 10

I was quite scared on the things that John Green stored for us, the readers, in his new novel Turtles All the Way Down. Why? First, he needs to, not beat, but at least give justice to the success of The Fault in Our Stars. Second, it has been a while since he showed us his greatness, the wait should be worth it. But after reading the book (just less than an hour ago), I was not disappointed. Here are some of the reasons why I love the Turtles All the Way Down.

J.G. Recipe

What I really love about John Green’s works is the fact that his pieces really relate to the readers. In this new novel, he tackles mental health. Again, John Green never failed to deliver when it comes to how his work can easily relate to his readers. I am not saying, that his readers have mental health issues. What I mean is that, no matter what issues or disorders are being serve by his book (like cancer for TFIOS), he always knows how to connect them to the interests of the readers. This thing – or whatever he is doing to make this “relating” stuff work, I call it the J.G. (John Green duh) Recipe.

Now Reading: Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

Book review soon. 

Biri Island, Northern Samar

How to go there? 

***Calbayog > Allen > Lavezares > Biri***
*Plane from Mactan-Cebu Airport to Calbayog Airport (1 hour)*

- Plane ticket prices vary. Take advantage of CebPac’s promo prices now (despite their crappy service), or PAL’s. CebPac’s flight usually arrive at noon, while PAL’s arrive early in the morning.
- (You can also take a Cebu – Catarman flight. I heard there’s a ride from Catarman straight to Lavezares.)

*Tricycle from Calbayog Airport to Calbayog Grand Tours Van Terminal (15 minutes)*

- Just look for a trike driver and ask him to drive you to Grand Tours. The airport is a bit far from the town proper, so he might ask you to pakyaw the ride for 120php. Try haggling for 100php for the entire ride, if you can. Normal rate per tricycle ride around the town proper is 10php per head. Local carenderia stalls abound the area too, if you are hungry).
- (If you plan to stay in Calbayog for a while, Marcial’s Grill has some tasty tender ribs and fried chicken. Buy pasalubong in Brgy. Matobato (just a hundred-meter walk from Marcial’s Grill) on your way home. Calbayog’s smoked fish is the bomb!)
- (If you have a few days to spare, check out Calbayog’s waterfalls, and the Pink Beach in Sila Island.)

MUSIC FEATURE: 'Seafret' is Fresh and Bumping Souls

"Through the ruins, trying to save it ‘for I fall out, show me somehow I can make it, All that we gave, was it wasted? Falling down broke, only one hope that you make it"- Give Me Something by Seafret

NAME: SEAFRET

GENRE: INDIE

BEST SONG FOR ME: GIVE ME SOMETHING 

BIO: The North East of England is a place shrouded in tradition, installing a powerful sense of who you are in its residents. Hailing from the small town of Bridlington, Jack Sedman (vocals) and Harry Draper (guitar) chose the name Seafret for their music. As well as being a pun on the guitar fret board, it’s also a local term; it applies to the rolling mists that come in off the North Sea during summer.

BOOK REVIEW: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

“You could rattle the stars," she whispered. "You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most.

SYNOPSIS: In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.  The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

FEATURE: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

"The great thing about this life of ours is that you can be someone different to everybody."

        Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

         Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. 
               When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

            This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven

BOOK REVIEW: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo

“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. "You and I are going to change the world.” 

SYNOPSIS: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.             Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.          Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

BOOK FEATURE: Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

Voilà,” she says, and not like your aunt says it either, unless your aunt is a sophisticated French actress from the 1960s whose breath makes you feel faint—in a good way. I’m not so sure I care at all that she’s better than me, as long as she keeps saying things in French.” 

BOOK FEATURE: Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo

“The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.”

BOOK FEATURE: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

“Sometimes, the wicked will tell us things just to confuse us–to haunt our thoughts long after we've faced them.” 

BOOK FEATURE: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.” 

BOOK REVIEW:The Young Elites by Marie Lu

“Be true to yourself. But that's something everyone says and no one means. No one wants you to be yourself. They want you to be the version of yourself that they like.”

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.  Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.  Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her

BOOK FEATURE: Angelfall by Susan Ee

“I knew from the start that your loyalty would get you killed. I just never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it.” 

    It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

       Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
      Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.