Checking out a local bestseller

This weekend, I decided to go local with my reading. Considering that stories originally published in Wattpad are all the rave, I checked out the grandmama of them—Bianca Bernardino's She's Dating the Gangster. Bernardino's online novel has found its way to print, and I've heard that it's even going to be adapted to the big screen. So I'm curious.

My curiosity eventually becomes a huge disappointment as I turned the final page. I had high hopes for She's Dating the Gangster. But it's confusing, infuriating, frustrating, and tiring. Is this what young people these days are reading? Shallow drivel. If this novel began the trend of new adult novels in the country, then I shiver at the thought of reading the countless stories it has spawned.

Bernardino's novel starts interestingly enough. Kenji, the high school heartthrob, missends a text message to Athena, who he thinks is his ex-girlfriend, who is also named Athena. The ex is later called Abigail, probably to avoid confusion. I think that the ex can be called anything, as she has absolutely no character at all. It would even have helped it she'd have been nameless. (I think the same is true for the supporting characters. They're cookie cutter characters without any distinct voice.)

Anyway, Kenji is hellbent on getting back with Abigail, so he strikes a deal with Athena. All Athena has to do is to pretend that she's now Kenji's girlfriend. Hopefully, Abigail will see them all lovey-dovey and become jealous. (Yes, the novel somehow makes you think that jealousy leads to exes getting back. Warped thinking, if I may say.)

All the clichés are here. Good girl eventually falls for the bad boy. Female character gets sick and dies, but not before male character proposes marriage. Video footage being played that shows the dead character's stupid message to the one left behind. Screaming, lovesick teenage girls squeal a lot and defend the high school gangster. This is so unintentionally funny because they would even gang up on the girl they're jealous of.

I find no redeeming quality to She's Dating a Gangster. There's a pretentious allusion to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," but it just leads to even more stupidity. When Athena dies and leaves Kenji still a mess (even if one year has already passed), Kenji decides to take his own life by swallowing pills. By dying, he thinks that Athena and he will never be apart anymore. Whatever.  I'd rather have a root canal than read this pointless story again.

I'm glad that more and more people are reading though. And that a lot of them are coming up with stories that other people read. I only hope that these readers develop a hunger, a craving for something more satisfying. And that our local writers recognize this craving and answer it by telling stories with more substance.

Read this novel if:

1. This is the last book on earth.
2. You have no qualms about two sweethearts calling each other Sexylove and Lovebabe.
3. Oh, don't bother.

J is for James

Henry James is a novelist whom I feel I should be reading more of. I was in book love heaven with A Portrait of the Lady. And I was genuinely creeped out by his short story "The Turn of the Screw." But The Wings of the Dove was another matter. I found reading it, uhmm, difficult.

The novel's plot is classic Henry James. A couple, Kate Croy and Merton Densher, are ridiculously in love. However, Kate's aunt, Maud Lowder, is vehemently opposed to their romantic involvement, as Merton is just a lowly clerk without any money. Enter Milly Theale, an American millionaire who's terminally ill. Kate comes up with an idea of Merton accompanying Milly in Italy, hoping that Milly would fall made in love with Merton and leave some of her inheritance to Merton upon her death.

First, there are the characters. For some reason, I couldn't root for any of them. Kate comes off as being manipulative, Merton as a wuss, and Milly as a gullible expat. And am I bad person if I wish that Kate and Merton's romance be doomed? Even Aunt Maud feels a little oily for me.

Second, the narrative feels long and winding. Long paragraphs wherein characters just describe their mood made me want to fling this book at a wall. I almost did it though. Almost. But my A to Z challenge calls, and there's no way I'm going to switch The Wings of the Dove with two other Henry James novels that I have. I don't care about the American expat community in The Ambassadors, nor about the ending in The Golden Bowl, which is the only James novel where everything turns out well for the characters in the end. Blecch. Give me tragedy any time.

The ending of The Wings of the Dove almost had me screaming. Almost. Merton, you should've opened that envelope. You should've allowed yourself just a peek at what Milly left you. You owe it to yourself to have done so. Never mind about Kate. She had it coming. When she asked you to be close to Milly, she basically gave you away. Your falling in love with Milly was but natural.

I love the movie adaptation of this novel though. Helena Bonham Carter and Linus Roache were perfect for their roles. Alison Elliott's acting as Milly Theale was so beautifully subtle. The sense of place of the movie was spot on. However, in the novel, the setting can get a bit confusing, especially with James's penchant for long paragraphs and his focus on the characters' train of thought.

The Wings of the Dove is considered by many to be one of James's brilliant novels. But James was never really happy with it. He felt that his characters aren't that fully realized and that the novel's final structure was defective, whatever that means. I agree with James. I would have loved to read more about Kate and Merton and their relationship with Milly. I would have loved to read more about Milly's eventual falling for Merton. In the novel, Milly just . . . dies.

I'm guessing that The Wings of the Dove is one of those novels that gets better after a reread. It is a classic after all. And perhaps I just had way too many expectations about it. In any case, a reread is definitely in order.

Read this book if:

1. You love doomed romances.
2. You have a devious and manipulative romantic partner.
3. You have a thing for Henry James and his long paragraphs.

H is for Hardy

First, this is going to be short. I'll be writing a full post on my thoughts about Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native over at The Project Gutenberg Project blog. I've been accepted as one of its contributors, and my first post goes live this Tuesday. The blog's all about discovering forgotten classics in the public domain.

While Hardy may not be considered "forgotten," I feel that he's not as popular these days as some classic authors. Jane Austen, for instance, has had numerous adaptations of her novels. Shakespeare has been reworked to death. Henry James and E. M. Forster enjoyed a revival due to the wonderful Merchant-Ivory films. But Hardy? Quite few and far between, if I may so.

Second, The Return of the Native caught me by surprise. Oh, Hardy, why did it take me this long to read you? The novel opens very slowly. But the drama that enfolds lures you in. Here are tragic characters all set out to enact the story that unfolds beautifully. Here's a novel that lets you look into the lives of provincial characters—their superstitions, their upbringing, their beliefs and mores.

Perhaps it's the depressing themes that make people shy away from Hardy. Yes, The Return of the Native can indeed be a downer. You wallow in it. You get lost in all the frustrations, the what-could-have-beens, the missed connections, and the futile romances of the people of Egdon Heath. But you know what? I'd gladly return to the fictional Wessex of Hardy, if only to read his brilliant stories. The themes may be depressing, but the writing is glorious.

Started reading this while waiting to board a plane

Read this book if:

1. Depressing novels are your thing.
2. You've always wondered about Hardy's fictional Wessex.
3. You know what it's like to return to your hometown after years of being away.

Update:

My post at the Project Gutenberg Project blog is now up. Read it here.

A is for Austen

Finally, I have read my first Jane Austen, and let me just say that I'm glad this is finally over. Austen, over and done with. If I could sum up in just one word all my thoughts on this novel, it would be, well, meh. What's the deal with Austen? And why does her characters have to be so, well, meh.

My feelings as I read through this novel during the first few days of 2014 can be described in 3 stages. First is anger and frustration. Yes, I was angry at and frustrated with Emma, she of the flawed character who simply has to mess with everybody else's lives. Apparently, Emma has taken it upon herself to do all the matchmaking among people who matter in Highbury. It doesn't matter that her success rate is just 1 so far. In this day and age, she's be labeled as a manipulative and meddling b****.

So yes, I was angry, and, yes, I was frustrated. And my frustration is directed toward all the people who play along with her, specifically Harriet who foregoes the love of a certain Robert Martin in favor of someone that Emma likes. Why? Because, as per Emma, Martin is just too poor a match for her dear Harriet, who is clearly smitten with Martin and is thrilled at his marriage proposal. Kill me now.

Angry enough to bite the book

Second, I was confused. Why won't people just say what they really think? Why all the gossip and speculation, which clearly are exercises in futility? Why would Frank Churchill keep his engagement to Jane Fairfax a secret? I think of all the chapters that could have been removed should people just follow their romantic inclinations and not lead clueless people to false hopes. Cruel, cruel, cruel.

I was confused with Emma as well. Why does she have to appoint herself as the matchmaker of Highbury? It just doesn't add up! If she were being paid to do so, now that would one hell of a motivation. But clearly she just wants to poke her nose in people's asses.

I'm confused with the "weighty" issues they discuss in Emma. It really is important to talk about, and at length at that, how beautiful one's handwriting is and how one person's handwriting appears so much stronger than the other. Oh, and of course it would be a dilemma to find out that there would be 9 guests instead of just 8, which they originally planned. That truly is a problem that needs to be resolved in at least 2 pages. I scratch my head in wonder.

A bit pacified but confused

But I soldier on and persevere. And by the end of this novel of about 400 pages, I just felt relief. All ends well. As I have seen it from page 1, all will end in a wedding, well, 3 weddings in fact. Emma realizes that she does love Mr. Knightley, Harriet ends up with Robert Martin, and the engagement of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax is brought to everyone's attention. If I were living in Highbury, I would've kidnapped all the characters, locked them up together in a room, and offer no food until they just be honest with one another.

Still, I am happy that I finished Emma, even though it didn't offer any motivation to read more Austen novels. Pride and Prejudice? Thanks, but I'll just watch the movie again. And that Darcy—that's someone I also couldn't understand.

A smile of relief

Read this book if:

1. You love flawed heroines.
2. You'll read anything that has female characters wearing corsets.
3. You love a comedy of errors, of sorts.

2 brothers, 3 Italian cities, and 1 girl

So far, I've read 5 novels by David Levithan, and, thankfully, not 1 of them has been a disappointment. Even this non-LGBT novel, Are We There Yet?, is quite delightful. It's the perfect book to bring to the beach or while on vacation in an exotic country.

It feels that we've been here before though: 2 brothers with very different personalities are set up by their parents to go on vacation in a faraway European country. With this trip, the parents do hope that 23-year-old Danny and 16-year-old Elijah rekindle their sense of brotherhood and camaraderie.

My first thought upon reading the opening chapters was I wish that my parents would have the same idea. Minus the age gap, I think the dynamic between David and Elijah is more or less similar to my relationship with my brother. Those who have brothers completely understand when I say that it's a very weird dynamic, that between brothers. One minute you're literally grabbing each other's throats; the next, you're asking money from each other. Inexplicably, your brother is your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time.

Are We There Yet? isn't fluff. While Levithan does fall short in providing a strong sense of place for the cities that the brothers visit, he does focus on a historical Jewish ghetto in Venice. And that portion of the trip creates a significant impression on David and Elijah.

Of course, there has to be hints of romance, or at least the possibility of a romance. So enter a college girl named Julia who comes between David and Elijah. Both become smitten, but none of them don't get the girl. In fact, Julia is instrumental in making Elijah realize how much he misses the girl he left at his prep school.

Are We There Yet? is charming. It's one of David Levithan's novels that do not have a major gay or lesbian character, but it's still enjoyable nonetheless. For one, it makes you want to pack your bags and leave for Venice, or Florence, or Rome! I know I want to. And the masochist in me wants to bring my brother along.

Read this book if:

1. You love Italy.
2. You know the pros and cons of traveling with a family member.
3. Because David Levithan.

I kissed a goose girl and I liked it

When I bought Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl, a very dear friend remarked, quite amusedly, "Oh, what's that?" Perhaps he was taken aback by the somewhat cheesy cover. Or maybe the weird title set him off. I couldn't blame him though—the cover is quite fluffy and the title, well, it's just one of those less familiar fairy tales by the Grimm brothers.

So yes, Hale's The Goose Girl is a retelling of a fairy tale. (You can read the original version here.) But it's a retelling that kept me entertained during a holiday. The young adult novel is Hale's debut, and it has become so widely read that 3 more books followed it, making up "The Books of Bayern" series.

Our goose girl is Crown Princess Ani of the kingdom of Kildenree, who gets betrothed against her will to a prince of the neighboring kingdom of Bayern. We can say that Ani was probably a fish out of water in her native land, where people see her ability of speaking to animals as a very unnatural gift. It doesn't help that her mother, the queen, sees her as being unfit to rule, forcing to queen to promise the crown to the second-born prince.

So Ani is whisked away to that unfamiliar kingdom with her small band of royal guards and Selia, her lady-in-waiting, who has other plans of her own once they reach Bayern. Selia manages to raise a mutiny while in transit and assumes the identity of Princess Ani, who escapes and finds herself in the employ of the palace—as the girl who tend to the king's 50 geese. And as goose girl, she befriends the other people under the king's employ, people who, despite being Bayern natives, still feel alienated. In Bayern, there appears to be a rough stratification of its citizens, with people who come from the outside forests being treated as second class.

At heart, The Goose Girl is a coming-of-age story. At the beginning of the novel, Ani seems to just go with whatever people decide for her. She doesn't even see the value of being the crown princess. But she comes to a beautiful bloom as the goose girl: appreciating the value of hard work, realizing the importance of forming true friendships, coming to terms of who she really is, and even falling in love with an elusive character. One can't help but love Ani, and one does wish that she makes everything right.

The Goose Girl, being a fairy tale, has a happy ending. But this conclusion doesn't feel contrived at all, which is so unlike the denouements in fairy tales wherein everything becomes conveniently right. Ani uses her gift in a pivotal fight sequence. In a way, she "works" to make things right. And the reader might feel giddy to discover the true identity of our elusive boy.

It's not all fluff though. Hale gives us a few bloody fight scenes. And Selia's way of talking to Ani can come off as very bitchy. (A modern retelling indeed!) But let's face it, we read these stories because we want to feel good. Because fairy tales, no matter how fantastical they may seem, make us want to believe that the betrayed princess gets her crown, traitorous people get punished and sometimes killed, true friends are rewarded, and people live happily ever after.

Read this book if:

1. You love modern retellings of fairy tales.
2. You always felt that you can speak to animals.
3. You're dissatisfied with the usual fairy-tale endings.

Of best friends, ex-boyfriends, and a very troublesome list

I'm currently in a David Levithan phase, which was happily triggered by the wonderful Boy Meets Boy. That's why I've been busy visiting bookstores for the past weeks, scouring the shelves for Levithan's young adult novels. And I'm thankful that Levithan has brought me out of that reading rut. So glad that that unfortunate phase is over, well at least for now.

My 2nd Levithan read is a collaboration with Rachel Cohn: Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. The book is very cosmopolitan, with it being set in New York, having 2 fashionable and very open-minded teenagers as protagonists, and touching on the concept of friendship in the context of one's romantic relationships.

We all have that one person who always has our back. For Naomi, it has always been Ely. These two have always been inseparable, and I can't help but think that it's by default. They grew up in the same NYC apartment, went to the same high school and are now in NYU, and have come up with a list containing the names of boys that are officially off limits to any of them. I completely understand the concept of the list. One cannot date someone that your bff doesn't approve of, yes? For these two, their friendship is priority. Of course, Naomi isn't just your typical fag hag; she's in love with Ely, who unfortunately for her is also into boys.

Things get complicated when Ely kisses Bruce the Second, Naomi's boyfriend. While Bruce the Second isn't on the No Kiss List, it's just a given that current boyfriends are off limits. But is Bruce the Second gay? Levithan doesn't clearly say so. I'm getting the impression that Levithan is shying away from labels, which can really get very tricky and restrictive. When Bruce the Second's mom asks him if he's gay, he responds with, "I'm just not straight." Okay, I can totally work with that.

What I'm not okay is that there are quite a few unnecessary characters in the novel. They just come and go; they just muddle up the story. There's Bruce the First, Robin (a girl) and Robin (a boy), Gabriel the doorman, their fellow NYU undergraduates. It can be quite frustrating, especially when Levithan didn't give clear voices to the minor characters.

The resulting conflict between Naomi and Ely leads to a healthy realization. Both of them have always been associated with each other that their separation, albeit temporarily, makes them realize their individuality. Naomi comes to grips with the fact that it's futile holding out for Ely. And Ely is finally comfortable with having a "serious" relationship with someone that he might really be in love with.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List is a quirky but beautiful novel about friendship. And love too. We love our friends. It might not be the same way we love our partners, but this love is as important to us nonetheless.

Read this book if:

1. You've had a bff all your life.
2. You value the opinions of your close friends when it comes to the persons you date.
3. You hate labels.

I fell in love with this book

It's been a while since I gushed over a book, and it feels great to be doing it now. Yes, I am seriously fawning over David Levithan's debut novel Boy Meets Boy, a novel published 10 years ago. As I closed the book last Friday night, I was swept away by the beauty of Levithan's story and his writing. I've now included it in my very short list of all-time favorite books.

The world that Levithan creates in this novel represents an ideal. If you're jaded, you'd think this would be speculative fiction. It's a world where teenagers, gay or straight, can date anyone they want to, without fear of being ostracized. It's a school where the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen. Parents, well at least the main character's parents anyway, do not think too much about their children's sexuality but shower them with all the love that they can give.

I found it very easy to relate to all the characters Levithan wrote about in Boy Meets Boy. Paul, the 1st 'boy' in the title, is so unlike in your typical teenager. He has no tinge of insecurity and knows what he wants. However, like your typical teenager, he becomes awkward when he meets 'Noah', a senior who just transferred to his school. Right from the start, I just knew that Paul should end up with Noah. If they didn't, I would just die. There's no hope for the world.

But hope isn't a concept that's wanting in Boy Meets Boy. Paul hopes that he ends up with Noah. He hopes to patch things up with Joni, one of his best friends, who's dating a schmuck. He hopes that he wouldn't bump into his ex, Kyle, who keeps popping up in all the wrong moments. In the latter part of the novel, Kyle makes amends with Paul and hopes that things turn out better for them as friends. And Paul hopes that the parents of his other best friend, Tony, would step down from their religious pedestal and see that there's nothing wrong with being gay.

If I knew that Boy Meets Boy would have memorable lines, I would have kept a highlighter with me while I was reading it. I just fell in love with the beautiful prose that Levithan wrote. Here are some of my favorites:

I find my greatest strength in wanting to be strong. I find my greatest bravery in deciding to be brave. I don't know if I've ever realized it before. . . I think we both realize it now. If there's no feeling of fear, then there's no need for courage. 

With some break-ups, all you can think about afterwards is how badly it ended and how much the other person hurt you. With others, you become sentimental for the good times and lose track of what went wrong.

Now, I don't believe in doing hugs halfway. I can't stand people who try to hug without touching. A hug should be a full embrace - as I wrap my arms around Tony, I am not just holding him, but also trying to lift off his troubles for a moment so that the only thing he can feel is my presence, my support.

Part of love is letting a person be who they want to be.

My only gripe is that the novel is too short! It's that kind of book that you just want to go on forever. You feel that you just need to know everything that happens to these quirky characters. You wish that there were a sequel. And it's the kind of novel that makes you want to write fan mail to the author and urges you to hunt for his other books. I love Boy Meets Boy, and I hope more people would love it too.

Read this book if:

1. You know that it's only a matter of time before we get to that ideal world.
2. You like boys meeting boys, or girls meeting girls.
3. You love LGBT fiction.

We wish to inform you that your baby has now been replaced

During the weekend, I finished Brenna Yovanoff's young adult novel The Replacement and found myself being conflicted with my feelings toward it. It does have all the elements that I usually am partial too—the creepy atmosphere, the supernatural characters based on folklore, the subtle horror, and the romance not bordering on bubblegum. And yet, I'm not too sure if I really liked it.

The Replacement touches on a myth that seems to be common across different cultures: supernatural creatures living below the ground steal babies and replace them with one of their own. In Yovanoff's novel, this unfortunate incident seems to happen in the town of Gentry regularly. It's a situation that the town folk don't talk about openly; a few of them view it as a sacrifice to these mythical creatures. These babies are offered as a way of thanks for giving Gentry a few more years of prosperity.

Normally though, the replaced babies—these changelings—don't live long. But Mackie Doyle is an exception. He's now 16 but is apparently slowly dying. He gets long-lasting dizzy spells brought about by being near to objects made of iron; he passes out easily. The human world isn't an environment where he can thrive. He's living in it on borrowed time. But he finds out that he is drawn to the underworld where he originally came from, and it's a world that can offer him the chance to live. However, choosing the underworld means leaving his family behind and also the girl whom he has fallen in love with, Tate.

I was expecting that the romance angle of The Replacement would be a major element. Thankfully, it's not. More than anything, it is the concept of the family that Yovanoff chooses to highlight. We find out that the changelings don't survive long because the family knows that their babies have been replaced, and that this knowledge is what keeps preventing them from loving the changelings. In Mackie's case, it is not the love of his "parents" that made the difference, but the enduring, unselfish love of his older sister. His sister chooses to look beyond the fact that Mackie is no longer her original brother; she acknowledges that Mackie will be the only brother that she'll have.

I like Yovanoff's writing style. The slow burn, the musings of the characters, and the exploration of the importance of family and friends are pretty much enjoyable to read. But something is holding me back from loving The Replacement. I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Maybe I would have liked more exposition on the supernatural aspect of the novel. As it is, the mythical creatures don't even have labels of what they really are. The underworld, with its wonderfully ugly inhabitants, had a huge potential for development. Unfortunately, I was left wanting.

Still, I think I would read more of Yovanoff's works, as her writing is very beautiful and very fluid. She has 2 more novels that I've seen recently: The Space between Us and Paper Valentine. I've Googled the stories of these novels, and I think they're right up my alley.

Read this book if:

1. You're fascinated with the idea of changelings.
2. You understand the concept of " being beautifully ugly."
3. You love creepy reads.

The one who can summon the sun

Usually, when we talk of fantasy, we think of a world similar to medieval Europe. Leigh Bardugo's fantasy novel, Shadow and Bone, does transport us to Europe all right. But this time, the place feels a lot like Russia.

Just reading the characters' names is a giveaway that we're no longer in familiar territory. The main character's name is Alina Starkov. Her best friend is Mal Oretsev. Alina and Mal live in Ravka, which unfortunately has a large area covered in absolute darkness and infested with flesh-eating monsters, the Volcra. This area, called the Shadow Fold, divides the country in half.

Apparently in Ravka, there are people who possess supernatural abilities and are then recruited to serve in the Second Army. Collectively called as the Grisha, they are of three types. The first, Heartrenders and Healers, can kill and heal. The second, Squallers, Inferni, and Tidemakers, can control the wind, fire, and water. The last, Durasts and Alkemi, can control objects. The most powerful of these Grisha, the Darkling, is in search of the fabled sun summoner, a Grisha that can command light, who can hopefully destroy the Shadow Fold.

Map of Ravka, showing the Shadow Fold (The Unsea)

Alina may just be the sun summoner herself, as she's proven that she can unintentionally light up when provoked. Naturally, the Darkling recruits her to the Grisha, separating her from the handsome Mal. However, it turns out that not everything the Darkling says is true. Alina discovers that the Darkling was responsible for creating the Shadow Fold and he just wants to use Alina to destroy the Volcra before enveloping the whole of Ravka in darkness.

This is fantasy, and, of course, we can't just have one stand-alone novel. As the first book of the Grisha trilogy, Shadow and Bone kicks off the trilogy wonderfully. The blurb at the front cover somehow says it for me; it is a novel unlike anything I've read before. The setting is a good departure from our usual, and it's refreshing to not find any dragons nor dwarves nor fairies in the narrative. Ditto with angels, werewolves, and vampires.

There's a forgivable I've-read-this-all-before feel to Shadow and Bone. And one hopes that the succeeding books will live up to first book's promise. Nevertheless, Shadow and Bone is a book that even non-fantasy readers would probably love. It has something for everyone: romance, magic, adventure, bloodshed, and drama. And despite all these varied elements, Bardugo still holds everything together, keeping the story tight and the characterization distinct and well-developed. I can't wait for the second book!

Read this book if:

1. You've always been fascinated with Russia.
2. You're patient enough to wait for the series to be complete.
3. You're into YA fantasy.

A geek and a slacker in love

I am writing this entry with a smile on my  face—a smile brought about by a surprisingly entertaining read. And that read is the novel by Susan Colasanti entitled When It Happens.

Sappy, contrived, cloying, forced. All these were my expectations when I turned to the first page of this YA novel. And I am smiling from ear to ear because I never found the romance sappy, the dialogue contrived, the burgeoning romance between the characters cloying, nor the ending forced.

I won't call the dialogue as natural, as I'm not familiar at all with how teens talk nowadays. But the banter and the wit flows smoothly, and Colasanti does make you feel for her characters when you read about their thoughts.

Nothing's particularly new here. Overachieving girl (Sara) falls in love with another senior (Tobey) who's main goal is to win the school's Battle of the Bands. Throw in the token best friends and the jocks and homecoming queens who make everyone's life hell.

But I wouldn't call When It Happens sterile. There's grit here, too. Sara's mother is a single parent who seems to have no trouble at all switching from one boyfriend to the next. And while Sara is a virgin, Tobey has a few experiences of his own. In fact, when Sara and Tobey talk about this issue, Colasanti doesn't go to a moral high ground.

This is still sugary sweet country, however. So one shouldn't cringe when Tobey realizes his potential, clean up his act, and gets accepted to a college in NY. One shouldn't hurl the book just because Sara gets accepted to a school in NY, too. When It Happens is still YA chick lit but without vampires. We can't have depressing endings here.

I'd gladly recommend When It Happens to my friends who have teenagers. It's an interesting read once you get comfortable with the language (e.g., "Protest much," "Drool much," and all those other much-es). Some of the scenes are funny. And you just might see yourself in one of the characters.

Read this book if:

1. YA chick lit is your thing.
2. You find yourself with nothing to do in one lazy afternoon.
3. You prefer real people to vampires.

A surprise favorite read this year

Teen paranormal romance. Them 3 words that usually scare me. Okay, just for the sake of transparency, yes, I've read all 4 Twilight books. It was an experience all right. Uneven at best. I liked the first book and found the last book quite enjoyable. Now, for books 2 and 3, excuse me while I barf.

To compare Meyer's novels with Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone would be futile, even though they belong to the same genre. It might even seem unfair on Taylor to have her books next to Twilight in bookstores. If you read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, then you'd have this compulsion to gather all these books and place them prominently on the bookstore. I was this close to just hanging out in the teen section in bookstores and keeping an eye out on everyone buying Twilight. Then I'd shout, "Drop that silly little book, you commercially brainwashed teen!" Then I'd place DoSaB on her hands instead. I know she'll thank me for it.

Here I am gushing about a book when I haven't even told you what it's all about. Well, it's about angels and demons, or more specifically, angel- and demon-like characters. Taylor, however, goes beyond the mythology. In DoSaB, the angels aren't really the good guys, nor are the demons the evil ones. In fact, you can hardly tell who has the moral high ground in their war. It's a good thing that Taylor came up with less conventional names for these 2 groups: seraphim for the fiery-winged and celestial beings, and the chimaera for the characters whose body parts are an odd mix of animal and human body parts.

Enter Karou, a human (supposedly), who is in the service of the chimaera by providing them with human and animal teeth. Such an odd task for someone so frail looking. Then she meets Karou, a seraph of unimaginable beauty with a reputation for being a ruthless soldier. Of course, they fall in love. Of course, it's not possible, in theory. Karou is revealed to be a chimaera herself. Of course, everything gets complicated. Karou is the resurrected form of Madrigal, a chimaera who was executed after being discovered to be having a relationship with Karou.

Oy, dear reader, it's wonderful to get lost in Taylor's beautiful and brutal universe. The slow reveal of the true nature and history of the two lead characters is a delight. Their inexplicable attraction toward each other has none of the cloying taste of novels in this genre. What we have are 2 immensely relatable characters who are aware of the consequences of their actions.

Taylor's sense of place is also admirable. Prague's gloomy and Gothic atmosphere sets the right tone at the beginning of the novel, where the reader is immediately plunged into the mystifying world of the chimaera. Eretz, the home of the chimaera, is portrayed as a place of strange and harsh beauty, a vast landscape where you see chimaera in every configuration.

Why did it take too long for me to write my thoughts about this book? Well, blame it on my age. I thought that I've already made a post about it and only bothered to check because I'm reading the 2nd book. It's turning out to be just as good as the 1st. In fact, it might even be better!

Read this book if:

1. You're willing to give teen paranormal romance a try.
2. You've always been fascinated by angels and their fallen counterparts.
3. You love "Romeo and Juliet."