Book Review: Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training 1); By Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Zeus. The King of the Olympians.. Well... not yet. But he’s the start of this series. Meet the Olympian in their teens! It’s not enough to read about the second generation Olympians in their teens, I have to get my paws on the original Olympians teens.

Let me state forth that Zeus isn’t in my “like” list of characters, but he *again in a Holub & Williams state of mind* has turned him.. oh.. adorable. Especially when he is in a quest of looking for a guy name Goose to return the Thunderbolt. Hera is always classy bossy, Hades as always moody, and of course, Poseidon is so cute when he’s afraid of water! Oh I would melt!

I wish I have a thunderbolt of a pet now.

I must say, if you love the Goddess Girls, you would love this series. I’m so sorry I had this book as one of my “Filler Reads”, I ended up hooked on this series. That is such good news for me, to find a new series to enjoy and to look forward to, *sighs* The agony of waiting for the next book. Oh boy!

Look, here’s the deal. Why aren’t you picking this up?! Read it! =3

The secret is, I actually got both versions of e-book and paperback for this one.

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training #1)
By Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

After pulling a magical thunderbolt from a stone, ten-year-old Zeus goes on the adventure of a lifetime in this thrilling start to a brand-new series! The terrible Titans—merciless giants who enjoy snacking on humans—have dominated the earth and put the world into chaos. But their rule is about to be put to the test as a group of young Olympians discover their powers and prepare to righteously rule the universe....      Ten-year-old Zeus is mystified (and super-annoyed) by the fact that he keeps getting hit by lightening. Every. Single. Year. He also longs for adventure, as he has never been far from the cave where he grew up.      Zeus gets his wish—and a lot more than he bargained for—when he is kidnapped by dangerous, giant Titans! In self-defense, Zeus grabs the first thing he sees—an actual thunderbolt he pulls from a stone that is covered in mysterious markings. Zeus is the only one who can decipher the markings, and sets off on a quest to rescue his fellow Olympians from the evil Cronus. Armed with his trusty thunderbolt (named Bolt, of course), Zeus is on an adventure of a lifetime—and a journey to fulfill his destiny as King of the Gods.

Finished Reading: 12th March 2013
Acquire: 25th February 2012
Rate } ♠♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Mythology | Young Adult | Teens | Middle Grade
Release Day }  04th December 2012
Publisher } Aladdin
Format } Paperbook
ISBN } 9781442452633
Pages } 112 pages
Source } Bought
Age Group } PG 12 yo +
Interests } Mythological junkies like me. 
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Book Review: Suicide Notes; By Michael Thomas Ford

What can I say about this book. It was daunting. The depth the main character brought you under his skin, his thoughts. to sum it up. it was triggering, if you have a cutting problem, do NOT read this book.

But it is also kind of hilarious.....yet in the same time heartbreaking to read.

It isn't as depressing as it sounds. this book consisted of 45 days presenting every single day and thoughts of Jeff while he's in the hospital. He cope with his smartass remarks and just "blah" personality.

Personally, it was a good read. I actually went through it with all the emotions and actually relate, laugh and feel what the characters and his mates are feeling, not to mention going through.

I wouldn't really expect to see this in any school libraries due to the "harsh" content (but heck) it would be nice read outside school and during their own personal time.

"Seven little crazy kids chopping up sticks;
one burnt her daddy up and then there were six.
Six little crazy kids playing with a hive;
One tattooed himself to death and then there were five.
Five little crazy kids going out to sea;
One wouldn't say a word and then there were three.
Three little crazy kids playing in the zoo;
One jerked himself too much and then there were two.
Two little crazy kids playing in the sun;
One took a bunch of pills and then there was one.
One little crazy kid left all alone;
He went and slit his wrists and then there were none."

Quote. "That's what people do. Kill the things they're afraid off."

Suicide Note
By Michael Thomas Ford

Fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up on New Year's Day to find himself in the hospital. Make that the psychiatric ward. With the nutjobs. Never mind the bandages on his wrists, clearly this is all a huge mistake. Jeff is perfectly fine, perfectly normal--not like the other kids in the hospital with him. They've got problems. But a funny thing happens as Jeff's forty-five-day sentence drags on: the crazies start to seem less crazy. . . .
Compelling, witty, and refreshingly real, "Suicide Notes" is a darkly comic novel that examines that fuzzy line between "normal" and the rest of us.

Finished Reading: 15th November 2012
Acquire: 31th March 2011
Rate } ♠♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Realistic Fiction | Young Adult
Release Day }  7 September 2010
Publisher } HarperTeen
Format } Paperback 
ISBN } 9780060737573
Pages } 304 pages
Source } Borrowed
Age Group } 18 yo +
Interests } Survivor Books    
Awards } Ala Rainbow List (Young Adult Fiction, 2009)
Support my reading by getting your copy } Amazon.com

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Book Review: Matilda By Roald Dahl

MATILDA is a book about a perfect little girl where every parents would love to have as their own. But unfortunately for Matilda, her parents doesn't really care much of her presence in the family. That, however, didn't stop her from nurturing herself with self taught skills, such as reading, self grooming, and cooking on her own. Nevertheless the pain of being part of the family that's quite negligence to her well being, and always finding faults to whatever she did, she usually found ways to actually get back at her family. which i much say although they deserved it, don't try it at home kids.

MATILDA went to read most of the books in the library on her own, which in turn giving us the list of books we might like to read after this in the future. Once she started attending school, her new set of adventures started. There, she met her new friend, Lavender; a wonderful teacher Miss Honey; and a dreadful principal, Miss Trunchbull who loom a shadow over the children attending that school. Matilda, who's an intelligent young girl, found out she has developed powers of telekinesis while she was in Miss Honey's class in the presence of Miss Trunchbull. With this, she actually formed an intelligent plan to get rid of Miss Trunchbull for the good of Miss Honey and the rest of the school.

This is a funny, cute book but of course I wouldn't recommend letting much younger readers without the supervisions of adults explaining them the moral of actions taken in this story itself, just in case. I pretty much enjoy reading this book. and I would recommend it to anybody who's in search of a good book. The characters are strong and actually easy to follow the plot of the story.

First Words. It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers.

Quote. “I’m right and you’re wrong, I’m big and you’re small, and there’s nothing our can do about it.”

Matilda
By Roald Dahl, Quentine Blake

Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she's knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she's a super-nerd and the teacher's pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda's world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there's the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. ("The") Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.

She warms up with some practical jokes aimed at her hapless parents, but the true test comes when she rallies in defense of her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, against the diabolical Trunchbull. There is never any doubt that Matilda will carry the day. Even so, this wonderful story is far from predictable. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings.

Finished Reading: 14th October 2010
Acquire: 06th September 2011 (I’ve read the Library version the first time)
Rate } ♠♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Children | Fantasy
Release Day }  12th October 2010
Publisher } Puffin
Format } Paperback
ISBN } 9780141301068
Pages } 240 pages
Source } Bought
Age Group } 9 yo +
Awards }

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Book Review: Twilight (Twilight 1); By Stephenie Meyer

I was actually turned off from reading this because I heard it is written so amateurish and I might not like it. But then again a friend a work and a few others, started pressuring me to read the saga, so I caved in. I found out the storyline and some of the conversations are much too familiar to and very much some what mirrors my relationship in real life, that I almost wonder if she might have eavesdropped. Hence the reason why it pulled me into reading this book.

Due to lack of action within this book itself, it kind of dull the reason to read this book in the first place. But I guess, due to the simple storyline itself, it would make it as an easy reading material to read for advanced readers like myself.

Characters are divided into 2, humans and monsters. the humans are too.. um naive. and the vampires are mellow. Action only comes in the 1/4 last part of the book and too much high school stuff is going on in the 3/4 of book. Call me old fashion, I don’t really like sparkly glittery vampires.

As a librarian, I recommend this book to the high school students (seniors). Juniors and Sophomores may read if their parents think their teenagers are up to it.

First Words. I’d Never given much thought to how I die-though I’d had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

Quote. I like the night. Without the dark, wed never see the stars.

Twilight (Twilight #1)
By Stephenie Meyer

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

Finished Reading: 22nd April 2009
Acquire: 08th August 2007
Rate } ♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Young Adult | Paranormal Romance | Supernatural | Urban Fantasy
Release Day }  05th October 2005
Publisher } Little, Brown and Company
Format } Paperback
ISBN } 9780316015844
Pages } 498 pages
Source } Bought
Age Group } PG 15 yo +
Awards }
- An ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2006)
- New York Times Bestsellers (Children Chapter, 2005)
- Publisher’s Weekly Best Book (2005)

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Lit. Book Review: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

rate } ♠♠♠♠♠ ♥
genre } fiction | historical fiction | classic | japan | literature
release day } 22nd November 2005
acquired } 05th March 2008
publisher } Seal Books
format } paperback
isbn } 9780770429966
pages } 502 pages
source } bought
age group } 18+
interest } 18+
awards } -
Buy @ Amazon.com | Fenix Indie Online Bookstore, Brunei

Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden

Via GoodReads
In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive.

My 2 Cents
It took me a while to finish reading this book because I was really indulging myself word per word. You see, this book isn't the type of novel you should rush through. Regardless, the fact it is kind of wrong in some places, like the part where Arthur Golden mentioned about the "mizuage", the book pulled you in like a few other books could do. Plus it took me a while to actually pick up this book and I must admit I did watch the movie first, then read it, cause I don't want to be disappointed with the movie. The book itself is way better than the movie.



The book centers on a first view perspective of a geisha named, Nitta Saiyuri, who was born with the name Chiyo. Originally the daughter of a fisherman from small fishing village of Yoroido, Chiyo and her sister, Satsu; was sold off to Kyoto, one to an Okiya and another off to a brothel. Chiyo's early life in Gion was pretty much mostly hellish due to Hatsumomo (初桃), because she saw Chiyo's potential of being a successful geisha. There, she befriended another girl around her age nickname Pumpkin (おカボ). In the okiya she also met Mrs. Nitta, or "Mother", and Granny, the mistresses of the okiya, then there's also Auntie.

One day, she met a man that would change her point of life, the Chairman, and another geisha named Mameha (豆葉), who in fact is Hatsumomo's rival in Gion, who would trained Chiyo into a very popular geisha. Chiyo became Saiyuri and search for the man who leads her into becoming a geisha. Then time really came when they meet, but Saiyuri doesn't seem to get the opportunity to get his attention quite the way she wanted.

Over all this is an emotional book, way more emotional than the movie (obviously). Yes, I’m in one of those “Reading it is way better than the movie” sort of crowd. It was such a page turner that it’s hard to actually put it down when I have to go to sleep, or eat or work or other things I have to do. It’s an eye opener for one of the secluded chapters in the life of a geisha.

I would recommend this fully to any culture enthusiastic out there. But I wouldn’t place it in a school library, regardless how much I like to share this book, Just because there’s a few um.. inappropriate scenes for them students. Otherwise, it's a good read.

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Book Review: Wait Till Helen Comes; By Mary Downing Hahn

Oh man… Mary Downing Hahn is awesome. If you want to do a classic scare for kids, this would be one of those. This reminds me alot of Christopher Pike and RL. Stine, but much more given nostalgic feel to it. If you would like to introduce young readers to the horror genre, this would be another excellent book to offer them.

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story
By Mary Downing Hahn

Beware of Helen...

Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her...our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire.

But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home -- a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond...to drown! I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather...

Finished Reading: 23th July 2009 (library copy)
Acquire: 10th October 2011
Rate } ♠♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Children | Mystery | Paranormal | Ghosts
Release Day }  November 1987
Publisher } Harpercollins
Format } paperback  
ISBN } 9780380704422
Pages } 192 pages
Source } borrowed 
Age Group } 12+
Interests } teens   
Awards }
Support my reading by getting your copy } Kindle | Amazon

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Book Review: Princess Academy (Princess Academy #1); by Shannon Hale

The first I've herad of this book is when it is featured as a must read for the month book in every magazines I've read at that one particular month. Months went by and the book never left my mind, so I've decided to pick it up and read it. And what a surprise I get! It's a bit slow for me in the beginning but the pace races up to my kind of speed shortly after.
Gotta love this book. It’s so addictive too. I can’t get my hands off it until I’ve finished it.

Princess Academy (Princess Academy #1)
by Shannon Hale

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.
Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

Finished Reading: 16th April 2006 (library copy)
Acquire: 07th July 2010
Rate } ♠♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Teens | Fairy Tales Retellings
Release Day }  April 2007
Publisher } Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Format } paperback  
ISBN } 9781599900735
Pages } 144 pages
Source } borrowed / bought
Age Group } 12+
Interests } Teens, Fairy Tales Retelling Junkies.    
Awards } Newbery Honor
Support my reading by getting your copy }

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