Book Review: We’ll Always Have Summer (Summer, #3) by Jenny Han

Posted on 07/22/2022 by Lenn

Title: We’ll Always Have Summer (Summer, #3)

Author: Jenny Han

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: April 26, 2011

Number of Pages: 277

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Can Belly make a final choice between Jeremiah and Conrad? Find out in the conclusion of the New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy, now in paperback.

Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost.

While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good.

Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts.

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Book Review: It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han

Posted on 06/29/2022 by Lenn

Title: It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2)

Author: Jenny Han

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: April 27, 2010

Number of Pages: 277

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Belly finds out what comes after falling in love in this follow-up to The Summer I Turned Pretty from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (soon to be a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started—at Cousins Beach.

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Book Review: Dekada ’70 by Lualhati Bautista

Posted on 06/26/2022 by Lenn

Title: Dekada ’70

Author: Lualhati Bautista

Publication Date: 1983

Number of Pages: 227

Publisher: Anvil Publishing

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Si Amanda Bartolome ay isang pangkaraniwang babae – asawa ni Julian at ina ng limang anak na lalaki. Sa kanilang subdibisyon, pinakamalaking problema na niya ang mga kapitbahay nilang hindi na natapos magreklamo tungkol sa mga malokong batang Bartolome.

Ngunit ang panahon ng martial law ay hindi pangkaraniwang panahon. Sa pangunguna ng panganay nilang si Jules at ang kanyang pagsabak sa madugong rebolusyon, di maiiwasang harapin ng pamilya ang karahasan ng batas militar. Habang ang kanyang mga anak ay hinuhubog ng malagim na dekada, at nahahanap ang kanya-kanyang sariling adhikain sa gitna ng kaguluhan, tinatanong at tinutuklas din ni Amanda ang sarili kung ano nga ba ang kanyang tungkulin at kakanyahan bilang ina, bilang babae, bilang Pilipino.

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Book Review: The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) by Dan Brown

Posted on 06/22/2022 by Lenn

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Title: The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)

Author: Dan Brown

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

Number of Pages: 639

Publisher: Anchor Books

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Adult Fiction, Crime

Synopsis:

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon “The Da Vinci Code,” Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world’s most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling–a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object–artfully encoded with five symbols–is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon–a prominent Mason and philanthropist–is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations–all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

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Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1) by Jenny Han

Posted on 06/18/2022 by Lenn

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1)

Author: Jenny Han

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Number of Pages: 276

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance,

Synopsis:

Some summers are just destined to be pretty.

When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favorite people are there: Susannah, her mother’s best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah.

Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad’s brother, Jeremiah, Belly’s heart belongs to Conrad.

Will he offer his to her?

Will this be the summer that changes everything?

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Book Reivew: Dawwang by Gantala Press

Posted on 06/14/2022 by Lenn

Title: Dawwang

Author: Gantala Press, Illustrated by Nina Martinez

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: 2021

Number of Pages: 48

Publisher: Gantala Press

Genre: Comics, Non-fiction, Philippine Literature, Historical

Synopsis:

Si Leticia ‘Tining’ Bula-at ay mula sa grupong Naneng sa probinsiya ng Kalinga. Noong dekada ‘70, may bantang lunurin ng proyektong Chico River Dam ni Presidente Ferdinand Marcos at ng World Bank ang ili ng mga Naneng at iba pang ili sa Kordilyera. Dalawampu’t walong anyos si ‘Nay Tining nang dumating ang National Power Corporation at Philippine Constabulary sa kanilang bayan para simulan ang pagtatayo ng dam. Linabanan ito ng mga umili: nagtayo sila ng mga barikada, binaklas nila ang mga kampo, at direkta nilang hinarap ang mga sundalo. Sa kabila ng pisikal at sikolohikal na karahasan, nagpatuloy ang kilos-protesta ng pamayanan, at nakansela ang dam ni Marcos. Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy ang pakikibaka nina ‘Nay Tining at iba pang kababaihang tagapagtanggol ng Kordilyera laban sa mga korporasyon at mapanirang mga proyekto ng gobyerno sa Ilog Chico at mga karatig-lugar.

Ang DAWWANG (salita ng mga Naneng para sa “ilog”) ay bersiyon sa Filipino ng komiks na ito na nilathala bilang LET THE RIVER FLOW FREE (Ingles) at LASST DEN FLUSS FLIESSEN (Aleman) sa ilalim ng proyektong Movements and Moments: Feminist Generations ng Goethe Institut-Indonesien.

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Book Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Posted on 05/26/2022 by Lenn

Title: Holding Up the Universe

Author: Jennifer Niven

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: April 4, 2016

Number of Pages: 391

Publisher:Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

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Book Review: Rolling in the Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #0.5) by Mira Grant

Posted on 05/23/2022 by Lenn

Title: Rolling in the Deep (Rolling in the Deep, #0.5)

Author: Mira Grant

Format: Audiobook

Publication Date: April 6, 2015

Number of Pages: 123

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi

Synopsis:

When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.

They didn’t expect actual mermaids. They certainly didn’t expect those mermaids to have teeth.

This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy. Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

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Book Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Posted on 05/08/2022 by Lenn

Title: The Woman in Cabin 10

Author: Ruth Ware

Format: Trade Paperback

Publication Date: July 19, 2016

Number of Pages: 341

Publisher: Scout Press

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime

Synopsis:

Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea.

At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard.

The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

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Book Review: Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Posted on 04/11/2021 by Lenn

Title: Frankly in Love

Author: David Yoon

Format: Trade Paperback

Publication Date: September 10, 2019

Number of Pages: 406

Publisher: Putnam

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?

Frank Li has two names. There’s Frank Li, his American name. Then there’s Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. No one uses his Korean name, not even his parents. Frank barely speaks any Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California.

Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl–which is a problem, since Frank is finally dating the girl of his dreams: Brit Means. Brit, who is funny and nerdy just like him. Brit, who makes him laugh like no one else. Brit . . . who is white.

As Frank falls in love for the very first time, he’s forced to confront the fact that while his parents sacrificed everything to raise him in the land of opportunity, their traditional expectations don’t leave a lot of room for him to be a regular American teen. Desperate to be with Brit without his parents finding out, Frank turns to family friend Joy Song, who is in a similar bind. Together, they come up with a plan to help each other and keep their parents off their backs. Frank thinks he’s found the solution to all his problems, but when life throws him a curveball, he’s left wondering whether he ever really knew anything about love—or himself—at all.

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Lenn of Spades ♠

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