From the shelf: The Elite (The Selection #2)

Title: The Elite (The Selection #2)

Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: YA, Romance, Dystopia
Date read: October 31 - November 1, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★☆ (2.5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

The Selection began with thirty-five girls.

Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?

America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Lookback: The Selection

I know that it's too cliche to have a love triangle going on with the male lead and the second male lead vying for the female lead's attention. It was inevitable that Maxon would fall in love with America and that Aspen would resurface; but what I didn't like is Mer's indecisiveness. She is happy with whoever she was with and was too much of a coward to choose one because she might make the wrong move. I was worked up with her selfishness. I wanted to punish her, I honestly wanted a scene where Maxon would walk into Mer and Aspen. The only consolation was May and her maids (Anne, Mary and Lucy). Marlee is becoming a favorite character although my heart broke on what happened to her.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Selection (The Selection #1)

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)

Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: YA, Romance, Dystopia
Date read: October 26-31, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★☆ (3.5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. 

My Review: (also in goodreads)

I know, I know. This is a book I thought I wouldn't read...ever. The storyline didn't catch my attention and it felt that my teenage self would've enjoyed it better. But I was wrong...well partly wrong. Though I was right that my teenage self would've love this better there were some points that I enjoyed like America's wit, Aspen *nuff said* and most especially Maxon and America's budding friendship. I may have prematurely judged this book but I guess I'll read till the end of the trilogy to see firsthand how it goes.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Adultery

Title: Adultery

Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Contemporary, Philisophy, Romance
Date read: September 27-30, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Linda knows she's lucky.

Yet every morning when she opens her eyes to a so-called new day, she feels like closing them again.

Her friends recommend medication.

But Linda wants to feel more, not less.

And so she embarks on an adventure as unexpected as it is daring, and which reawakens a side of her that she - respectable wife, loving mother, ambitious journalist - thought had disappeared.

Even she can't predict what will happen next...

My Review: (also in goodreads)

"After a certain age, we put on a mask of confidence and certainty. In time, that mask gets stuck to our face and we can't remove it. As children we learn that if we cry we'll receive affection, that if we show we're sad, we'll be consoled. If we can't get what we want with a smile, then we can surely do so with our tears. But we no longer cry, except in the bathroom when no one is listening. No do we smile at anyone other than our children. We don't show our feelings because people might think we're vulnerable and take advantage of us. Sleep is the best remedy."

This novel doesn't tackle any metamorphic, spiritual subject rather it addresses the woes of growing up and living one's responsibilities. What tickled me the most is the fact that sometimes everyone gets into a state of apathy. Sometimes its just in passing, or a phase; but the worst part is if it becomes your reality. Linda in this context lived in the state of apathy. She got everything anyone ever wanted: a career, a loving husband and an amazing family. But despite all that she still feels so suffocated in her life. She took a risk as wrong as it may be, just to find that spark again. I can't say that what she did was okay, she did hurt someone she loved but the lesson here is to stay away from being in a state of apathy one must feel; it could be from extreme sadness or exhilaration, one should never forget to feel.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Title: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Contemporary, Philisophy, Romance
Date read: September 23-24, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

"I looked at the Other, there in the corner of the room---fragile, exhausted, disillusioned, controlling and enslaving what should really be free: her emotions. Trying to judge her future loves by the rules of her past suffering. But love is always new. Regardless f whether we love once, twice or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger because we lack the courage to stretch out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it. Even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness. The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us. And to save us."

"If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him. Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering"

Leaving one's own comfort one is always the hardest step. Leaving the things that you are used to takes time and definitely a lot of effort. But searching for the things that will make you happy and taking risks is how one should live one's life which is a very difficult thing to do. What I like about Paulo Coelho's books is his ability to write beautiful quotable excerpts and this is no exception. Living the life is knowing that one took risks in love and even if it ended badly, the consolation is that you took that risk and moved on. I especially loved Brida's cameo.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Veronika Decides to Die

Title: Veronika Decides to Die

Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Contemporary, Philisophy, Romance
Date read: September 16-23, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, pleny of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.

Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.

The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before

In Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho takes the reader on a distinctly modern quest to find meaning in a culture overshadowed by angst, soulless routine, and pervasive conformity. Based on events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Poignant and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

"Sometimes in the midst of tragedy and helplessness we see death as freedom, and internal oblivion"

"In a world where everyone struggles to survive whatever the cost, how could one judge people who decides to die. No one can judge. Everyone knows the extent of their own suffering or the total absence of meaning in their lives"

"That's how it should be with you; stay insane, but behave like normal people. Run the risk of being different, but learn to do so without attracting attention. Concentrate on this flower and allow the 'I' to reveal itself. 'What is the real 'I'?' asked Veronika. Perhaps everyone else there knew, but what did it matter. She must learn to care less about annoying others. The man seemed surprised by the interruption, but he answered her question. 'It's what you are, not what others make of you'.

After reading this book, I now appreciate and understand the rough path Paulo Coelho had to walk on to chase his dream. This made me respect him more. A dream that everyone frowned upon especially the people who were supposed to support him all the way. Brida has always been a favorite of mine since the book itself has a sentimental value. This book however, lets me ponder that its never too late to realize and chase a dream. No matter how dire and hard it is, one must never give up.
Frustrations and madness may come along the way but one must always focus on that dream. I love how this book led me into reflection and discussion about things that everyone realizes but decides to give up. One shouldn't be pressured by society to do things they deem as normal. Everyone is unique, dare to be different because people who take risks and chase whatever makes them happy can truly find the meaning of living the life.

Till the next read...