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To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

August 3, 2018 2 Comments

If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. My letters set me free. Or at least they’re supposed to.

When I learned about Netflix acquiring the rights to To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, I didn’t think anything of it. After all, the series has been on my e-reader for a while now and I had no intention of reading it anytime soon.

Then the teaser trailer above pops up, and Janssen from Everyday Reading got excited about the Netflix movie, and well she pretty much got me reading To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, which then led to me reading the rest of the series.

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean has written five love letters, one for each boy she’s loved. She keeps them in a hat box her mother gave her. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is about what occurred after these private love letters got mailed out.

I was able to relate to Lara Jean because something similar happened to me in high school. One of my high school friends and I used to exchange diaries and read them. One day, I made the mistake of leaving my diary out with the rest of my text books under my chair. We had assigned seating back then and I was assigned a seat beside my high school crush. I don’t remember how he ended up with my diary, but I do remember him telling me he did and that he read it. My diary was mostly about him. So, yeah…

It was interesting, and entertaining (sometimes painful, and painfully embarrassing), to watch Lara Jean navigate through the aftermath of her letters being sent. She went as far as pretending to be someone else’s girlfriend to: a) keep her actual crush from thinking she likes him; and b) to get her pretend boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend’s attention. There is very little romance, but the story will induce enough butterflies in your stomach to make up for it.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before got mixed reviews over on Goodreads and that is understandable. Although somewhat relatable, our protagonist is a bit meh and it’s very easy to get tired of her. Moreover, the ending is a cliffhanger and my advise is make sure to have the second book in the series (titled P.S. I Still Love You) on hand if you do decide to read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. You know, just in case.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before will be available on Netflix on August 17, 2018 starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. I hope they’re able to bring the chemistry from the book to the screen cause I’ve hyped this up so much for myself and I don’t want to get disappointed.

★

Books

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

July 11, 2018 No Comments

… Because every one of us has four box, a dark chamber stowing the thing that lanced our heart. It contains what you do everything for, strive for, would everything around you. And if it were opened, would anything be set free? No. For the impenetrable prison with the impossible lock is you own head.

The decision to read Night Film came as a whim while I was scrolling through my list in my e-reader. One chapter in an I have convinced myself I can only read this during daytime.

On a damp October night, 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror film director Stanislaus Cordova–a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world. The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more. (Goodreads)

Ashley Cordova’s death sent McGrath into an investigation frenzy. He believes there’s more to Ashley’s alleged suicide and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He wanted to know the truth.

This is my first Pessl novel and I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I did. I get scared easily so reading this at 3 in the morning while I nurse my daughter was not (I guess I should say never) an option. I think the main reason I was fearful throughout this reading experience was I went in to Night Film blind. I thought, based on the cover, it’ll be about films shown at night, and their audience. I was SO wrong. However, I powered through it and as much as it frightened me, I kept pressing for the next page.

I was not too thrilled of how it dragged on. I was constantly wondering if I was getting close to the end, closer to the truth. Ultimately though, I felt the novel was a buildup to an ok ending. It didn’t give me that feeling of contempt, and relief I was hoping for. If anything, I’m left confused between versions of truths presented to me on the days I read Night Film.

★

Books

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

June 11, 2018 No Comments

Was he my home, then, my homecoming? You are my homecoming. When I’m with you and we’re well together, there is nothing more I want. You make me like who I am, who I become when you’re with me, Oliver. If there is any truth in the world, it lies when I’m with you, and if I find the courage to speak my truth to you one day, remind me to light a candle in thanksgiving at every altar in Rome.

p. 49

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Please be advised that this post contains spoilers. Feel free to read the book or watch the movie first before reading this post. Otherwise, keep on reading. 🙂

I first found out of Call Me By Your Name during the 90th Academy Awards which aired last March. I didn’t think anything of it at first until it won James Ivory an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Call Me By Your Name is about the affair an adolescent boy had with his parents’ guest over the summer. Throughout the book, we follow Elio and Oliver: two individuals who develop a relationship which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I think Aciman wrote beautifully. I got heartbroken, excited, and at times felt an awkwardness I wouldn’t want to experience in real life. The adaptation, also of the same title, is a good visual representation of the book despite having to fit what was necessary in a 2-hour long movie. My only gripe would be that Call Me By Your Name relied heavily on Elio’s side of the story. We see how he was upon meeting Oliver. We find out the things he enjoys doing; his “place” where he do most of his reading. We also find out having house guests every summer is a regular occurrence in addition to having their house open for friends and family to join them over for supper. We feel what Elio feels. We see everything Elio sees. It would’ve been nice to get a bit of Oliver’s perspective on that summer.

Would I read it again? Yes. Yes, I would.

★

Motherhood

UPDATE: 12 Weeks Postpartum

May 13, 2018 No Comments

This year our oldest turned 4, and we had a new baby. Also, today is Mother’s Day.

Balancing my time between my two kids is still a struggle — a struggle which I was not prepared for.

I was also not prepared on how emotionally draining it can be. I was watching Ali Wong’s new Netflix special this morning and one of her jokes mentioned how our interest in glittery / bedazzled / rhinestone-y things is to compensate for the light inside of us getting sucked out by motherhood. I found it funny. My husband on the other hand wondered if that’s how I felt. Truth be told, I have my days. Just a couple of weeks ago I was walking around the mall looking for an outfit for our daughter’s Christening and I almost broke down because none of what I tried on properly fit. The baby weight usually doesn’t bother me but that day it did, and it creeps up on me once in a while.

Motherhood is tough. Keeping your tiny humans alive and raising them to be good people while keeping your s**t together and not losing your sense of self is tough.

All I can hope for is to be half the mother my mom is, and for my kids to understand I’m doing the best I can.

Their smile melts my heart.

Their tears and pain breaks my soul.

Their well being is my top priority.

They are my world.

Books

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

May 5, 2018 No Comments

Title: Then She Was Gone
Author: Lisa Jewell
Published / Release Date: July 27, 2017
Publisher: Century
Genre: Mystery, Fiction
My Rating: ★

A missing daughter. A devastated mother. A charming mystery man. A shocking finale you won’t see coming.

— Goodreads

I’m going to try to give you a brief summary of Jewell’s novel without revealing too much.

Ten years after Laura’s youngest daughter Ellie disappeared, she has come to terms with the fact that she ran away. After all, that’s what all the evidence points to. However upon meeting a “charming mystery man”, she has come to realize there is something more about Ellie’s disappearance than she was lead to believe.

I would say Jewell’s Then She Was Gone is every parent’s nightmare. No parent expects their child/children to disappear for no reason. However, Ellie did and it placed a dent in their family: between her mom and dad, and between her mom and her siblings.

The story is surprisingly easy to follow which, in my opinion, made the plot twist predictable. My prediction might not have been 100% accurate but it was close. It didn’t ruin the story for me although I would’ve preferred that I wasn’t able to figure a bit of it out.