You

This is not the first post dedicated to you, but I hope that it will be the last one. I can't promise because I'm spontaneous like that. When I reconnected with her, we talked about you, inevitably. You are part of my childhood, part of my memory, and part of me. I am influenced by you and I'm not going to deny it. I often feel sentimental and nostalgic when I'm listening to movie soundtrack since I know that you would have liked the music. And we could have talked about the movies together. I can't express how grateful I am for you to like me (omg, it so not sounds like The Fault in Our Stars) I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you. I did like you, once upon a time. Thank you for being my sister and listening to me. Thank you for being there when I need you the most (it totally sounds cliche) I really hope that I met you in middle school, instead of elementary school, because we can still keep in touch. The truth is, I'm jealous of your friends who can understand you and be there for you. It's no longer my position and it never will be. If I have a chance, I want to be friends with you again. You can't understand that I was hurt. Hurt by your rejection to friend me on social media site. I don't know what will happen in the future. I just want to be with you again.

I can't choose when to meet you, but I can choose to keep you in my heart.

Fallen Book Review

What would happen if a guy pointed a middle finger at you when you first met him? Frankly, I would never want to talk to the guy before. However, our brilliant protagonist Luce seemed to think differently. She has a natural attraction to cute guys (I mean, who don't?)

In the beginning, I thought that Daniel's violet eyes made him unique. Unfortunately, he wasn't even close to sweet. Daniel Grigori was brusque and intrusive. The dialogue was cheesy and I couldn't get how a girl fell in love with him that fast. I thought that the exposition was exceptional since I was helpless for reincarnation. The topic sounded mysterious and beautiful. The idea of couples forcing to leave each other due to external factors captivated me. When tragic story fascinated me, I would cry and release my emotions. When a surge of emotions engulfed me, I would cry silently. However, I felt impatient and exasperated most of the time due to Daniel's capricious attitude. Hot and cold. It's simply annoying. Playing hart-to-get? He didn't qualify at all.

Legend Book Review

        What happens if the United States of America become the Republic of America? If President Obama is no longer the democratic president, yet he claims to fight for the benefits of citizens, will you swear your allegiance to the country?

Setting in futuristic Western United States, the government currently fought against “the Colonies” of the Eastern United States. An elite in the noble class, June was a prodigy who got a full score in the Trial and groomed for success as a military leader. However, Day, born in the slums, was the most notorious criminal in the Republic. Coming from different classes, June and Day should never cross their paths, until Day became the prime suspect for murdering June’s beloved brother, Metias. Caught in the ultimate game of chase and run, Day was a key to his family’s survival while June swear to avenge Metias’ death. The Hunger Game began.

        The Republic was ravaged by plagues and disasters. It delivered vaccinations whenever the mutated virus harmed people’s lives. June and Day’s world collided when Metias was murdered. However, June never knew that the game of mouse and cat would shatter her beliefs and sway her loyalty.

The Raven Boys Book Revie

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

There was a premonition since Blue was young.
When Blue and her psychic mother waited in a church yard on April 24 to oversee spirits, she saw a boy of Aglionby. Her aunt told her that there were only two reasons that people saw a spirit on St. Mark's eve: either she was his true love or she killed him. Though Blue came from a family of seers, she could merely amplify the psychic power. Richard Gansey was an Aglionby boy who was obsessed in discovering the remains of a medieval Welsh noble, Glendower. I haven't seen through Gansey yet since he seemed faraway from me. He bore a mysterious personality.

Champion

It's been a beautiful journey. It's been 8 months and 30 days since I finished Prodigy. 38 weeks and 6 days. 6528 hours. However, I can recall Prodigy in extreme detail, which frankly, surprises me. I remember that the first series that I ever finished was Hush, Hush. Unfortunately, the last book Finale didn't pique my interest. The romance between Patch and Nora didn't give me butterflies in my stomach. Champion is a different case.
I love Champion more than anything else. It's the BEST book that I've ever read. (I'm sorry CITY OF GLASS and CLOCKWORK PRINCESS). It's amazing how a simple, innocent touch from Day stirs my emotions. Day is the boy who walks in the light. He is the light. He's passionate, intense, and beautiful, though his love is entwined with sadness. His love is full and whole. He wears his heart on his sleeve. His gaze is intense. He is vulnerable.
I love how Champion is connected with Legend and Prodigy. Ms. Lu does a great job connecting the stories.
Champion is the epitome of perfection.

"Sometimes, the sun sets earlier. Days don’t last forever, you know. But I’ll fight as hard as I can. I can promise you that."

"There’s a voice telling me to get up. When I look to my side, I see a boy holding out his hand to me. He has bright blue eyes, dirt on his face, and a beat-up old cap on, and at this moment, I think he might be the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen.
My wandering has led me to the beginning of our journey together. I suppose it’s only fitting for me to be here at that journey’s end."
Ultimately, everything returns to the beginning. Beautiful and memorable.

There's always an ending to everything. No matter how much you love the series, it comes to an end. However, the last book usually faces criticism because it simply doesn't meet the readers' expectations. Words can't describe how much I love the series. It has a phenomenal yet bittersweet ending. The first-person narration allows the readers to understand both characters fully. 

I merely remembered that I kept crying. I see the vulnerability, sincerity, and strength in Day. I see the persistence, logic, and intelligence in June. My heart aches for the characters after the ending in Prodigy. They've gone through so much, yet they still have to face the inevitable-- war. They love each other, yet they have lots of heart-wrenching misunderstandings. I often wonder why is their road full of thorns. It is so twisted that pain excavates holes in my heart. Sometimes, I just want to slap the characters.

Grow Up

In some stages of life, people ultimately grew up. Whether it was the notion that people were no longer children, or whether it was the notion that we must bear our responsibility. I was naive before. I used to believe that I didn't have to worry about my grades since I was smart enough to finish last-minute works. I wasn't going to hide it. The truth was-- I knew that I was smart. Ever since kindergarten, I was born in the teachers' and my peers' applauds. I was known as the smart kid. The smart kid who would eventually succeed. The smart kid who would overcome any difficulties. School was my stage where I shined. I outshone. And I knew it.
However, intelligence would never balance diligence. I indulged myself. I thought that I could make it without working hard. I was wrong. I survived my sophomore year with terrific grades without working my ass off. I could read a book every single week, yet my grades were impressive. I thought I could maintain my habits. I was wrong.
I never truly understand how wrong I am-- until now. I can't read a book every single week and expect to get straight A+s. I can't watch my favorite TV shows every single night and expect that I can finish my work on time.
It's time for me to grow up.

The Fault in Our Stars Book Review

"Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book." This was exactly the way I felt for The Fault in Our Stars, which was ironic since the quote was excerpted from the book itself. 

Contemporary novels usually didn't touch me as The Fault in Our Stars did since the formula for plot never changed-- a girl met a hot guy and it turned out that the guy loved the girl. They fell in love and unfortunately, they must undergo difficulties, such as breakups or family issues. Eventually, the conflict resolved and they lived happily-ever-after, such as ending with a marriage proposal. It was indeed bold for authors to have the courage to sabotage and kill their characters. I didn't usually believe that the authors would be brave enough to leave their characters dead. There was always magic to resuscitate the characters. Well, Augustus Waters was undoubtedly unique.

I love the quote 'Some infinities are bigger than other infinities." Indeed, we had limited life span. All the cancer patients weren't fighters. We usually embellished their successes and exaggerated their courage of fighting against the cancer. They might suffer so much that they were eager to die in order to reach eternal peace.

As a terminal cancer patient, Hazel Grace was a heroine who didn't want to leave her footprints in the sand of time, which surprised me. People left footprints such as bequeathing a legacy or outlasting the death. Most of the people were eager to live for something, if not, at least die for something. However, Hazel merely wanted to leave less scar in the world. She was a selfless hero. She didn't want to become a grenade, blowing up everyone's lives, so she insisted her parents to have their own lives since she fully understood that she would die, sooner or later. On the other hand, Augustus Water was amazingly humorous, intelligent, and sarcastic. (Not to mention he was gorgeous [wink, wink]) He was willing to let Hazel hijack his wish. He made Hazel's dream come true. He would never leave Caroline, his ex-girlfriend, behind, though she had a brain tumor and called his prosthesis STUMPY (she died eventually). He stoop up for his friend Isaac and allowed Isaac to vent his anger by breaking his basketball trophies. He always saved the innocent and the civilians in video games and he rather sacrificed himself than to reach the goals. He loved his choice of falling in love with Hazel. Frankly, he was the perfect boyfriend.

Besides the well-developed character, the sub-plots didn't merely reveal around the romance. It portrayed the family bond among Hazel and Augustus's families. Hazel's parents contributed everything in Hazel's cancer, though they were aware that Hazel would die. I realized that living to our fullest wasn't determined by the length of our lives. It was determined by the love we had, either from families, friends, or lovers. The book further depicted the sincere friendship between Augustus and Isaac. Augustus would drop out of school immediately to look after Isaac after he had the eye surgery. Augustus would stand up for Isaac by supporting him to egg-smash Isaac's aloof, promise-breaking ex-girlfriend. It was touching and I would love to have a friend like Augustus. He was fairly considerable and he took great care of Hazel in the beginning of the story. He confronted the despicable Peter Van Houten when this asshat tried to use the most hurtful way to exp[lain Hazel's terminal cancer. Augustus was more alive than anyone I met before (I'm sorry, it's cheesy) since he shone and burnt like a candle. He didn't become a grenade eventually since people he loved moved on, though a huge hole would always remain in their hearts.

I love Augustus and Hazel. Even though the conclusion was tragic, I learnt that people might not always regret their decisions because there are people who made our decisions worthwhile.