Read It: Blankets

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Ever since I have read Habibi, I always wanted to go buy Blankets. Lucky, I got the chance to buy a discounted copy on Free Comic Book Day (Yey!)

Blankets is the graphic autobiography of the author, Craig Thompson. The story is about Craig’s childhood. Being brought up in a strict religious community, he questions and wonders a lot about what the Bible says in contrast to how he saw the world and the people living in it. It is a coming of age story, a renewed discovery on faith and first love.

I liked how he relived his own story, mixing and interconnecting his present experiences with his past. Teen angst, his questions about religion and the people running the ministry, the typical teenage curiosity and finding out about where he really belongs.

The story pretty much revolves around his 2-3 week stay in Raina’s house. How their love evolved and died at the same time. Their lives, childhood and thinking about their futures.

Read It: An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Since my sisters are very much hooked into John Green books, I might as well join the bandwagon (but I definitely crossed my fingers that this wasn’t like the 50 Shades of Gray kind of story.)

Colin Singleton has dated 19 girls, and they all happen to share the same name – Katherine. And every single one of them has dumped him and broke his heart.

Being a child prodigy, Colin is up to prove himself and his theorem to the world. A theorem that would help predict the compatibility and predictability of a relationship through his experiences with Katherine I to K-19, and help potential dumpees win their potential dumpers.

I really liked reading the book. I found the main characters funny, especially Hassan, who never fails to say something witty every now and then. Going on an adventure some place with your bestfriend always seems to be a good and fun idea. And discovering new things is always best done with a good buddy.

Its really amusing to find footnotes within every other page and that (nerdy) fun facts are also shared throughout the book but hearing about the theorem being explained was somehow confusing for me (even with all those charts and whatnots) – or maybe I’mm not just not into those kinds of stuff.

Read It: Let It Snow

Let It Snow is a collection of 3 short stories about the different experiences of individuals during the holiday season.

1. Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson – This story is about finding love in unexpected places amidst unwanted circumstances.

2. A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green – A story about friendship and adventure.

3. The Patron Saint of Pigs – A story about reviving lost love and miracles.

It is amusing to find that the three stories are connected to each other given that each was written by a different author. If I didn’t know that the stories were penned by different people, I wouldn’t have noticed it anyway. So yeah, that’s how good it was for me.

I find the all the stories cute and is definitely a good read when you just want to relax and forget about the complexities of everyday life.

Read It: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Judging by the cover of the book, I thought this would be a horror story that would totally creep me out. Turns out, this is a young adult fiction that takes you on an adventure in solving the mystery of Jacob’s childhood.

Jacob is a sixteen year old who grew up believing in the magic of his grandfather’s stories. When his grandfather died, he was shaken and was advised to search for the children’s home his grandfather had so lovingly embedded in the childhood stories to find closure and finally accept the demise of his grandfather.

Upon arriving in a remote island, he then started searching for the missing children’s home. He learns of the mysteries surrounding Miss Peregrine’s Home for Children, meets the peculiars, and at the same time, unravels the truth his grandfather has protected him from.

I liked how the flow of the story. The narration was fast paced and almost always kept me on the edge of my seat. The first three chapters were really marvelous in my opinion because the mystery of knowing the truth behind Jacob’s grandfather kept me curious. Keeping track of the series of events in the story was not very hard. I believe the sequence and length of every scene was enough build up what was about to happen next. The unraveling of the so-called mysteries were also done slowly so that it always kept you thinking.

I’m happy with the book and was really surprised that the story has not yet ended. So now, I’m here waiting for the next book to be released. I hope it comes out soon.

Read It: Inheritance

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Inheritance is the last book of the Inheritance cycle. After 3 books, finally the battle between Eragon and Galbatorix will be concluded.

Honestly, I really liked reading the first two books of the series (Eragon and Eldest) because it kept me on the edge of my seat wanting for more things to happen on every page. I felt that these were paced justly and that details are told with less unnecessary crap. Come the third book (Brisingr), I felt bored flipping through the pages thinking how long it would take me to finish reading because things are beginning to be such a drag. I didn’t mind it though because I believe that authors do experience some down time every now and then (hey, nobody’s perfect just so you know). And here comes the fourth book, the conclusion which I was waiting for. I was hoping to forgive Brisingr for its dragging plot and story delivery but I guess Inheritance didn’t help either.

To make the long (long, long) story short, here are some pointers on what happened in Inheritance – spoiler:

• The story continues as the Varden fights to take over the cities ruled by the Empire.
• Nasuada is taken from their camp by Murtagh
• Eragon and Saphira goes in search of the Rock of Kuthian
• Nasuada is tortured by Galbatorix
• It is then revealed that Murtagh has feelings for Nasuada
• The Varden attacks Uru’ben
• Eragon and Saphira faces Galbatorix and Shruikan
• Murtagh helps the Varden in their final battle
• Galbatorix is killed
• Murtagh leaves
• Arya is now a new Rider
• Eragon and Arya romance didn’t push through
• Eragon leaves

I didn’t really like how things are still left hanging in the end. To think that this is supposed to be the final book of the series. It was a disappointment to have read such a long story just to be given such a lousy conclusion. End of story.