Publisher : Little , Brown and Company

Awards : Won 28 Awards and 16 Nominations 
 

      Before I started reading the Twilight book series , I watched the first movie that was released in 2008 . I fell in love with this movie that focuses on the relationship between a teenage girl and a vampire . Later , I decided to read the twilight book that was written by the author  Stephenie Meyer . I discovered that in the book the story was more detailed and I loved it even more . I started reading all the other twilight book series from then on . As I was so interested in the novels I wanted to find out more about the creator , Stephenie Meyer .

       Did you know  Stephenie actually dreamt the twilight on June 2 2003 . In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel . I was amazed how her dream turned into a multi award winning novel and also later turned into a multi award winning film . It was a surprise to me when I found out that she also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts playlist on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books.  Bands include most often in her playlists are Muse , Blue , My Chemical Romance , Coldplay and Linkin Park .

STEPHENIE MEYER (SHARMINI0030397

Author: Mitch Albom

Published Year: 2003

 
The story begins on the last day of Eddie’s life.  Eddie was an 83 year old war veteran who worked as a maintenance manager at an amusement park. Unfortunately, he passed away on his 83^rd birthday, he risked his life to save a little girl from a falling cart. He is then sent to the afterlife where he discovered that heaven is not a destination but a place where your life is being explained to by the important people in your life. For Eddie, it was five people who he met in heaven, some of them he knew and yet some of them were total strangers. The five people he meets in heaven will bring him on a journey from his childhood memories up until his most recent memories. These five people will explain their connections with him on earth and helping him understand his life.  

 

 What I like about this book are the quotes that are used, which are really inspiring and relatable to me. These quotes have helped me through my toughest days and it is one of the reason why I am who I am today. For example, “Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us but hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.” From this quote, I remind myself everyday that I should forgive and forget instead of watering the tree of hatred inside of me. If you’re interested in inspirational quotes and storyline, then I would highly recommend this book. It teaches you a lot of life lessons in a long run. 

Natasha Tan (FIA)
0332096

As a person who does not have enough patience to finish a few hundred pages novel with hundred thousand of words in it, I am picky when it comes to choosing a book to read. Preferably, I will read short stories, fan fictions online, poems, and just anything that does not contain that many words like most novel does, therefore I do not own that many books in general since most of the materials I read can be obtained from the internet. But there is a particular book I have on my shelf that remains my favourite for years and it is The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog (Chinese translated version). 

This book contains a few stories of different settings about our four-legged friends, our pet dogs. Most of the stories in it were written in the perspective of a dog, how they feel about their life as a pet, what they think about their owners and also the thoughts and memories they have. Mainly, it is written in the voice of a dying pet. It might not be a book that suits everyone as people might feel uncomfortable reading it, but the main idea of this book is to comfort the ones that experienced the loss of a furry friend, at least that is something I agree on.

As I have mentioned above, this book is great to heal someone from the pain of losing their beloved fur animals, which was the reason I love this book so much, as I was also one of the people that got enlightened from it. At the age of 12, my pet dog passed away and it was one of the worst moments I had in my life. I thought to myself that I did not do a great job as an owner and it was all my fault, I told myself I will never own any pets anymore, so I will not need to suffer the same pain over and over again. Little did I know that my view towards this has change forever after reading this book. I must have been so selfish to think that I should never own a pet just so I will not be hurt again, when I can actually continue to spread the love. Every time I went back and read the few stories from the book, tears would start piling but in the same time it was healing. In the past year, I lost my beloved cat but I got to cope with the pain better and I guess it is all thanks to this book. In my own opinion, this book does not only portrays how we can overcome the sorrow of a pet lose, but it also implies a message to cherish everyone that are still with us, as we never know when will we be apart.

Leow Meng Jie (FIA 0332007)

Author : Darren Shan

Publisher : Harper Collins Children’s Books 

 

Being a huge fan of the paranormal and supernatural world, a series with 12 books about vampires and mythical creatures are definitely not sufficient for me. The story depicts a young boy by the name of Darren Shan who was forcefully involved with the vampires to pay back for his mistakes. As Darren was a young teenager, I could relate to the character a little more. After finishing the series, though I was a little disappointed with the finale where Darren dies, it taught me a lesson that not every story has a happy ending. There were many sacrifices that were made by Darren to protect the people he loved which resulted in his death. It gave me a bittersweet feeling as the Darren Shan series were one of the few I’ve read that had a sad ending. Another thing that I enjoyed was the amazing story plot that was not cliché and mainstream. It keeps the readers wanting more. 

 

In a nutshell, The Saga of Darren Shan taught me that you can never have the best of both worlds. There are burdens and sacrifices to be made. If you aren’t strong enough to push yourself to the limits, that’s when you are at the losing end. This series also taught me that there would always be a huge price to pay if you did something wrong. In this case, Darren lost his identity and his loved ones to be a vampire. Besides that, this series taught me that best friends can stab you in the back too. In the climax of the story, Darren was forced to go against his best friend, Steve who was on a mission to kill Darren because he was driven by jealousy and rage. 

Yap Ee-Ween (0332079) - FIA

A normal teenager with dyslexia and ADHD who is always in trouble has his life changed forever when he finds out he’s the son of the Greek God Poseidon and is therefore a demigod. A demigod is someone who is half God and half of any other species. He was sent to a camp with fellow demi- gods where he made friends and learned about his prophecy. He must strive and overcome all the obstacles to make sure a war between the brothers of Olympus doesn’t occur. For him to do this, he must learn to harness his powers with the help of his friends and his teachers. 

  

This book taught me that in life, there is already a path made for you. But no one else but you can be the one to walk it. 

Lessons Learned: 

1.       Loyalty. 

2.       Belief. 

3.       Sacrificing for what is necessary. 

4.       And always cherish your friendships. 
 

Author: Rhonda Byrne 

Publisher: Beyond Words 

Throughout my 18 years of life, The Secret has by far been the best book I’ve ever read. The Secret brings you on a journey of self-discovery. There’s a three hour documentary about The Secret, but I still prefer the book. When I first read this book, I felt a strong connection; I felt it talking personally to me. It is a book you wouldn’t want to put down; a book that gets you excited to keep on flipping the next page to see what’s coming next. 

This book talks mainly about “The Law of Attraction”, and how our thoughts shape our life. When I first saw the movie version, I did not believe it. I thought it was some kind of magical sorcery. After reading the book, I really do believe in “The Law of Attraction”. This book also talks about the power one possess within oneself. It makes you unleash your true potential and how to be the master of your own life.  

The Secret has very much played a huge impact in my life. It’s the book that I’d bring along whenever I go for any competitions so I could read it again, or if I don’t have time to read it, the presence itself gives me the confidence and tells me that I have The Secret in me, and I hold the key to my own destiny. It’s definitely a book everyone should get their hands on. The Secret is life changing. 

 

Author: J.K. Rowling 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing 

One of my favourite books and had been a huge part in my childhood is the Harry Potter series. I started getting into the Harry Potter craze by watching the movies and instantly fell in love by the stories every book had to offer. Personally, I appreciate things more through visuals. But after I read the Harry Potter book, it gave me a new perception of books. There were many parts in the books that directors didn’t manage to incorporate into the films which was disappointing. J.K. Rowling’s ingenuity has brought us a new world of characters and adventures written in 7 books. The main story of the Harry Potter series is about group of wizards going through many challenges during their schooling years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The story revolves around the 3 protagonist, Harry, Ron & Hermione. 

 The reason why I enjoy the Harry Potter series is because of the new ideas that Rowling writes in every book and the many lessons we can learn from it. I was able to learn these things from the books: 

1.    Friends that stick by you through thick & thin will always be your true friends. For example, Harry, Ron & Hermione went through many challenges and conflicts occurred among them but they still fought through and stick together in the end. 

2.    Love can be the most powerful weapon we can have. Harry’s life was saved by his mother because of her love that casted a spell to protect him from evil. 

3.    Diversity. There was a point in the books which had a hidden message about diversity because of the pure-blood & half-blood wizards. 

Timothy Chan 0332046 (FICM)

Author: Lois Lowry

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This book really did leave an impact on me. It gave me a whole new perspective upon how I look at a world of equality and that really did change my mind. Not only was it captivating to read but fascinating as well. We have always thought that a world where everything's is equal means that everything I see fair and great. However, this really proves it wrong. It taught me that when taken away the privilege to choose, we have almost nothing left. We lose the motivation and the understanding of our world around us, which makes us really ignorant. 

The story may seem like it is describing an Utopian World in the beginning, but as it goes on, it is not what it seemed it may be. It is a dystopian when taken upon a more thorough look and understanding. Jonas would be the main character, the story revolves around this 12 year-old boy's feelings. When Jonas gets assigned as the receiver of memories, he learns about the emotions and experiences that does not exist in the community he lives in. In summary, we learn that there will never be an Utopian world, everything may seem perfect on the surface but if we look closely, the roots and the details are definitely frightening and imperfect. Thus, an underlying message of communism is not a way of living.

The plot and the message are not the only things that are interesting, the way that Lowry wrote the book too hooked me and made me have the desire to want to read more about it.

My favourite quote from "The Giver" would be, "It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?"

Animal Farm -
Genre: Satire, Political satire
Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company

I personally find these kind of books very interesting, they give you an insight upon the worlds we want or may have thought it is a perfect word to live in. Again, like "The Giver", Orwell wrote a story that is fairly similar, except he gets straight to the point without much plot hiding the real message he is trying to send out. The book title may seem like a kiddy book but trust me, it gets harsh and is definitely not a children's book. 

Orwell wrote this as a satire for the time where the Russian Revolution took place as well as when Stalin came into power, and had the Marxist ideology (A.K.A Communism) take place in Russia. Similar to "The Giver", the reason why I enjoyed these two so much and can't decide which one is my favourite is because of the message it brings. 

Karl Marx, had this system planned out thinking it would be the solution for the oppressed and people living in poverty. However, it was not the case. When communism took place, it was a hell hole. People of the rich starts losing their goods and property and many of the people starts losing the motivation to work for a "better life" as all of their end products would be the same as each other and no one gets more or less than anyone. 

However, one of this book's quote really did stick with me like glue, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than the others." It really did broaden my way of thinking. I have always thought Capitalism is bad but honestly, we are living in a much better world where we have the freedom to do almost anything we wish to. This system may not be perfect but it is a system that can keep a nation going for many years.

Author : Soman Chainani 

Date Published : 2013, HarperCollins 

The book I chose is called “The School for Good and Evil”. It starts in a village called Galvadon , and every four years , two children of either gender and beyond the age of twelve are kidnapped by an unknown force. However, sets of mysterious books appear at a local bookstore, and other children not kidnapped begin to realize the kidnapped children are in these stories. Their theories are not believed. 

Soon, best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves in a potential predicament: Sophie, with her pink gowns and over the top skin care routines, wishes to be kidnapped and become a princess in the fated School for Good, while Agatha, with her black dresses and sulky attitude, is deemed by the villagers to be a "perfect fit" for the School for Evil(Even though she doesn't consider herself so). However, once they are taken from Gavaldon, they are each sent to what seems to be the opposite schools. Sophie becomes a "Never" and Agatha becomes an "Ever" (Nevers belonging to the school for evil, and Evers belonging to the school for good). And the book is very interesting as it portrays friendship, love, jealousy, betrayal, hatred, and selfishness. 

I fell in love with the plot and how amazing the character developments are an could relate to some parts of the story , like how Agatha who was an introvert and had self-hatred changed into accepting herself for who she was , and she was skeptical of love in the beginning and after her herself had fallen for the prince. And Sophie who was a happy-go-lucky kind of girl became selfish and full of hatred. But the story also explained how strong Sophie and Agatha’s friendship were. Also it portrayed how nowadays people are; the villagers judged Sophie and Agatha by their appearances instead of getting to know them. When they arrived at the school , both Agatha and Sophie were bullied for their appearance not suiting the schools they were in ( Agatha in Good and Sophie in Bad) , these were the parts I could relate to as now the society would judge your appearance. 

1.    Sometimes love does not necessarily has to be between a guy and a girl, it could be in the form of friendship. 

2.    Sometimes you have to be selfless 

3.    People will betray you , even your closest friends

Ang Shyuan Nikki (FIA 

 February 1, 1999

By Neil Gaiman

 

A story of a young man questing for a priceless treasure in order to win the hand of a maiden he decided that he was in love with even though he knew nothing about her.

Evil witches lusting after eternal youth.

Dying kings and princes looking to prove themselves worthy.

You would be forgiven for mistaking stardust for a “by the numbers fantasy” plot if you were not familiar with the authors other works.

However as you keep on reading the book starts to lose its one dimensional nature as the lines between good and evil gets blurred.

In typical Neil Gaiman fashion, the book does not shy away from displaying the ugliness of the world. Everyone has their own agenda and you see the base human nature of the characters as they make selfish decisions that are not masked by the usual fantasy trope of chivalry where the hero is this paragon of virtue that can do no wrong and the villains are over the top caricatures that do evil for the sake of being evil. Instead the protagonists are selfish people and the antagonists have purpose and something to lose.

That is why I find this book special.

It  is almost a parody of the usual fluffed up high fantasy books as it uses its almost nonsensical plot to tell a story in such a way that you come off a smarter person after reading it.

I remember when I first read it as a child.

I was coming off the first few harry potter books and I was jonesing for fix of fantasy when I came across stardust in the library.it had an innocent enough cover reminiscent of the old Narnia books so I was immediately intrigued.

The book took me for quite a ride as it hooked me with its first few chapters that lulled me into a sense of safety before pulling the rug out from under me with its increasingly mature themes. I was often left angry as characters I rooted for in the beginning turned out to be real pieces of work and I felt frustration as the protagonists kept making selfish decisions that seemed ridiculous to me at the time.

Finally I was finished with the last chapter and I realized that this book had managed to wrench out more emotion from me than any other book that I have read before.

Author: Susin Nielsen 

This book is not necessarily one that I would find myself reading over and over again but it managed to spark an interest within me simply because of the messages presented throughout the book. Simply put, the story revolves around two families that are opposites to one another beginning to live under one roof. Over time and throughout the book, conflicts begin to arise between the two parents as well as the two kids that are not exactly related by blood. 

First and foremost, Stewart is described to be as ‘gifted’ which, from the offset, may have several meanings but later on, the author is quick to mention that Stewart is merely ahead of kids his age in the educational department. At the same time, he lacks the basic social skills and we soon find out that he attends a special school for kids similar to himself. We learn that Stewart had always wanted a little sister and although at one point it may have seemed that his wish was to be fulfilled, the mother, known only as Mom throughout the whole book, was suddenly diagnosed with cancer in her ovaries which led to her death a year and three months later. 

On the other spectrum, Ashley could be described as your typical stuck-up and privileged white teenage girl and the author portrays this perfectly throughout the whole book, whether it be through her general attitude or simply the way the author writes the way she talks. In the beginning and halfway through the book, Ashley is deemed to be holding a grudge against her father that confessed to the mother and herself that he was gay. Now, there are two reasons as to why Ashley holds the said grudge with one being the simple fact that she is embarrassed to have a gay father and the other being that it somewhat ruined the family and in turn, possibly her childhood. 

Throughout the entirety of the book, there is a sharp contrast between the personalities of the two teenagers as well as their attitude both at home and in school. Since Stewart took it upon himself to enter the typical American high school that Ashley goes to as part of his promise to himself as well as his late mother, we are immediately exposed to the way kids like Stewart who are deemed as ‘gifted’ are treated by guys like Jared, who we later find out was expelled from his previous private school for assaulting a gay student. Though, it came as a relief that Stewart found himself proper friends in the form of two students, Violet and Phoebe. On the other hand, we are introduced to Ashley and her need to remain on top of a supposed ‘social ladder’ in her grade and she accomplishes this by constantly insulting and sometimes degrading her ‘best’ friend, Lauren. Moreover, she is deemed to be more concerned with her looks in school rather than her studies, which can be argued as to be present in the current generation. 

A turning event in the book would have to be the New Year’s Party incident involving Ashley and Jared. Prior to this party, Jared had revealed his true intentions with Ashley when he attempted to strip Ashley down to her underwear at his own house but was later interrupted by Jared’s housekeeper. Now, we would expect Ashley to realise the kind of guy Jared really is but her naivety proves us otherwise in that she clings on to this hope of changing the not-so-nice side of Jared merely because she was ‘in love’ with him. At the New Year’s Party where Ashley tried her best to have a small party which later became the opposite (all credits to Jared), Jared is seen to be taking advantage of a drunken Ashley. However, Stewart decides to step in and in doing so, he takes away Jared’s phone that was full of explicit pictures of Ashley and destroys in before reporting the absurd party to the cops. Following the aftermath of the party, Stewart becomes relentless in insulting Ashley whenever she would try and comfort him over the supposed loss of his beloved cat, Schrӧdinger and although his comments may have crossed a certain line, it may be dignified in that it was because of Ashley’s ignorance that may have put them in a difficult situation at that point in the book. 

However, soon after Stewart was expelled for his deliberate but somewhat justified pulling down of Jared’s shorts during a basketball game, Ashley decides to form what she defined as a ‘protection squad’ for Stewart once his suspension had been lifted and in doing so, we see a bond developing between Stewart and Ashley and in turn, it may just seem as though they will get along in the near future. 

There was an abundance of messages that I deemed as important throughout the whole book. For example, the simple fact that just because someone is considered as ‘gifted’ or simply different than the norm does not justify the cruel abuse or bullying that follows with it. Moreover, we ought to educate young teenagers to focus more on figuring out what they might or might not enjoy rather than their appearance and how well they may fit in. Last but not least, we ought to eliminate the negative connotation having two dads or two mums may have sometimes not because we live in the 21st century but rather, who are we to discriminate and judge those people? 

- Azeezul Azhar (0332267) FIA 

Before Margot leaves to go back to college in Scotland, she tells Lara Jean to get a job. Taking Margot's advice, Lara Jean volunteers to start a scrapbooking class at the Belleview retirement home, and gets closer to Stormy, an elderly woman who has a feisty temper. Stormy gives Lara Jean relationship advice. Meanwhile, Kitty begins an attempt to set up their father with the neighbor across the street, Trina Rothschild.
One day, Lara Jean receives a letter in the mail from John Ambrose McClaren, telling her that he received the love letter she wrote him. Lara Jean and John soon become pen pals. When Lara Jean finds out that the neighborhood treehouse she and her friends used to hang out in will soon be cut down, she decides to throw a reunion party there and invites John. She also plans to open a time capsule that they buried at the treehouse when they were in seventh grade.

At the treehouse party, Peter brings his ex-girlfriend Genevieve, knowing that Lara Jean did not want her to come. Lara Jean also finds out that the two were hanging out before the party, prompting her to become suspicious, and a little jealous, of Peter and Genevieve's "relationship". During the party, Lara Jean distracts herself from Peter by focusing on John. The group takes it in turn to pull an item from the time capsule, and then decides to play Assassins, which they often played during their childhood. For the prize, they decide the winner will be granted one wish. Lara Jean is determined to win since she has never previously won a game

After the party, Lara Jean and Peter argue about John and Genevieve, and Peter insists there is only friendship between him and his ex. During the Assassins game, Lara Jean discovers that Peter and Geneveive have formed an alliance, causing her to become suspicious again. Lara Jean finds out that Stormy is John's great-grandmother when he comes to visit the retirement home, and also eliminates him from Assassins. Her next target is now Peter, and John decides to help her out.

Meanwhile, Lara Jean and Peter break up when she discovers that Peter knew Genevieve was the person who sent out the video from the hot tub. She tells him if she wins Assassins, she would wish that nothing had happened between them. Lara Jean begins spending more time with John as they scheme to take out Genevieve from the game. Lara Jean ends up winning, and discovers the reason Peter and Genevieve have been hanging out: Genevieve confided in Peter about her father's affair with a younger woman.

Lara Jean meets with Peter at the treehouse the night before it is to be cut down. She tells him her wish is for things to go back to the way they were between them, and Peter professes his love for her. 
What i have learnt through this novel is that we need to get closer to a person so that we will get to know them very well and not we judge them by knowing nothing. Loving someone might be not easy but then if both communicate , tolerate and trust each other so bad the relationship will be much easier. Not just that , this novel also shows me that we need to choose someone who will be with us through tough time and accept every conditions in us or i can say "The right one" . Last but not least always have faith in everything .

Autor:JOJO MOYES.

One of my  favourite book definetly  goes to ‘me before you’. Lous goes job hunting until she been hired by Camilla to take care of her sons,Will Traynor who was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the street, leaving him almost completely paralyzed. Will is a total jerk at first.But as time goes by, he slowly warm up to Lou, and their relationship grows closer and closer. However, Will made promise to his mother to take him an assisted suicide facility in six month to end his life. Lou then has a plan to show Will life is worth living,Lou started growing her feeling toward Will. On the final night of the vacation, Lou kisses Will and declares her love for him, saying that she knows about his plan but wants him to be with him.Will still going through with it although he loves her,too. Before his death, Will writes Lou a letter and specifically request that it only be opened while Lou is in Paris café.Will left some money and want Lou continue her education to follow her dream. Will left the last word 'live well' to Lou in that letter.

I love reading love story but this is my favourite one.It involved lot’s of storylines, a funny romantic, morally complex and emotionally devastating book.  I’m inspired by the way how Lou trying her best to take care Will and finding the ways to help Will to save his life. I liked the passion she has towards Will.The way that author end this story is hurtful but it really gave me a deep impression. After reading this book, I learnt to be thankful  and appreciate even a little things. We cherish every moment that we spent with our love one, live our life to the fullest.

 TEEJIAEN(FIA)
0332837

“Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to—it’s the first one who breaks it.”

Sad Girls is a dark but a beautifully written novel that covers issues for the coming age teenagers who is going through a lot today such as drug abuse, suicide, anxiety & secrets. Here it shows us that love can be both beautiful and can also be something that breaks you the most and most importantly it shows us that one decision can change our whole life in just a blink of an eye forever and may effect the lives of the others around us. This book definitely caught me and trapped me, I’ve never not relate so much to such a dark book it made me realize that I am actually maybe a dark person as I’ve been so denial about it but after reading it being a dark person isn’t bad at all. For a growing soul that’s had to deal with so much growing up, a book can definitely make me go back and hit me so hard.

I’ve read so many reviews about this book and how it disappoints some people and how this book is apparently all over the place but honestly to me I think that’s the beauty in it, that’s the whole message. The book caught me by just the title, sad I know but there’s always the beauty in the beast. Maybe I will never be able to express my feelings towards this book and what it means to me, the portrayal of mental illness is vitally important, anxiety was written and it didn’t show like it was a bad thing. Throughout this novel, there was one thing I found; girls supporting girls, this was something that caught one of my attention it was displayed brilliantly.

This book shows me that all of these illness or just self love or self hate is around and can be treated, if you’re a dark person or a mysterious one its really not a bad thing. Infact it’s a good thing, it’ll make people question and go “ oh I wonder why she is the way she is” those are the type of question that keeps one going, this book has taught me that it’s okay to be dark or sad, its fine. Mostly because I am in my own world a lot and this book just became a source of fun, a relation and this is why I chose this book.

 

By; Erin Maisarah (FIA)

Hazel is 16 and is reluctant to go to the support group, but she soon realises that it was a good idea. Hazel meets a young boy named Augustus Waters. He is charming and witty. Augustus has had osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, but has recently had the all clear.

Hazel and Augustus embark on a roller coaster ride of emotions, including love, sadness and romance, while searching for the author of their favourite book. They travel to Amsterdam in search of Peter Van Houten the author of An Imperial Affliction. While on their trip Augustus breaks some heartbreaking news to Hazel and both of their worlds fall apart around them. To me, it is a very touching story and i would like to read it again as there are so many touching and great scenes.