Excellent Read! - The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

In the depths of my heart, i have a secret wish to be a writer! I have a dream that one day, maybe at "retirement", i shall sit myself down and write meself a novel! When i was younger, it was bound to be a romance! But as i grow older (yieks!), i tell myself that it must surely be something that has more depth, more substance - maybe a suspenseful drama, a reflective journal, a historical mystery.... to say the least, i have very little idea of what i would actually write, but it is still my dream!

I was reminded of this dream when i was reading this novel,  and was reminded again the enormousness (i checked, there IS such an adjective) of this dream, the task of writing a book. I was filled with awe as i turned the pages of this book, the multi facets of the story, the parallel dimensions of 2 stories in one book both captured my imagination and my mind! It was so informative as well as fantastical that i was swung from pleasure to pleasure. There is so much research that the writer had to do, discipline to alternate between two plots, linguistic prowess for English and its dialects  to weave such a wonderous tale of love, history, personal journey and discovery! In short, i was humbled, it will be a dream that will require more than mere wishing to fulfill!

Pardon all my musing and allow me now to share the joy of reading this book. The story revolves around 2 women from two different times, Nicola who has psychic powers and Anna, who has to escape and survive at a young age to preserve a family heritage. Both women have a past to deal with and a future to prepare for and while we view through Nicola's eyes, the life of Anna with her growth and struggles, we are still fully aware that Nicola is not insulated from the realities of her own life! It is like watching a movie of a girl watching a movie, we read and "watch" 2 life stories at one go! So addicted and spellbound i was, i took a day and a half to finish the whole book! It is certainly highly recommended and i would love to hear any comments from anyone who have the same pleasure of reading it too.

I know that I am lacking in reviewing this book in good detail but i do beseech you people out there, if you are at a loss of what to read, this is definitely the book to plug your need. The plot is clever in managing between two lives, two timelines, informative in telling the history of early Europe and suspenseful in leading the reader through the many peaks and intrigues of her characters. Read and truly enjoy!

Fresh Fiction reviewed "An imaginatively captivating trip through time."
Historical Novels Review : "Romantic, passionate and bittersweet, this intelligent, tension-laden story will sweep you away."

Jen

Suspenseful Read: The 39 Clues series by various authors

Hi guys! I know we've not been posting a lot (sorry for that) but we've been really busy these days, my sis has been preparing for this big major exam this year & my mum has been helping her prepare. I've been also studying for my Common Tests & End-of-Year exams these past few months. So I hope you all understand & apologises for being MIA for a while. Anyway, I've told them to post whenever they have time & since now it's the school holidays, we'll have more time on our hands to read & review books. So you guys may expect an entry by my sis or mum coming up soon!

Moving on, the book (or rather series) I'm recommending today is The 39 Clues series. This series is written by different authors and consists of 11 books (in the picture, book 1 is the last book while book 11 is the first one). The series mainly surround the plot of orphan siblings Amy & Dan Cahill, along with their au pair Nellie Gomez, competing against their distant relatives on a hunt for 39 Clues around the world to become the greatest Cahill in history. How did this whole thing start off? Before Amy & Dan's beloved grandma Grace passed away, she set up a challenge for all the Cahills; to take 1 million dollars or take the first Clue & start the hunt for the rest. At her funeral, this challenge is relayed to all the relatives through Grace's lawyer. Amy & Dan decide to take up the challenge, along with other fame-hungry relatives as well. From then on, they travel around the world, looking for clues based on historical figures that were apparently part of this influential Cahill family. It may seem a little complicated now so read the first book, Maze of Bones, to find out more!

Some background on the Cahills: there are 5 branches of the Cahill family; Lucians, Tomas, Ekaterinas (or Ekats), Janus & the most powerful and mysterious one, Madrigals. Each Cahill has a special characteristic that identifies what branch they're from, for example, the Janus are usually talented in the arts, having historical figures like Mozart in their branch. All the branches are at loggerheads with each other, leading to the fierce competition that Amy & Dan face during the hunt from their relatives, who use their individual skills & tactics to trick each other & get ahead in the hunt.

This book is so full of suspense & adventure that it is such an exciting read. You never know which scheming relative will come out & trick Amy & Dan during the hunt. There are also so many mysterious characters that you don't know who is good or bad. This is why I usually borrow 3-4 of these books from the library at one go so I can immediately move on to the next book & find out what comes next! I finished reading book 10 & can't wait to finish the series with book 11! For all those who like adventure & a little bit of history while using your brain to figure out the meanings behind the Clues, this is THE book for you. Once you start reading, you'll find it hard to stop!

Another interesting thing I found out about these books recently: When reading book 8, I noticed certain words or sections of a word were circled (not in pen, in the printing). If you combine all the circled words, it forms a message! How cool is that? Books 9 & 10 have symbols at the page number margins & the "guide" to decoding the coded message is somewhere in the book (for these 2 books, they were at the page with the publishing info at the start of the book & the blank pages at the end of the book). Go ahead & read the other books in the series & have fun decoding the messages!

From what I hear, there's gonna be a movie of the book coming out probably in 2014 so I'm especially excited for it. Also, after reading this series, you can check out another series, Cahills vs Vespers, about the Cahills' greatest enemy, the Vespers and there's even a new series coming up soon this October, Unstoppable, so there's a lot in stall for 39 Clues. Definitely go & check out this series & hope to hear your views on the books soon. Again, if you have any books you want us to review, please drop us a comment or email us at bookpicks4all@gmail.com. We'll be happy to hear from you! Happy reading!

Lydia

Touching Read-青色的围墙 by Xu Tian Bin & Xu Shu Qin

Hey all! Here's my first Chinese book I've ever posted on this blog! Guess I'm following in the footsteps of my sis & mum haha! Well, for the benefit of those non-Chinese readers, this book literally translates to "The Green Wall" & it's written by a Malaysian writer, with a novel woven within the story by his co-author & daughter.

It tells about a 15-year-old girl called Shan Shan & her father, Xu Tian Ping who's an author. Her mother passed away when she was 5 & now lives with her father & aunt. However, she & her father both can't understand each other. Shan Shan feels her dad scolds her before she can explain the situation & sometimes doesn't respect her privacy, not knocking before entering her room & checking her phone texts. As a result, she turns to her aunt, who is like a mother to her, to talk to & find comfort in. Tian Ping, on the other hand, wonders why his daughter is so cold towards him & though he tries to give her what he thinks is best for her, she turns him away repeatedly. In the end, will the father & daughter improve their relationship? Will they finally understand each other or stay distant? Read the book to find out!

After reading this, I could really relate to Shan Shan, a regular teenage girl like me. I'm sure all of us have felt our parents don't understand us at all & turn to other family members (ie: grandparents, cousins, siblings etc) or friends to confide in at some point in our lives. But have you ever wondered how your parents feel? The 2 point of views by the father & daughter in the book shows us both of their sides of the story so we have a balanced view of both parties. Plus, the novel (written by the author's daughter posing as a 15-year-old girl and aspiring writer) is like another story altogether so it's like reading 2 stories at once!

This is great for those parents struggling with coping with their teens & vice versa, for teens who feel a little misunderstood. All in all, it's a great book for adults & teens! Please share any comments if you have any & they'll be greatly appreciated. Thanks & watch out for more entries!

Lydia

PS: If you find these reviews of Chinese books we've done so far interesting, please tell us so we can find more to share with you all! Or tell us some of your own personal favourites! Oh & sorry for the lack of entries by my sis...will tell her to post something one of these days :)

Irresistible Peculiarity of a book - The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Hi everyone! Sorry for MIA for such a long time but i had neither the time or inspiration for putting up any new post. However, immediately after the finishing of this book today, i just had to put my two-cents worth of thoughts into words!!

I mean, I am totally flabbergasted and bewildered as i read the last page of this novel. It is seldom that i bother finishing a book when it starts off "weird". There is too little time in life to waste on books that are just "not my cup of tea.", others can go ahead and read them but hey, I have an ocean of other books to read. But this book drew me in with first, an intriguing title and a subject matter that i have an interest in, food! (see my previous posts)

 The blurb on the book sounded interesting enough and for the first few chapters, i was totally drawn in by the character, Rose, who at nine years old, discovered she has a gift, or rather a curse, of being able to discern the feelings and emotions of the person who cooked the dish. She was able to taste the loneliness of her mother who was emotionally detached from her husband, the sadness and hollowness of her marriage. So much so that young Rose started to fear eating home-cooked foods, as she didn't want to sense the sadness, the bitterness and subsequent illicit affair of her mother.

So far so good? Well, good enough for me to continue to read at obsessive speed, picking up sub-plots of a disappearing brother (what is that all about?!), developing a crush with a childhood friend, and a more interestingly, her ability to pinpoint where and how the food was brought to being! She knew where the milk came from, how the flour was milled, no minute detail was spared!!

I knew that as the book progressed, i was either going to be presented with a "smack your forehead" moment or an extremely satisfying conclusion to the whole story. In case anyone of you is interested to pick up this book, i will not spoil it for you by giving you any more spoilers but i assure you, this is a non-typical book and the author certainly has an astonishing imagination which really raises my eyebrows rather than in awe.

The revelation that came out of this reading is that there are all sorts of writers out there. You can write a run-of-the-mill story or you can write out-of-the-world hysterical one or simply, one that interlaces incredulity with reality. A book that makes you think and wonder long beyond the pages of the book, if you let it, to stretch your imagination, the limits of what can be, what is real and what is surreal.

Oh dear, i think i have been affected by the book so much that i have written a similarly "weird" review! Forgive my ramblings, it IS quite a mixed-up afterthought. I am glad I am done reading this book, probably will not pick up another book by the same author (too avant garde for me! I just want to space out and relax with a simpler book.) BUT, i am happy that i came across this book, for all its twists and turns, it was like a surprise box, you never knew what you would get, until the very end. And in life, surprises are always a gift in itself! Do share your comments if you have any. Thanks in advance!

Jen

Eye-opening Read: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Hi all! Sorry my mum & sis aren't as active, I'll remind them to post more often (I think I know a book my sis has in mind...). Well, today's book is The Giver by Lois Lowry, which is my Lit book for school. This Newbery Medal book is about Jonas, a 12-year-old boy living in a futuristic community without colour, pain & love. All memories of the past (our present) are held by a man called the Receiver. When Jonas is chosen as the new Receiver, he learns about real pain & gains wisdom from the memories.

When I read this book for the first time, I realised how much is lacking in this society, yet the people don't know what they are missing. I recommend this to those who enjoy easy reading with easy-to-understand concepts. The memories are very vividly described so you can see it the way Jonas, one who has never known of these things, sees it & relate closely with him. The ending poses a cliffhanger, providing a mysterious element. You can also read the companions to this book, Gathering Blue & Messenger.

Hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I did & trust me, you'll probably never see colour the same way after reading this! Stay tuned for more entries & do remember to drop us a comment! Happy Reading!
Lydia

Must-Read for Teens:The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hi all! Sorry for not updating for such a long time because we haven't really had time. Today, I'll be reviewing the most talked-about book of the year, The Hunger Games. It is the 1st book in The Hunger Games trilogy, the 2nd being Catching Fire & the last book Mockingjay. The movie based on the novel has become a big hit here in Singapore, especially with the teenagers who enjoy the book just as much. For those who still unsure of the plot, the book is set in a place called Panem (a post-apocalyptic North America) & is about a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen from District 12 who volunteers to take her 12-year-old sister Primrose's place in the 74th annual Hunger Games, a live televised TV show where teens fight to the death for victory, along with her fellow District 12 member, Peeta Mellark.

This book is definitely a great read & seeing from the huge response from teenagers who have read the book, it is a must-read for all those who enjoy an exciting read with unexpected events that get your heart pumping. When I first read the book, it was so captivating that I couldn't put it down! I personally dislike reading books with a lot of violence & fighting but this is an exception as there is a lot of suspense in the book. Though it is a dystopian fiction novel, there is a bit of romance between the 2 protagonists, giving an appropriate balance between the fighting & the budding romance, thus it is great for those who do not like too much violence, like myself. The movie also did not disappoint. Although the book's ending may be a bit abrupt, it  provides a cliffhanger that makes you want to read the 2nd book even more! Enjoy & "may the odds be ever in your favour"!
Lydia

The Joy of Reading

So happy to see Sarah reading a Chinese book by herself! She is 10 years old and usually, she will shy away from reading Chinese books. Hopefully, this series will capture her interest and motivate her to read more!

There were some words (many, in fact) that she didn't know the meaning of but at least she was not deterred and managed to finish the book by herself. I remember when i was young and reading Chinese comics, I recognised only about 70% of the words but that did not diminish my enjoyment of them! Oh, those mangas! I have yet to introduce comics to my girls, in case they get addicted like I was! Hahaha....

Jen