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