Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Even though I'm slowly/not so slowly buying/borrowing books in Japan, I still go back to the books I brought with me when I'm homesick. Like Sarah Dessen, I think out of all the authors I packed, I packed the most books from her (4 books). I previously reviewed The Truth About Forever, and now, here's another re-read: Keeping the Moon.

Keeping the Moon features Collie, who has never fit in. First, that was because she was fat and when she became thin, she developed a reputation she didn't deserve (school can be cruel). But one summer, her mom (who became Kiki Sparks and famous after losing weight) goes on tour and she's sent to her Aunt Mira for the summer. Mira is eccentric in ways too many to count but like in a Sarah Dessen novel, this is when she makes friends and finds out her own worth,

I say "like in a Sarah Dessen novel" because looking back, it fits her storyline pretty typically. But, while reading it, I never once felt a sense of deja vu. In fact, it was the complete opposite. I'll have to say that this is probably because of the writing and the characters. Colie, Morgan, Isabel and really everyone else is so well-portrayed that it made the story unique.

Especially Morgan and Isabel's friendship. They're alike (and at the same time opposite) that they remind me of my best friend and I. The way they talk, know each other so well, it sounds like what Rachel and I do. We don't talk about the same subjects, but the way we talk (or don't need to) is the same thing.

While I've never had Collie's problems (I'm sorry, but I don't think I was/am fat. And I was a goody-two-shoes), I can certainly identify with her loneliness. I think this is amplified all the more in Japan. While I have really awesome friends, there's a certain loneliness from being so far away from the friends left behind, and the language barrier doesn't help much. So in a way, reading about Collie fitting in by being who she is encouraged me that I will make friends eventually and there's no need to worry about fitting in.

Seriously, I think if you're going overseas/moving, you should bring Sarah Dessen along (I could make a list of authors to bring). If you have a friend moving, maybe you could give her this book to let her know you'll be thinking of her.

Little Night by Luanne Rice

I didn't know what to expect when I requested this book. It's supposed to be a family drama, but I didn't know what type (If you want a brief long introduction to family drama, watch the Taiwanese series Ai (Love)). But basically, Little Night examines the relationships between sisters and mother-daughter.

While trying to protect her sister Anne from her abusive husband, Clare hit him and got sent to jail for two years. This more-or-less broke the ties between them since Anne lied on the stand for her husband. But one day, Anne's daughter Grit appears on Clare's doorstep all of a sudden, and well, everything collides.

I found this story really heartbreaking. The two sisters didn't intentionally severe ties, it was all caused by Anne's husband, who emotionally and I think physically abused her. Basically, the book explores the effects of domestic violence on the relationship between female members of the family. It's not as clinical as I make it sound, but it's heartbreaking because while I was hoping for a happy ending, I could see that it wasn't going to happen (and it didn't).

As for the characters, I think they were wonderful. I have nothing more to say about it, except that I thought it was realistic.

The plot was interesting. It shifted between the incident in the past, the present, Clare and Grit's point of view and Anne's journals/website. In this way, I kinda knew more than the characters, but that actually served to increase the "tension". Because I knew more, I wanted the characters to behave a certain way but since they only knew what they knew, their actions and my expectations diverged.

Plus, in Anne's case, the release of information was well timed. Because it's linked to when Clare/Grit reads her diaries, we only get her point of view at very selective stages - and a lot of it is about the past. There was another plot device that managed to delay releasing information from her website even though the reader knows it exists.

In conclusion, this is a good book. I think it was sensitively written, and I enjoyed reading it very much. Most of the plots were fully explored so yay!

Disclaimer: I got this book free from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Teaser Tuesday - Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Midterms are over! And now I can resume reading(: Right now, I'm reading another book that I borrowed from the school library (I try to go there often) called - Notes from a Small Island. I picked it up because in Singapore, we have a book whose title was inspired by that (Notes from an Even Small Island by Neil Humphreys - go read it!). So, here's today's teaser:

"I forgot to mention curry houses earlier in my brief list of Bradford's glories, which is a terrible oversight. Bradford may have lost a wool trade, but it has gained a thousand excellent Indian restraurants, which I personally find a reasonable swap as I have a strictly limited need for bales of fiber but can take about as much Indian food as you care to shovel at me." (page 180)

Do you think the book sounds funny? So far, it's an amusing read, but then again, I'm only 3 chapters into it.

What are your Teaser Tuesdays?

Book Blogger Hop #1

As always, I'm not much of a meme person, but I am very intrigued by this week's question. Plus, I like the ethics behind this meme. So, this week's question is:

How do you handle the writing of a negative review?

Well, honestly, I try my best not to write negative reviews. I'm well aware of my biases, so I tend to stay away from books that I think I won't like. But since I've been getting more review copies to read (thank you NetGalley), I've also encountered more books whose blurb's and my expectations don't meet. In this case, I'd rather decline to review. If I'm getting a free copy, I don't feel good writing a negative review, so if I can't write a nice review, I'd rather not write anything at all.

There was this one time, however, where the book was sent from the author. In this case, I emailed him once I realised I couldn't write a good review and told him my reasons. Since I'd previously agreed to review the book, I asked him if he still wanted me to do so (but I won't write a nice review when I can't). Thankfully, he understood my position and let me back out.

But if it's a book I bought/borrowed, all bets are off. I may or may not write a review, depending on how infuriated I am with the book itself (and it's lack of logic/excessive swearing/etc).

Hmm... what about you? Do you prefer not to write negative reviews too?