Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: N/A (I would say it is around 800HL-1000HL)
Genre:  Romance, Psychology
My Opinions: Romantic plot line? Yes. New idea? No. Did I like the book? Yes. This again is another Bollywood type of plot line in which we have the hero falling in love with the beautiful heroine. 

It all starts on the basketball court. Riya is from a rich, upscale lifestyle who loves basketball and disapproves of the luxurious lifestyle. Madhav is from Bihar, a poor and worn down state in India, who was recruited to play basketball in St. Stephen's College. After meeting on the court during tryouts, they start hanging out together. Madhav wants more from Riya, but she sees him as a immature and naive little boy who knows nothing of love. Riya only wants to be friends with him, nothing more.

Things become more tense once Riya gives Madhav an invitation to her wedding, but Madhav refuses to go. Instead, he returns home to help his mother and the school she was running. It was in poor condition and it needed to be fixed. The Bill Gates Foundation reached out to Bihar and told Madhav if he could convince the committee during their tour in India, the school would receive a $25,000 grant. The only catch was he needed to do this in English. Madhav does not know English very well. Also, he is still recovering from the Riya-episode.

The plot picks up its pace when he sees Riya once again in Bihar! (crazy right?) In the midst of preparing for the committee presentation, Madhav once again gets tangled in a relationship with Riya (oh, not again...). It seems like it is fate to have met her again, but will it end differently?

I do have to applaud Bhagat for diverging from the cliched Bollywood romantic plot line because this story is about more than love. It is also about a man growing up and adapting to different cultures and languages as he even travels to America in search for Riya. Best of all, this book shows the importance of never giving up.

This is a great book for those interested in cultural differences and is appropriate for young adults and above.

Who loves poetry? I do!

So the last post was in August? Well, I haven't been reading lately so I don't have a book review to share with you guys. However, I have been writing a lot recently outside of school. For some reason, poetry is my go to and I entered a poem in a contest on Poetry Soup! There were several contests to choose from and the topic for the contest I chose was writing about a religion. I chose to write a poem about Hinduism and how over the years, I have gradually changed mentally to understand the meaning of faith.

All I Know about Hinduism

Squealing,
I adorned myself
with bangles
which followed my suit
as they clinked.
Combing my hair
and placing flowers
they contained the same level of energy
as I did.
Running around
thinking I was a princess
reality: the bride was the real deal.
Tripping on the hard stone floor
a gentle hand lifts me up
puts a sweet
into my tiny hands.

Five years later
I take my seat on the tile floor.
Wearing leggings and a kurta like all others 
who sit in straight rows.
Reading from the slokas on the poster
making sure we say Om
three times before starting.
Clasping both hands
we pray toevery special guide in our lives.
Understanding how each one of them has molded us.

Five years later, I sit in front of my laptop.
Wearing sweat pants and a shirt like my sister.
Worshipping daily after taking a shower does not wash away the sins.
Having a plan for the future does not mean I know what it will turn out to be.
All I do know is I have friends up there
who will listen to me and 
who will help me.
That's all I know.

10/9/2014

I am happy to say I won this contest!:)

I encourage everyone to check this site out. If you love to write poetry, entering contests is completely free and only requires you to create an account to enter. It is a site where poets from all over share their ideas. I can't wait to upload some more of my poem on this site for others to read!

(Don't You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: N/A (I would say it is around 700L-900L)
Genre:  Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Psychology
My Opinions: It was pretty confusing at the beginning but I was able to connect the dots towards the end. When the reader first starts reading, she is completely thrown into a unique and fascinating setting. The setting is a society where no one gets sick or dies. However, there is always a price to pay because every four years, the town infects one of the teenagers to commit a horrible crime.

The main character's sister, Piper, becomes a victim to the fourth year disease and is soon sent to the Reformatory for leading many students to their deaths by making them jump over a cliff. Skylar was there to witness everything and ever since then, she has not been able to forget the past. The whispers and voices taunt her into believing the only way to get Piper back was to stop the murderous cycles of Gardnersville.

It is a book where the author will not set the scene and details for you immediately. Quinn makes the reader finish the suspenseful book in order to make his/her connections between characters, their history, and the mystery behind this town. I enjoyed it. Every chapter title is the name of a song from the '80s which I thought was pretty creative. It is a really good pass time read but I would not recommend for any high level school project reading.

The Look of Love by Mary Jane Clark

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: N/A (I would say it is around 700L-800L)
Genre:  Mystery
My Opinions: Easy to follow, creative, gets reader to act like the detective type of book. Mary Jane Clark writes each chapter from the perspective of a different character in the book, even the murderer's point of view! It all starts after Piper Donovan, aspiring actress and part-time baker, accepts an invitation to Elysium, a paradise spa and plastic surgery center, free of charge for making the wedding cake for Jillian Abernathy, daughter of the spa's owner. Piper felt as though this would be a perfect way to take a break and sort out her feelings for Jack, a handsome FBI agent. Upon arriving, Jillian's housekeeper is accidentally mutilated and later killed by a mysterious person whose original target was Jillian. This killer will do anything to stop Jillian. The question is, who is it? 

By the end of the book, I thought I had an idea of who it was because Clark does a good job of dropping hints in each chapter which helped me process all the information and come up with a possible prime suspect. I couldn't keep the book down and it is an easy and fast read. Some content may not be appropriate for all ages. However, it has the right amount excitement and description needed to keep the reader happy and busy on boring, rainy days.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: 910L
Genre:  Fantasy, Adventure Fiction, Novel, Psychology
My Opinions: At first reading the book felt like reading another adventure book where the main character must find his treasure and face challenges. But after reading it again (because it was so good), it was more than a good pass time read. It is about a boy named Santiago who is trying to find his Personal Legend. He started out as a shepherd in order to travel the world. Throughout the journey, he experiences love, learns about alchemy, and meets a merchant who didn't want to reach his Personal Legend. It is a journey where Santiago learns more about himself and the art of alchemy. Great read for deep thinkers! Not boring at all and a great read for school projects.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Bitter Melon by Cara Chow

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: HL730L (HL- appeals to readers at a more mature developmental level)
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
My Opinions: Bitter Melon is about a Chinese girl named Fei Ting, whose name literally means stop flying. She is a daughter of a mother who regards every penny she earns as a piece of gold. Her mother is very picky and strict. No boyfriends because it would cause a distraction for her daughter. No extra curricular activities because it would become a distraction. She wants her daughter to get a high score in SAT so that she can get into UC Berkeley. Her point was that she was doing everything for her daughter. However, Fei Ting has other plans. After a schedule mix-up, she is put into speech instead of calculus where she finds out more about herself and her true feelings through expressing herself. Finding speech as a gift causes her to enroll in several competitions where she gets closer to a boy named Derek. Everything now becomes a secret in her life. The speech competitions, Derek, going to a school dance, working a summer job, not going to her expensive SAT classes, and worst of all, wanting to go to Scripps rather than UC Berkeley. She thought she could hide all this from her mom...at least until the day Theresa's mother found Fei Ting's speech trophy hidden at Theresa's home.

I could definitely relate to a lot of this. My parents are not strict like her mom. They let me go to school dances, hang out with friends, and participate in extra curricular activities. However, the same sternness when it comes to academics and getting into a top college applies to both my parents and Fei Ting's mom. Although they mean for the best for us, the pressure sometimes is too much and Chow does a great job delivering the message of speaking out the truth and being true to yourself throughout the book.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Flip the Page Winning Piece

Hey everyone! It has definitely been a while since I have posted anything on my blog. I was out all of June vacationing on the other side of the world and I am really happy to finally be back at home. On my earlier blog post, I explained how I entered a competition called Flip the Page: Central Ohio's Teen Literary Journal. I also told you I would post the piece I wrote. Well, here it is! My piece consists of two diary entries. While one is from the beginning of the year and the other from the end of the year, both describe my feelings about chemistry.

I am a Lucky Victim

8/20/13

The stingy smells of the remaining bits of clear ethanol burned my nose as I stood up to face the woman whose camaraderie really radiated in her emails over the summer. Although petite and fragile, I could already see the wheels turning in her brain, trying to think of ways to torture us. I already could picture the rolling of her eyes and the smirks from her face filling us with fear as my group and I tried to answer her simply abstract questions. We gave short answers trying to stay afloat on her good side. Her owl eyes were fixed on the whiteboard filled with scribbles and scratches from trying to fix our answer. 

She sat longer waiting, analyzing, and pondering of the best way to point out the answer’s other miniscule imperfection. People say that time flies, but at that moment the silence consumed the five minutes of hopeless patience except for the sound of the grinding and squeaky gears underneath the heaping amount of curled, ginger hair. 

Finally, she opened her mouth and the world seemed to end right there for me because she called on me next. Then, there was a question. The beast had been unleashed and had taken its first bite of raw, freshmen meat. Not showing any signs of weakness, I shot back a creative explanation with a bunch of unnecessary chemistry terms and she took the bait as she retreated back into her den awaiting the next lucky victim, table four.

-           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -     

  

2/28/14    

       

The sweet smells of the remaining bits of flowers which had escaped its doom in the liquid nitrogen soothed the butterflies inside my stomach as I stood up to face the familiar face. She was sitting cross-legged like usual with her tuft of ginger curls sitting comfortably on her head. She was thinking, but this thinking was giving me a very different vibe. 

We gave our short answers confidently because we anticipated trivial questions like usual. As she sat there, analyzing, squinting, and trying to find an imperfection on our board, I did the same. I stared and analyzed her and felt a tingle in my body. This woman. This woman whose sight always made my heart pound as I walked through the congested hallways. This woman who always had hard facial expressions. This woman whose class was the only class that made me feel weak. 

Now that I thought about it, she was not bad at all. I now realize she was only trying to prepare us for the teacher next door who taught AP Chemistry. I now realize she wanted us to think and choose our words carefully when presenting rather than having her spoon feed the facts. I now realize she graded her tests with the eye of a hawk because she wanted to deliver the message that there was always room for improvement. I now realize that these whiteboard sessions were her way of grading our intellectual capabilities. I now realize that I was starting to love her cunning questions, her arrogant smirks, her impossible tests, and her ginger rat's nest of hair. I now realize that I was lucky to be chosen as a victim to her many questions. 

This revelation happened only 190 days after my first taste of this complicated, yet rewarding journey.

This piece was published in the Spring 2014 edition of Flip the Page: Central Ohio's Teen Literary Journal along with many other wonderful and creative pieces from local writers between the ages of 13 and 19. This can be purchased on amazon.com.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: 1010L
Genre:  Religion, Hinduism
My Opinions: This book describes the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddartha. Along with his friend, Govinda, he gives up his old life to start the learning process. He meets Buddha along the way, who Siddartha refuses to be taught by. He also meets Kamala, a beautiful courtesan who teaches him about love. Towards the end, he meets Vasudeva, a fisherman who is another teacher for Siddartha. It is a great process and has valuable lessons. It is not entirely about Hinduism, but rather a man's journey. At certain parts, I left like the book went by really slow. However, it definitely had me thinking and reflecting afterwards. It is a great read for thinkers and excellent for a school project. Your teacher would be impressed! 

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: ***** 
Lexile Level: 760L
Genre:  Realistic Fiction
My Opinions: After moving to Florida from Montana, Roy knew school would be the usual. Bullies. Homework. New teachers. However, after witnessing a barefoot boy running towards the woods, Roy's curiosity got the best of him as he ran after the boy. Eventually he met the boy and a girl named Beatrice both of who helped trigger a wonderful journey. While trying to get even with the bus bully, Dana, Roy was also on the mission to stop construction on the land where many innocent owls were burrowed. Roy transforms from a shy, weak new kid to an outgoing, thrill-seeking new kid as he teams up with Beatrice and the boy to fight against Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House Corporation to stop construction on the burrowing site. I really enjoyed this book because of its realistic nature. I could completely connect this to current day events and I could connect Roy to several environmental activists fighting for what they believe is right. This book sends a truly great message to the reader. This is a good read for the summer!:)

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Flip the Page: Central Ohio's Teen Literary Journal

I recently participated in a writing competition called Flip the Page.

"Flip the Page is written, staffed, and produced by teens. Their mission is to provide a showcase for the work of local teenagers and offer opportunities to learn about publishing". I wrote two pieces for this competition. One was called Stress Rewarded which is a poem about stress and the person overcoming a stressful burden. The second piece is called I am a Lucky Victim which consists of two different diary entries. The first entry is from the beginning of the year and describes my pessimistic feelings towards my chemistry teacher. The second entry is from February in which I reflect upon how although she was a tough teacher, her teaching style had helped me grow in chemistry and improve my study skills outside of chemistry.

I am really happy to say I am a Lucky Victim was chosen as one of the pieces which will appear in the 2014 edition of the Flip the Page, the Central Ohio Teen Literary Journal. This is also the first year this journal will be sold on amazon.com. I will be posting this winning piece on my blog soon!

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: *****
Lexile Level: 710L
Genre:  Science Fiction, Action, Romance
My Opinions: Definition of insurgent: a person who fights against an established government or authority. This is what Tris is now along with the rest of her companions. They first go to Amity in hopes of staying in a safe haven while terror rages on inside the city compound. However, the Erudite and Dauntless traitors come over in search for Abnegation and this causes Tris and Tobias to escape to Candor. More attacks occur, more escapes occur, more near-death experiences occur, and more unexpected relationships form. It still has the same thrill-level as the first book of the trilogy. Tobias and Tris start forming a deeper relationship and understanding with each other. It has a surprising ending and I am really excited to start reading Allegiant this week.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: *****
Lexile Level: 700L
Genre:  Science Fiction, Action, Drama, Romance
My Opinions: I loved Divergent. The movie just came out and I am glad I read the book before the movie (my sister saw the movie first and is now struggling while reading the book). It is set in a utopian setting where people of this country are divided into five factions: Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the brave), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the honest), and Abnegation (the selfless). Beatrice is in Abnegation. The book starts out with her and several other teenagers of this society taking a test which will determine what faction they are best suited for. Beatrice is freaking out and Caleb, her brother, seems really cool. Guess what her results come out as? Yup...Divergent (hence the title name). Divergents are considered dangerous. It almost seems as though they have a mind of their own, not conforming to society. The choosing ceremony rolls in and Beatrice must choose her faction. What will it be? After choosing, she is taken through a journey where she learns several secrets, hidden desires, and her fears. FULL of suspense. I read it in 3 hours. Now that is saying something:). I cannot wait to read Insurgent (only about 300th on the library request list...no biggie).

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

Origin by Jessica Khoury

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: *****
Lexile Level: 740L
Genre:  Science Fiction, Action, Drama, Romance
My Opinions: Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden in the Amazon forest. She is immortal and invulnerable. She is a new immortal race created and raised by a group of scientists. This is important and expensive research, which is why there is an electric fence surrounding the compound. One day, Pia finds a hole and like all curious beings, ventures out into the wilderness where she finds and learns from a new family of indigenous family for the first time in her life. She meets Eio, a boy from the village. Together they embark on a romantic and action-filled journey to find the truth and secrets behind her origin. Some truths come with deadly consequences. I was up all night reading this book. This just shows the type of book it is. There is suspense and drama that will leave you thinking about it after it is done. Totally recommend.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

The Trap by Andrew Fukuda

My Ratings:
Vocabulary:  *****
Ingredients: *****
Satisfaction: *****
Lexile Level: 700L
Genre:  Science Fiction
My Opinions: Last book the trilogy. It was....eh. Not the favorite out of the three. The Hunt was definitely the best because of the set up and the suspense involved. Who is he? What are hepers? Why did they evolve this way? All these questions were floating in my head and they were of course, answered in the last book, which was good. However, the suspense level really drops and the majority is just talking about escaping which makes sense, but I feel like it doesn't gel with the trilogy's recipe. It is brilliantly put together and talks about Sis and Gene's escape from the Ruler's palace. Gene figures out the reasons behind the whole heper dilemma. Secrets are revealed and it is a great pass time and easy read because of the easy to understand words.

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014

It is NATIONAL READING DAY!

Celebrate reading today, I mean isn't that why they call it National Reading Day? Read anything...newspapers, magazines, books, signs, nutrition labels, recipes, ads, etc. As long as it has words, count it! Just remember to read something today! Sit back, relax, and fall into something new...

Copyright (C) Bookaroma 2014