Going Back to the Magical World: Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Five years ago, I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the last film in the Harry Potter series, with my mother and left the theater with tears all over my face. My mom was very confused, just like so many other people whenever they see me fangirling over Harry Potter like a crazy person, but, hey, how could I not be emotional? 

Harry Potter is a huge part of my life. The first book and its movie adaptation came out when I was in elementary school and the last ones were released at the end of my teenage years, so I practically grew up with the series. Harry Potter is my childhood hero. He shows that a hero is not someone who kills the bad guy, but someone who cares about other people. A hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice themselves for other people and not afraid to lose, like Harry. And that world of wizards and witches... Oh man, that world really helped me free my imagination. Harry Potter also helped me find myself. You know, I wouldn't have chosen English Literature as my major if Harry Potter hadn't made me realize how much I loved English and literature. Harry Potter also has a role in my decision to be a teacher. One day, I was thinking about what I wanted to be in the future. I knew that I liked teaching at that time, but I wasn't sure about being a teacher professionally. But then I remembered Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest man in the Harry Potter universe whose passion is to teach. That was when I realized that I shouldn't be unsure about teaching just because it isn't a popular career choice. I love teaching, like Dumbledore, so who cares if it's not popular. Besides, Dumbledore is a teacher and he's awesome, so I can be a teacher and awesome too hahaha.

So, yeah, Harry Potter means a lot to me. Seeing the last movie was like saying goodbye to a childhood best friend to me. It was bittersweet and so emotional. 

And when it was announced that there will be new films set in the Harry Potter universe, it felt like getting a phone call from that childhood best friend who tells you that he's coming to see you.

Our new favourite merry band
(Left to right) Jacob Kowalski, Tina Goldstein, Queenie Goldstein and Newt Scamander.
(Source: www.threeifbyspace.net)

Oh yeah, the witches and the wizards are coming back in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! This film is not a sequel of Deathly Hallows Part 2, It is more like a spin-off of Harry Potter. If you're a diehard fan of the series, you must know about a textbook entitled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander that is used by Harry and his friends during their time as Hogwarts students. This film follows the adventures of Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who is very fond of magical creatures (Sounds like Hagrid, eh?). In this film, Young Newt arrives in the United States with his case, which is full of magical creatures. Some of the creatures escape from his case and somehow it makes Newt get linked to Gellert Grindelward, a dark wizard who has  a long history with none other than Albus Dumbledore and is just as dangerous as You-Know-Who.

As a Potterhead, I am very happy with this movie. Like an old friend whom you haven't seen for a long time, this movie is different from the one that we knew and grew up with, but it still has those little things that let you know it is the same thing that you once loved as a kid. Fantastic Beasts features some things that are so Harry Potter, like the theme song, the film title that emerges in the sky, the duels with the wands, the familiar spells, the moving photographs in the newspaper, some familiar magical creatures like Bowtruckle and Niffler, etc. Those things will make any Potterhead feel nostalgic because it's been a long time since the last time we saw them on screen. Despite the traces of Harry Potter in it, I am happy that Fantastic Beasts doesn't try too much to relate itself to Harry Potter. It has its own story with its own characters whom we meet for the first time. This film brings something new and fresh for the audience. I particularly enjoy the story. It runs very smoothly with magical and funny moments here and there and big, shocking reveals at the end.  In case you don't know, Jo Rowling herself penned the script of this movie. I think she should've written the scripts of the Harry Potter films too!

The naughty yet cute niffler
(Source: www.notey.com)

Just like the original Potter films, Fantastic Beasts is visually stunning. The set, the costumes and the CGI... all are a feast for the eyes. I enjoy the actors' performances too. One of my favorite Academy Award winners Eddie Redmayne delivers a great, enjoyable performance as Newt Scamander. He looks like he was born to play a role in the Harry Potter universe because he fits perfectly there and looks very natural as a magizoologist. Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol are so funny and likeable; I'm sure they will soon become fan favorites. And Ezra Miller! His character Credence is so dark here, darker than I expected, and I think his performance is very powerful. Oh there is one more actor that made my jaw drop at the end of the movie, but I think you should see the movie by yourself to find out who it is haha.

So I'm giving this movie a five-out-of-five rating hahaha. It might be a bit unfair because I'm a Potterhead, bit I really did enjoy this movie very much. Now I am happily waiting for the next films, just like the old times hahaha. I think the next films will have a stronger connection with Harry's story. I hope J.K. Rowling will find a way to connect the stories naturally and wonderfully.

Rating: 5/5

I've Finally Read The Hunger Games!

I've become such a slow reader now.

Maybe you remember that I bought my copy of Suzanne Collins's best-selling book The Hunger Games a long time ago, in May. But, you know what, I just finished reading it last week. I spend a lot of time outside my home these days and when I reach home I usually feel too tired to read, which turns me into the slowest reader on Earth. Anyways, I've read The Hunger Games, and I love it more than I expected. I've always thought that the film adaptation is great, but I was surprised to find that the book is even better.

Source: id.pintterest.ccom

The book is told from Katniss's point of view, which makes things in the book feel more intimate than what I've seen in the movie. It also makes it easier for me to relate to Kaniss and understand why she does what she does. When I watched the movie, I wondered why she is so bitter and rude. I even found her attitude a bit annoying. However, seeing things from her point of view helps me see her differently. Now I know how hard life is for her. You know, she has to live in poverty, become the head of the family because her parents are unable to do that anymore, lose her beloved father and, of course, go through the Hunger Games... Now I understand why it's so hard for her not to be cold.

Before I read the book, I could never decide which team I was on, Team Peeta or Team Gale. But now I've made  my decision: Team Peeta! I have one friend who is madly in love with Peeta (yes, Lia, it's you hahahaha), but, on the other hand, a lot of people see Peeta as a weak person. I never hated Peeta but I was never deeply in love with him either, but, man, now I am. Josh Hutcherson portrayed Peeta very well and precisely in the films, but we all know that books can tell about their characters in a way that movies can never do. When I looked back at Peeta's actions in the film after reading the book (I watched the film again as soon as I finished reading), I could understand them more because they are explained more clearly in the narration. To me, Peeta shows that being strong doesn't always mean being good at fighting. He shows that strength has many forms. When you're able to sacrifice yourself to protect other people or stay true to yourself when the world forces you to be someone else or be caring to other people when they don't care at all, that means you're strong too. Maybe that's why people see him as a weak person; because people, without realizing it, tend to associate strength with only physical abilities. My friend says that it might also be caused by people's tendency to expect a man to be physically strong too. I agree with that. Sometimes the stereotypes make us forget that people have different qualities and that we can't generalize them. Peeta might not be physically strong. Unlike what people expect men to be, he is gentle and loving, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have strength. Oh yeah, I love you, the boy with the bread!

"Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games..." -Peeta Mellark, page 165 (Image is from id.pinterest.com)

So, reading The Hunger Games after seeing the film makes the experience pretty interesting. I usually read the books before seeing the film adaptations, but this time I did the opposite. Doing it this way feels surprisingly great. It's like the film builds the foundation of the story in you while the book does tthe finishing. It makes your understanding of the story and characters richer and deeper. Maybe I should do this more often...

Rating: 4,5/5

Attending "Book Lovers in Digital World" by Yes24 Indonesia

Last week I only had to go to work for two days (Monday and Tuesday) because it was the first term break of the academic year. I didn't have any plan to leave Jakarta and go on a trip on my holiday so I thought I would fill it with something good, positive and enlightening. As if God knew my intention (haha), God made my old friend contact me before the holiday and inform me about an event that was going to be held by the company where she works. The event is a mini gathering for bloggers who write about books. I thought the event was a great opportunity because it would allow me to meet new people who blog and are passionate about books, just like me. So I registered for the event and went there last weekend.

The event is called Book Lovers in Digital World and it was organized by a company called Yes24 Indonesia. When you hear the name of the company, you might directly associate it with Korean things. Yes, the company does sell things like cosmetics, CDs and clothes from Korea, but I found out from the event last week that Yes24 Indonesia also sells books online. I first thought that they only sell Korean books, but I checked their website (http://www.yes24.co.id/) and found that they have many kinds of books in their online store. They have books about religions, dictionaries, language books, children books, imported books written in English and Korean, school books and textbooks. I checked the fiction section in the English books category, typed up some book titles in the search box and found all the books that I looked for in their collection. So I think their collection is pretty complete. I'm definitely going to try buying books from them because I love buying books online; it's easier and sometimes I just don't have time to go to bookstores. I will use the vouchers they gave me last weekend too hahaha.

Me and the other participants at Yes24 Indonesia's office.
Go check their website and start shopping!

At the event, I met other bloggers and we shared our thoughts and feelings about being loyal fans of printed books in the era of e-books. Even though our lives can't be separated from digital devices these days, it turns out that book lovers, including myself, still prefer reading printed books. The attendees have many different reasons why they choose printed books over e-books, but I myself like printed books more because reading them has its own sensation. Flipping the pages, folding the top right or left of a page when you find a good quote there, journeying from the first page until the very last one... There's nothing quite like it. E-books might be easier to access and more efficient, but I will always love printed books more.

Our discussion

The discussion got more exciting and interesting as we continued talking about our love for books. We all agreed that we have to spread our love of reading to other people because the people in our country, Indonesia, have generally low interest to read. I personally think that we should make reading a habit. How can we do it? I would suggest what my school does (I work as a teaching assistant for an international school in Jakarta). There, there is one period every week when the students can go to the library and choose some books to be taken home and read. After they finish choosing, they usually sit with the librarian and listen to a story that he reads from a book. My students really enjoy these activities. I think these activities really help growing children's love for books and turn reading into a habit for them.

So, I had so much fun attending the event last weekend. I hope there will be more events like this in the future because I would love to join more events like this. It's just really nice to meet and talk to people who have the same interest as me. Thank you, Yes24 Indonesia, for creating the event!

Thoughts on Markus Zusak's The Book Thief

After an awfully long time, I finally finished reading Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. It took about three months, I think, for me to finish it. This is a new record haha. I don't know exactly why it took me that long to finish it, but I've just realized that it's always harder for me to finish a book that is written by a male author. I don't mean to be sexist or anything, but that is just what happens to me. Maybe it's easier for me to read female authors' writings because I am also a woman. Or maybe it's because men are hard to understand hahaha.

Anyways, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is about a girl named Liesel Meminger. She lived in Germany during the Hitler era. When she started living with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her fondness for books started growing as well. In the midst the brutality of the war, we could see how the girl's love for the words in her books changed many things and turned them a little brighter.

Me and my copy of The Book Thief and my window :P

Even though I find the book hard to read, I still think it's a remarkable book. The story is definitely touching. It's amazing how the story shows how words, and someone's love for words, can change lives. Hans could avoid death because he was said to be good at writing and was sent to the letter-writing department instead of the war during his time as a soldier. Liesel could soothe a bunch of hysterical people in the safety basement during raids by reading them words from her novel. Their mutual love for books also united Liesel and the sad Ilsa Hermann, the mayor's wife. Liesel survived a bomb attack that (SPOILER ALERT) killed all the people she loved because of her love of writing as well. As a person who is also fond of words, books and writing, I feel very related and touched by this.

Another thing from this book that catches my attention is Liesel's anger. She was such an angry little girl. I was stunned when I read the parts where she beat her friend up when she got teased, where she channeled her anger to stealing, where she ranted in front of Ilsa Hermann after Rosa got fired, etc. It's a bit rare to find female characters in fiction who are soft and angry at the same time, so I like how this book shows that complexity. It gives me the same feeling that Supergirl gives. 

I don't have so much to say about The Book Thief but I do have so many favorite quotes from the book. So, here they are.

Somehow, between the sadness and loss, Max Vandenburg, who was now a teenager with hard hands, blackened eyes and a sore tooth, was also a little disappointed. Even disgruntled. As he watched his uncle sink slowly into the bed, he decided that he would never allow himself to die like that.

The man's face was so accepting.

So yellow and tranquil, despite the violent architecture of his skull --

The endless jawline, stretching for miles, the pop-up cheekbones and the pot-hole eyes. So calm it made the boy want to ask something.

Where's the fight? he wondered.

Where's the will to hold on?

(page 196)

On the ration cards of Nazi Germany, there was no listing for punishment, but everyone had to take their turn.

(page 422)

Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. "I will never fire a gun," he said. "I will not have to." Still, he was not rash. Let's allow him at least that much. He was not a stupid man at all. His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible.

He planted them day and night, and cultivated them.

He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany. It was a nation of farmed thoughts.

(page 451, The Word Shaker)

For some reason, dying men always ask questions they know the answer to. Perhaps it's so they can die being right.

(page 475)

"And please," Ilsa Hermann advised her, "don't punish yourself, like you said you would. Don't be like me, Liesel."

(page 527)

Sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes.

(page 531)

His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do - the best ones. The ones who rise up and say, "I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come."

(Death on Hans Hubermann's soul, page 535)

Rating: 4/5

My Visit to Big Bad Wolf Books Indonesia

My first blog post as a 24-year-old woman! I suddenly feel old because 24 means you are not in the early 20s anymore; you have entered the mid 20s! You are an adult! It is still weird, you know, to see myself as the adult one, especially when I am at work. I spent years being a student but now I am not a student anymore; I am the teacher now, the adult one who leads, makes decisions, gives examples, etc. It is certainly not easy to adapt with the new situation but I am working on it. I still have much to learn.

Anyways, my birthday happens to be the last working day of last week because the following four days were public holidays. So, I had dinner with my family after work that day and went out with my friends on the next day. My friends and I went to the Big Bad Wolf Books Indonesia. It is a massive book exhibition that is held at ICE (Indonesia Convention Exhibition) in BSD City, Tangerang. There, books from various genres are sold with insanely low prices. To illustrate, imported novels normally cost Rp. 150.000,00 - Rp. 250.000,00, but during the exhibition, you can get 3-5 novels with that amount of money because one novel only costs Rp. 45.000,00 - Rp. 60.000,00. Yeah, that is a great offer. The exhibition has been going on since April 30th and was originally scheduled to close on May 8th. However, due to people's' high enthusiasm in visiting the event, the committee decided to extend it until today. You do not need to buy tickets to come to the exhibition.

Books everywhere

I went there with my friends on May the 5th, the first day of the long weekend. One of my friends and I arrived there at lunch time and we were shocked by the super long queue that awaited outside the venue. It took around 30-40 minutes, I guess, before we finally got inside Hall 10, the venue. Inside the hall, all that I could see were people and books. The books were set on huge tables and were grouped into some genres (romance, fiction, cookery, music, biography, etc). It was pretty hard to find the books that you want because they do not separate them based on their authors. It was hard to move around the hall too because there were just so many people there. There were people lining up in front of the cashier, people looking for books, people looking for their friends... And then we had to wait for about an hour before we could finally pay for the books and leave the hall. So, it was pretty crazy and tiring, but, hey, we got great books with cheap prices!

Lia, Nofi and me. After queueing, book hunting and queueing again, we could finally bring our books home!

I did not plan to go crazy and spend all of my money there, so I politely bought three books. And I got one bonus book from my friends! Here are the books that I got from Big Bad Wolf Books Indonesia.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Well, you all know what this book is about, right? So I think I do not have to say anything about the story haha. I have always wanted to read this book and the rest of the series, but since I started watching the movie adaptations first, I decided to finish the movies before I start reading the books. Now that I have seen all of the movies, I think it is time for me to read the books. I found a copy of The Hunger Games, the first one in the series, as soon as I entered the exhibition hall. According to my friend Lia, the one that I bought has the UK cover. I really like the cover because it is so bright (the background is electric pink while the writings and the mockingjay logo are electric green). The price for this book is Rp. 60.000,00. I was tempted to buy the second and the third books as well, but decided to try one first haha.

2. One Day by David Nicholls

I first heard about this book when the movie adaptation came out. I have not seen the full movie, but I heard it received mixed reviews. Despite the mixed reviews, I find the premise of the story interesting. The story tells what happens to two friends, Emma and Dex, on every July 15 for the twenty years that follow their first meeting. It must be interesting to check on these two characters every year and see how much things change. And they have a complicated relationship that is in between love and friendship, which I find TOTALLY relatable hahaha. So, yeah, I am excited to read this book. Like The Hunger Games, One Day costs Rp. 60.000,00.

3. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Once in a while I like to read light, fun stories just to ease my brain. That is why I bought Something Borrowed. It seems like a nice rom-com story. It is about a woman who has always held herself back, which makes her miss so many opportunities in her life (ehm so relatable ehm). But everything changes when she decides to confess her feelings to the man she loves, who is her best friend's fiance. I got a copy of the book that has the movie cover (Yeah, it has been adapted into a movie. I think every book has a movie adaptation now, eh?). This one is a little cheaper than the other two books; it only costs Rp. 45.000,00.

4. Bonus: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Well, I did not buy this book at the exhibition. My friends who went there with me, Nofi and Lia, gave the book to me as a birthday present. It is a perfect present because I am a huge Star Wars fan and my birthday is on Star Wars Day (May the fourth be with you!). It is a novelization of the sevent movie. Well, I have seen the movie and have known the story, but I am intrigued to find out how the movie scenes are turned into words in this book.

I am so excited to read all the books above, but I want to finish reading The Book Thief first. I think I would not need to go to the bookstore for the next few months because I still have four books waiting for me haha. Thank you, Big Bad Wolf Books Indonesia! I hope the event will be a annual one so I can come and buy cheap books every year haha. 

Fangirling over Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl

I know it's very late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR! The last few months of 2015 were quite rough for me. I feel like there was too much drama in my life and I just realized that I might have got lost in it. This month, I want to start fresh. I want to get back the excitement and eagerness to develop myself that I once had. I want to focus on the important and precious things in my life. I want to enjoy doing the things that I love (I will write and read and watch films more!). I want to learn and do something new (I’m thinking of taking Korean language classes and going jogging and swimming regularly hehe). I want no more drama.

Anyways, I finished reading Rainbow Rowell's novel, Fangirl, during the Christmas holiday and I'm going to write what I think about it in this post, my first blog post in 2016!

Fangirl is a story about Cath, a girl who fangirls over her favorite fictional characters a little too hard (just like I do haha). Cath is really good at handling the fictional world, but when it comes to the real world, she really struggles because reality is even stranger than fiction. In this book, we follow Cath's journey throughout the first year of her college life, and might find some things there that are similar to our own experiences.

                                                

This book is the second book from Rainbow Rowell that I’ve read, and it has officially made her one of my favorite authors. I just love her writing; it’s so easy to read and makes you want to keep reading. Good job, Ms Rainbow Rowell!

The best thing about this book, in my opinion, is how relatable it is, especially for me. Just like Cath, I know how it feels like to be a clumsy, awkward person who is terrible at socializing, to be used by other people when they need your help with their homework because you are smart, to want to be alone in your room more than normal people do, to be scared to eat in the cafeteria alone on your first day of school because you just don't know anyone, to feel reluctant to have a relationship because you feel like you’re not good at dating…

But the thing that I find most relatable is how Cath feels about her favorite fictional characters.

Most of the people I know say that movies are just movies, books are just books, stories are just stories, Harry Potter is just a fictional character, Hogwarts is just a fictional place, etc. But for Cath, for me, and for other people like us who are usually called fangirls and fanboys, they are not just those things. For us, they are something. We love them. They make us happy. They help us get through the tough times in our lives. They help us understand people and their feelings. They teach us about life. They let us experience things that we might never be able to experience in real life. They mean a lot to us. There’s nothing wrong about being obsessed with books or films. Just like Daniel Radcliffe says, it is actually a good thing especially when compared to being obsessed with drugs, which can kill you. I love how these things are expressed in Cath’s story.

In the story, sometimes Cath likes to run away from real life and hide in Simon and Baz’s (her favorite fictional characters) world. I do that too sometimes because it feels good to be able to escape from our problems for a while. However, this story teaches me that we shouldn’t keep running away from life. It’s okay to do it sometimes, but we shouldn’t let ourselves be afraid of facing the real life. We have to be brave and face it, just like our heroes in the fictional world.

So, Fangirl is a really good book. It’s fun to read and has beautiful, meaningful messages. It will make your heart feel a little bit lighter, or at least make you smile. Go grab this book and read it!

That’s all from me today. I really need a new book to read right now but not really sure which book I should buy. I’m thinking of buying The Book Thief or The Martian. Hope I can get one of those after I get my salary at the end of the month haha.

Rating : 4/5

What I Got from My Last Outings

Since I graduated from university, I haven't been spending much time with my college friends. It's just so hard for us to meet because we all work in different places and have different schedules now. This is sad because we used to spend a lot of time together and have so much fun. I miss those days when I got to see my friends every day, attend classes with them, eat with them, complain about the tasks that the lecturers gave us together... I miss my college friends so much.

But, I got the chance to see some of my best friends over the last few weeks. Two weeks ago I went to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 with my fangirling partner, Lia, and my super busy PE teacher friend (hahaha). Last week, I met my mentoring group members (I used to be a mentor for junior students when I was still a student). And yesterday I had an early Christmas lunch with my former co-workers, most of whom are my college friends too. Seeing them makes me really happy and I hope we all can do that more often.

My blog post is not complete if it does not include book and movie stuff haha. So, yeah, I am still going to review something here. As I said before, I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 two weeks ago. I didn't just see it in the cinema, actually; I saw it with 499 other people who are diehard fans of the Hunger Games saga from the saga's fan community. It was really fun because everyone was so excited and passionate about the movie (they screamed a lot during the viewing event). We got some cool Hunger Games merchandises too.

Katniss and her star squad in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

For the movie itself, I think it's a good one. My favorite from the saga is still the second movie, Catching Fire, but Mockingjay Part 2 is still a great conclusion to the saga. My favorite thing about the movie is probably the acting. I don't know why I didn't realize this before, but Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss is really good. She truly transforms herself into the character. When I saw the movie, I didn't see Jennifer at all because I only saw Katniss. I am always fascinated by actors who are able to do that. I think Josh Hutcherson does a great job too. Just seeing him and his traumatized expression makes me sad. My favorite character dies (in a horrible death scene that involves mutants with sharp teeth) in the movie, so I'm so broken-hearted haha.

When I was waiting for my mentoring friends to come last week, I strolled around a bookstore and found a novel that I had wanted to read. The novel is Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. Rainbow's other novel, Eleanor & Park, is one of my favorite books (read my review of it here). It is simply beautiful, easy to read and, like Park says in the book, really makes you feel something. So, I hope Fangirl is just as awesome as Eleanor & Park. I'm pretty sure I will be able to relate to the story because even the title is so... me haha.

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl

That's all from me today. I'm sure it will take some time until I can write my review of Fangirl, but I'm definitely going to review it. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is coming to theaters in less than two weeks and I can assure you that I'm gonna watch and review it as soon as it is released. I hope I can see the movie on the first day because I just can't wait any longer haha.

Have a wonderful year-end holiday! :)

Thoughts on The Light Between Oceans and Spectre

After a long, long time, I finally managed to finish reading The Light Between Oceans! Actually, I finished reading the book a few weeks ago, but it has been really hard for me to find the time to write about it. I go out a lot during the weekends now. and when I don't, I am usually too lazy or too tired to write haha. But now I miss writing, so I will write my thoughts on that book and the movie that I saw recently, Spectre. Oh, there might be spoilers ahead, so watch out haha.

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS BY M.L. STEDMAN

In this book, there are three lives that get intertwined. Those are the lives of Tom Sherbourne, a war hero who signs up as a lighthouse keeper after he comes back from the war; Isabel Graysmark, Tom's young wife who longs for a child but keeps losing the chance to have one; and Hannah Roennfeldt, a woman whose life falls apart after she loses her husband and baby.

After losing their third baby, Tom and Isabel find a boat that carries a baby girl floating in the sea near the island where they live in isolation. Even though Tom is hesitant in doing it, they decide to keep the baby because Isabel thinks the baby is a gift from God after all the pain that they have been through. Little do they know, their decision will heavily impact someone else's life and their own future.

This story is such a beautiful one. I really love the words that the author choose to tell the story. The story is actually quite dark because it explores how death and loss can affect people, but somehow the words give the sense of purity and innocence to it. This gives me a mixed feeling. The beauty of the diction makes me admire the story, but what happens in the story itself makes my heart hurt. So, yeah, this book gives me all the feels.

Another thing from the book that touches my heart is the moral message. The message of this story is very common, very true, but often forgotten by people: let it go. We often forget that sometimes we should not enforce things, that we should just let go of them. We often forget this, like Isabel, who cannot accept the fact that she has lost her babies and insists in keeping a baby that is not hers. Like Hannah, who cannot accept the fact that her daughter has changed and can never be the one that she used to be. Things just get worse when they cannot let those things go, but when they are finally able to do it, the tangled problems just disentangle themselves. I like how this message is delivered in this book.

Rating : 4/5

SPECTRE

Spectre is the twenty-fourth Bond movie and Daniel Craig's fourth Bond movie. This time, it features Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, who plays the main villain, Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci as the Bond girls. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw join Daniel Craig in reprising their roles as M, Moneypenny and Q.

Ben Whishaw and Daniel Craig as Q and Bond

Even though Dame Judi Dench's M died in Skyfall, she is still the one who sends Bond for a mission in this movie. It turns out that she recorded a video for Bond before she died, which tells him to kill a man and attend the man's funeral. This funeral leads Bond to a secret organization, which surprisingly connects him with some enemies from his past.

Actually, I am not a fan of Bond movies, but I really enjoyed the previous Bond movie, Skyfall. So, I had quite high expectation for Spectre. After finally seeing it, I must say that I am quite disappointed. The story is not engaging at all. And I was really tired and cold when I was watching the movie, which makes it even harder for me to follow the story haha.

The acting element is not impressive either. Not bad, just not impressive. This is quite surprising because the actors who are involved in this movie are great, talented actors. I still love watching Ben Whishaw's Q here, though. I love how he represents young people in Bond movies. And he has more screen time here, which makes me happy haha.

Rating : 2,5/5

The Girl on the Train and the Girls around Her

It's been a long time since my last blog post, eh? I started working again last month and my new job has kept me busy since then. I am a teacher assistant in a class of fifteen 5-year-old children now. My kids are all cute but working with them takes all of my energy and patience. Every day, the kids cry, fight, get sick, drop their food to the floor, refuse to follow the lesson, etc. Despite the classroom situation, I also have to face the fact that I am the new girl at the office. Not only the new girl, actually. I am also one of the youngest staff members and one of the few people who are single there. I didn't know that being new, young and single could be difficult, but it turns out that it is. So, things haven't been easy for me these days, but I think it's good to have something new and challenging. Hopefully all these will help me improve myself.

Because of my new job, I have to cut my reading time as well. I usually give myself 30 minutes to read every morning, before I start working. So, I am a super slow reader now. It took me forever to finish Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train. I started reading it right after I finished In the Woods and I just finished it two days ago.

Like In the Woods, a lot of people say that Train is similar to Gone Girl. After reading the book, I have to say that I disagree with that. I think it's more similar to How to Get Away with Murder. Anyways, Train is told from the perspectives of three women whose lives are connected to one another: Rachel, Megan and Anna. Rachel is the girl on the train. After losing her job and her husband, Rachel spends most of her time drinking and sitting on the train to hide the fact that she is jobless. From the train, she often sees her old house, which is now occupied by Anna, her ex-husband's new wife, and the house of the Hipwells. Rachel loves to watch Scott and Megan Hipwell, the young couple who live there, because they remind her of her happy days with her ex-husband, Tom. But one day, Megan goes missing. Rachel's drinking problem makes her unable to recall the memory of that night when Megan goes missing. But she knows that something has happened and she has to try to figure it out.

I love how the author shows the complexity of women through her female characters. The story lets us experience how it feels like to be a wife whose husband cheats with another woman; a woman who cheats with someone else's husband; a wife who betrays her husband; a woman with drinking problem; a bored housewife-mother; a mother who loses a child; a woman who can't have children; etc. This story lets us see that just because she cheats with someone's husband doesn't mean she can't have your sympathy. Just because she is happily married and has beautiful children doesn't mean she is happy. Just because she makes mistakes doesn't mean that she can be blamed for every wrong thing that happens around her. I think this is realistic because real women are complex. Real women have many sides and layers in their personalities. Real women can't be labeled as the bad ones just because they do one bad thing and vice versa.

The ending of this book doesn't really satisfy me. I don't feel like I get a closure with all the characters. After what happens to Megan is revealed and the bad guy is finished, the story just ends. I think it will be better if we get a glimpse of how the characters move on after the case ends, how it has changed them. Oh, the revelation is quite shocking because readers are unable to reveal it at the beginning due to the characters' personal feelings towards one particular character. A lot of authors like to do this these days, don't they?

So I think this book is okay. It's not, llike, very impressive, but it is enjoyable. The next book that I want to buy is entitled The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. I found the book in a bookstore and the synopsis at the back of it made me curious. It sounds like a story that will make me emotional. I've read too much murder-related thingy these days, so I think an emotional story will be good. Make sure you read my review of it!

Rating : 3

The Tangled Mysteries of Tana French's In the Woods

I've got a job offer! And it comes from a company that seems really great! I'm so grateful and happy and excited. No more job hunting madness! My mom says it's a blessing that is brought by the Holy Month of Ramadhan. Well, I think it's true.

Besides getting the job offer, I also finished reading Tana French's In the Woods  earlier this week. As I wrote in my previous post, In the Woods tells the story of a detective named Rob Ryan who has to investigate a murder that reminds him of his dark past. Twenty years before the murder of a little girl named Katy in Knocknaree, Rob's childhood friends mysteriously disappeared in the woods of the same little town. Rob, who was with the two missing children in the woods, was found with no memory of what happened to his friends. Strange, isn't it? Now, Rob must go back to Knocknaree to investigate the murder case, which is just as strange as the disappearance, and fight the trauma that is caused by the lost memories of the woods.

This book is included on almost every list of recommended books for Gone Girl fans that I've seen. Well, it does have some similarities with Gone Girl. Like Gone Girl, the point of view from which the story is told is very influential in In the Woods. This book also has a shocking revelation at the end, which is pretty similar to that crazy twist in Gone Girl (It didn't hit me hard as Gone Girl did, though. So I'm fine, thank you hahaha.). Besides Gone Girl, there are some parts of this story that remind me of Pretty Little Liars. I also have a theory about the unsolved mystery in this book that is inspired by an old movie starring Andrew Garfield called Boy A (which is about two children who murder their classmate without even knowing what they have done).

My favorite thing about this book is how it lets readers dive into the detectives' world. The author gives vivid, sometimes eerie, descriptions of the police procedures. They gave me an amazing detective experience. The most fascinating yet creepy part of the police procedures that are described by Miss French in this novel for me is the autopsy scene. She describes Katy's autopsy results through a character named Cooper and, man, the descriptions are so vivid! They created very clear images of the dead body in my head which gave me nausea. I could also feel the detectives' frustration about the case. They found so many dodgy things but they lead them to nowhere! That got me flipping the pages brutally because I was so desperate to know the truth. I got a little confused by the leads that are related to the government and the politicians, though. I'm just not good at those matters haha.

The one thing that surprised me more than the revelation of Katy's murderer is the fact that one of biggest mysteries of the story remains unsolved until the end. This just keeps me wondering, what's the purpose of putting the mystery in the story if it's not going to be solved? I assume that the purpose is to show the psychological aspects of Rob; to show how the trauma of losing his friends affects and ruins him. He seems like a solid character at the beginning, but when his judgement starts to get clouded by his trauma and feelings, he turns into a huge mess. Maybe that is the reason why detectives with emotional connection to a case must not be allowed to handle the case. Anyways, I think it would be very nice to know the truth about the unsolved mystery; it will give us, readers, the sense of closure.

This book also has some interesting characters. Rob is the main character and the narrator of the story. When I started reading the book, I liked and trusted him. In fact, I felt related to him. But, as the story goes on, he changes a lot. As I said before, he gets twisted by his trauma. Near the end of the story I just didn't  know who he was anymore. I still feel bad for him, though. Rob's partner, Cassie Maddox, is such a cool character. She is smart and sensitive and strong. I'm so excited to read the sequel of this book because it is told from Cassie's POV (it's about a different case, though). And yes, there is an Amy Dunne in this story, people! Prepare yourself for her! I think the psychopath in this story resembles not only Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, but also Alison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars.

So, I think this book is a great one. It's recommended not only for fans of Gone Girl, but also fans of crime fiction, psychological thriller, and Pretty Little Liars.

Rating : 4/5

Little Stories about Detectives, Robots and Loss

Getting a job is so hard, isn't it?

Since I quit my old job, I have been job hunting like crazy. I have done many interviews, tests, teaching demos, etc. Sometimes this makes me feel exhausted, frustrated, desperate. I'm not giving up, though. But sometimes I just need to escape from all the job hunting madness. And my way of escaping is, you know, getting lost in the stories of films and books haha.

I ordered a book entitled In the Woods by Tana French earlier this week. It's about a detective who has to investigate a murder case that is similar to his traumatic experience in the past. Yup, I'm in the mood for crime fiction again haha. People say that this book is recommended for anyone who likes Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Well, you know how I feel about that book (read my thoughts on Gone Girl here), so I decided to order In the Woods. The book is expected to arrive next week and I'm so excited to read it.

A few days before I ordered the book, I saw a movie called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them. It's a drama about Connor (James McAvoy) and Eleanor (Jessica Chastain), who are perfect as a couple. However, a tragic loss that they experience changes everything. There are moments in this movie where I don't understand what is actually going on. But I think this is good because, I think, that's what would happen when you experience something traumatic like that. You feel confused, lost. Everything seems chaotic and messy. Those feelings are portrayed by Jessica Chastain in a beautifully heartbreaking way. I love James's performance too but I think he needs more screen time haha. My favorite scene involves these two actors and occurs near the end of the movie. The two talk about their memories about the person they've lost and their grief. It's just really sad and heartbreaking. Oh yeah, the amazing Viola Davis is in this movie too. She plays a supporting character here, but you just can't ignore her because she's just so cool.

Another movie that I saw recently is Ex Machina. This film is written and directed by Alex Garland, the one who wrote the scripts of Never Let Me Go and 28 Days Later. It is about a female AI (Artificial Intelligence) named Ava (Alicia Vikander) whose human characteristics are tested by her creator, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), using his employee, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson). The movie is so tense! And quite scary too, I think. The music and the look of the movie play a huge part in making it tense. There is one piece of the music that sounds like the beat of a heart, which makes me anxious whenever it is played. Nathan's modern, sophisticated house and the huge trees that surround it somehow create coldness that makes me quiver.

There are only four actors in this movie: the three actors mentioned above and Sonoya Mizuno as Nathan's assistant, Kyoko. They all are fantastic in their roles. Alicia Vikander's Ava looks so innocent and sweet, which lets me understand why Caleb is so taken with her. But sometimes you can see something different when she demands answers from Caleb; something that makes me hold my breath. Oh, what she does at the end leaves me completely breathless because it's terrible but she still looks innocent. Domhnall Gleeson plays the naive Caleb successfully and makes me feel related to him. I still can't stop thinking about what happens to him at the end. Oscar Isaac plays his strange character so well. His performance truly deceives me and makes the revelation at the end so shocking. And that Kyoko girl! She doesn't even talk but she freaks me out whenever she appears, especially when she reveals her true self to Caleb in Nathan's room.

Despite all the greatness that I've mentioned, I think the most memorable part of the movie is the ending. It is just so shocking and eerie and thought-provoking. Ugh it's so hard to talk about it without giving spoilers haha. The ending gets me thinking, who is the villain in the story, actually? Do Ava's actions at the end make her the villain? Is it wrong for her to want to live freely? Should people keep trying to build AIs? Should we let the AIs look back on us the same way we look at fossils, like Nathan says? Can we, humans with the instinct for survival, let that happen? Are we afraid of AIs?

So that's all from me today. Wait for my review of In the Woods!

Living Many Lives in David Levithan's Every Day

A few years ago, I found a lovely mini series entitled The Beauty Inside on Youtube (click here to watch it). The mini series tells the story of a person whose body keeps changing every single day even though the soul inside stays the same. One day Alex, his name, might wake up as a big fat Caucasian guy and become an old Chinese lady on the next day. His anomaly isolates him from other people, until one day he falls in love with a girl. I truly love this mini series because the story is unique and sweet while it is also visually beautiful. Oh and the score is sooo lovely! The one thing about it that disappoints me is the fact that it is very short. I wish it was longer. I wish I could know more about the main characters, about living a strange life like that...

My wish came true when I found a book called Every Day by David Levithan.

My copy of Every Day

The concept of Levithan's novel is similar to The Beauty Inside. However, A, the main character in the book, travels around and inhabits other people's bodies. When A wakes up in someone else's body, A must get through one day as the person who owns the body, not as himself, and does the same when he wakes up in another body on the next day. Just like in The Beauty Inside, A also isolates himself from the outside world and keeps his existence a secret. But everything changes when A inhabits the body a sixteen-year-old boy named Justin and meets his girlfriend, Rhiannon. A falls in love with her and, for the first time in forever, lets his desire to connect with her take control.

I've never read a book like this before. Usually, a book lets me experience one or two lives. But Every Day lets me experience so many lives as I follow A's journey. With A, I get to experience how it feels like to be a jerk, a gay boy, a lesbian girl, a teenager who is biologically female but psychologically male, a girl who looks like Beyonce, a homeschooled boy, a mean girl, a drug-addict, a depressed girl who plans to kill herself, etc. It's just so amazing to see the same world in so many different ways like that. It makes me realize that everyone has their own stories, their own struggles. It makes me realize that it is really important for us to be kind to one another and to appreciate one another.

I love how Levithan describes the world from A's point of view. The descriptions of A's opinions about the things in the world are very rich and detailed. Sometimes the descriptions are too long, but I find them very romantic. One of the most interesting thoughts that A describes is his opinion about love and gender. When it comes to gender, A is both and neither (I keep using the pronoun "he" to describe A because, I don't know why, I keep imagining A as a boy). When it comes to love, A doesn't care about gender either. A sees people for who they really are, for what they have inside. So when A falls in love, A could fall in love with either a boy or a girl. Once A falls for a guy named Brennan, but then falls for Rhiannon. A loves their personalities, so it doesn't matter whether they are a boy or a girl. This concept is not easy to grasp but I find it really interesting. Maybe this is Levithan's way to remind us that love is universal, that love is blind and has no gender.

Sometimes I feel sad for A too because it must be very lonely for him to live like that. He doesn't have a place to go home to. He doesn't have a best friend who knows everything about him. He doesn't have a favorite pair of shoes. He doesn't have his own phone. He has nothing that he could hold for more than one day. He has nothing but himself. There are some parts where A longs to have a connection with something or someone in this world and has to stop himself because he can never have it. It's just really sad and heartbreaking; reminds me to always be grateful for everything that I have.

There are two moments in A's story that I don't really understand. The first one is when he falls so hard for  Rhiannon after knowing her for only a few hours. I just don't believe people could fall in love with someone that quickly, without knowing much about the person that they fall for. Well, I believe that people could leave great impression on the first meeting which leads to love but I think love takes time. I can see that Rhiannon feels the same way about this, but A doesn't, which I don't understand.

The second moment is the ending. I just don't get the ending. I'm so moved by what A does for Rhiannon at the end but the thing that he does to himself is just confusing. The ending doesn't give a sense of closure at all. I really like the ending of The Beauty Inside and I think it would be great if Every Day has a similar ending. It's not because the ending of The Beauty Inside is a happy ending, but because it gives a sense of closure. I really need a proper closure for this wonderful story.

Overall, Every Day by David Levithan is a great book. It might not end on a nice note, like Rhiannon says, but it gives you a wonderful experience of living countless lives that you will never be able to experience in real life.

Favorite quote : There will always be more questions. Every answer leads to more questions. The only way to survive is to let some of them go. (page 213)

Rating : 4/5 

Thoughts on Me Before You and Cinderella

After a few weeks, I finally finished reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes earlier this week and, man, the ending left me speechless. The book is about a very ordinary woman named Louisa who has to work as a carer for a disabled man named Will. The two find an unexpected connection as Louisa learns that Will doesn't want to continue living because he just can't bear living with his illness. This story makes me question a lot of things. Is it acceptable if we want to end our lives because it is so unbearable? What do we do if someone we love wants to die like Will? Should we let them make their own choice and have what they want? Or should we try as hard as we can to keep them alive even though they don't want to live anymore? Which one is the right thing to do? To be honest, I still don't know the answers and can't stop thinking about this. What a thought-provoking story.

I also saw Cinderella in IMAX this week! One of my most anticipated movies of the year! As expected, the movie is soooo lovely!

The way Cinderella and her prince look at each other is just........

My favorite thing about this live-action version of the classic fairy tale is the relationship between Cinderella (Lily James) and the prince (Richard Madden and his beautiful blue eyes haha). I love that they don't meet for the first time at the ball and just fall in love like in the animated version. Instead, they meet before the ball and leave a great impression for each other, which then grows into love as they know more about each other. It seems more realistic. I also like the fact that Ella is fine with just remembering the prince as a beautiful memory. She loves the prince but she doesn't have to have him; just loving him is enough. I think it's very kind and selfless. And the chemistry between Lily and Richard is just really good. The way they look at each other makes me want to smile, squeal and swoon hahaha. There's also a little story about the prince and his father in this movie, which is not explored in the original animated movie. I love the father-son relationship; it's just so sweet.

The costumes are fantastic. I especially love Cinderella's blue dress. It's HUGE and so dreamy. I thought it was a CGI dress but I heard it's real. The dress looks so wonderful when Cinderella dances with the prince at the ball. Oh yeah, the dance scene done by Lily and Richard is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. They say the two actors had to prepare for about 2 months for that scene. Well, it's definitely worth it.

Being Young and in Love with Eleanor & Park

I realized that I had spent too much time reading and watching things that involve murders and psychotic people (which made my mom a little worried haha), so I decided to have something different this month. And since this month is February aka the month of love, I thought it would be great to read something... romantic. So I bought a novel called Eleanor & Park, written by Rainbow Rowell.

Eleanor & Park follows two teenagers whose names are in the title as they experience first love. Eleanor is an eccentric new girl at school who catches the attention of everyone at school, including Park, a Korean-American boy who sits next to her on the school bus. They unexpectedly fall so hard for each other despite the abuse, the insecurity, and the bullying that they experience as teenagers.

On the cover of my copy of the book, there is a quote from John Green's review that goes like this,

"Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."

Well, I agree with him. This book reminds me how it feels like to be young and in love.

Eleanor & Park makes me realize how old I am because it makes me recall the time when I was as young as its characters and realize that that time was a looong time ago. Eleanor and Park are sixteen in the book. I am turning twenty-three this year, which means that I was their age, like, seven years ago. Following Eleanor and Park's journey makes me realize how much I've grown since I was sixteen. I used to be like Eleanor and Park. Like those two characters, I used to be so insecure about myself, my abilities, my future, my physical appearance. Like those two characters, I used to believe that love is true when you can be with the person that you love forever. But now things are different; the way I see things are different. I'm sure things are also different for Eleanor and Park when they are older. After that open ending, I can imagine how they learn to accept themselves for who they really are, to be grateful for everything they have, and to love selflessly without wanting to keep the ones that they love for themselves. 

Eleanor & Park also makes me fall in love. This book made me want to smile all the time, until my cheeks hurt. It made me giggle like teenage girls when they talk about their crushes. It made me want to sing and dance with strangers and birds on my way to my office like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer. It made feel like there were butterflies in my stomach. I was crazy in love when I was reading this book, just like Eleanor and Park.

 

My dream cast for the movie haha. Ki Hong Lee as Park and Hailee Steinfeld as Eleanor.

I heard there will be a movie adaptation of Eleanor & Park  soon and I'm excited about it. I still can't decide who should play Eleanor because, when I think of her, I always picture Merida from the animated movie Brave in my head hahaha. Probably because of the crazy red hair thing. Someone suggests Hailee Steinfeld and I love her, so I think I'll support that suggestion. For Park, I really want Ki Hong Lee from The Maze Runner to play him. He just fits the role perfectly! I also imagine Cate Blanchett as Eleanor's mom and Yunjin Kim as Park's mom.

Rating : 4/5

Book Review : The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

I finally finished reading The Scorch Trials! I spent around two or three weeks reading it. I used to be a pretty fast reader but work has made me a very slow one...

So The Scorch Trials is the second book in James Dashner's The Maze Runner series. The book starts exactly after the ending of the first book, The Maze Runner. This means that I can't say anything about this book without giving spoilers about the ending of The Maze Runner. So if you haven't read the first book, or seen the movie adaptation that was released last month, and don't want to ruin the fun by getting some spoilers, please stop reading.

After escaping from the Maze, Thomas and his fellow Gladers can finally be relieved and feel safe. However, it doesn't last long. The second phase of the mysterious trials begins unexpectedly. Teresa, the only girl among the Gladers who is also Thomas's closest friend, is taken away by WICKED and is replaced by a boy named Aris. Then, an odd man appears with odd instructions about the second phase of the trials: The Scorch Trials. Thomas, Minho, Newt and the rest of the Gladers must face the harshness of a scorched land in order to survive. In this phase, they don't have to run in the Maze or fight the Grievers. They have to fight something worse: extreme nature, zombie-like creatures, fellow humans with their own agendas and, the hardest one, betrayals.

The book cover

The book shocked me by putting the characters in a completely different situation. In the first book, the most frustrating thing is the isolation and the fact that the Gladers have no idea what's actually happening to them. In The Scorch Trials, they're sent into an open-space with thousands of possibilities: they could get killed by a wild storm or zombies or other people who are forced to kill them to survive. I like this because it makes things very unexpected and surprising. There is a surprise at the end of every chapter in the book, which made it so hard for me to put this book down. Very, very tense. I don't know the correct English word to describe it, but the best Indonesian word to describe this book is "seru".

What I don't like about this book is the way Thomas reacts to the things that happen around him. In the first book, he is so eager to get out from the Glade and free himself from whoever it is who puts him there. He is very, very eager to break free and he fights so hard to achieve freedom. In this book, he knows that he is used as an object in WICKED's experiments. I expected that it would anger him even more, would make him more eager to fight back. I don't mean to compare this saga with The Hunger Games, but I expected Thomas to do something like what Katniss does in Catching Fire (destroying the arena of the Games at the end). But it turns out that he doesn't. It turns out that he tends to just do whatever he thinks WICKED wants him to do. He finally shows this eagerness near the end of the book, but, still, I don't feel the burning spirit to reach freedom that I felt when I was reading The Maze Runner. When I was reading Scorch Trials, I kept yelling in my head, "Fight, Thomas! Fight!!!"

Despite Thomas's weakening spirit that I don't like, I like how my feelings about some of the characters get twisted in this book. I used to like and trust Teresa, but the way I see her is completely turned around in this book. I've always loved Minho and I still love him here. He is a bit more sarcastic and rude in this one, but it was so uncomfortable when I had to read some parts where Minho is separated from Thomas. I miss Minho sooo much when I read those parts. I like Newt more than before now; I like how he keeps the togetherness in the group. Brenda, the new girl, is also a fun character.

My favorite characters portrayed by the talented actors: Ki Hong Lee, Dexter Darden, Kaya Scodelario, Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter and Thomas Sangster

So, I enjoyed reading The Scorch Trials, but I still love the spirit of The Maze Runner more. I'm currently reading the third book now, The Death Cure. Hopefully, the final book would be satisfying. I also hope that the movie adaptation, which is coming in 2015, would be good. I really enjoyed the movie adaptation of the first book.

Rating : 3/5

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I don't know why but, these days, I enjoy films and books that involve crime, murder and investigation. This doesn't mean that I enjoy watching people doing crime, though. What I like about these kinds of story is how they show me the story behind a crime; the reasons why people do it and how it affects people who are involved. I just find it interesting.

So I bought this book called Gone Girl last week, which involves crime, murder and investigation. It's a best-selling book that earns a lot of positive reviews. The author is a former journalist named Gillian Flynn. The story is about a married couple, Nick and Amy Dunne. Nick and Amy are about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. However, Amy, the wife, disappears from their house in Missouri on the anniversary day. At first, everyone thinks that it is an abduction done by someone from outside the house. But as the investigation goes on, people begin to think that it might not be done by someone from outside the house, but someone from the inside.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The story is told from first person point of view, but the POV is always different in every chapter. The first chapter is told from Nick's POV, the second one is from Amy's, the third one is from Nick's, and so on. The novel is divided into three parts. The first part is called Boy Loses Girl. The second one is Boy Meets Girl. The last one is Boy Gets Girl Back (Or Vice Versa).

The novel starts off as a drama. It's kind of emotional and tragic. In this first part, we follow Nick as he tries to find his missing wife. Meanwhile, we can also learn about Nick and Amy's relationship since the first time they meet (which is seven years before Amy's disappearance) until the day of her disappearance from Amy's diary entries. When I finished reading this part, I felt this burning hatred towards Nick, the husband, and felt very related to Amy, the wife. He's so busy being angry because life is not as good as he expects and forgets that his wife is also a human being who can get hurt by his anger and hatred. As a reader, I knew for sure that Nick doesn't kill or hurt Amy, but, at this point, I thought he might actually kill his own wife.

But then second part starts with a plot twist that comes in like Miley Cyrus and her wrecking ball.

BOOM!

Everything that I had come to believe at this point turns out to be a lie. A BIG LIE! I felt like I was slapped in the face. I just didn't know what to believe or feel anymore. I almost threw my book to the wall when I reached the plot twist. I'm not exaggerating. I know some people who have read this books say that they have predicted the twist since the very first time. And I actually knew the twist before I read the book because I accidentally read a comment on Youtube about it (I hate going through comment sections!). But I still felt shocked when I found out because I didn't think the delivery of the twist would be like that. After the twist, readers will get the truth about Amy's disappearance. And the truth is ugly, very ugly.

So, the ending comes in the final part, Boy Gets Girl Back (Or Vice Versa). The ending is really tragic, especially for one of the main characters. I read somewhere that many people hate the ending, but I don't. It's not that I like it. Dude, the ending is sickening. But I think it's realistic, believable. There is no justice for any of the characters at the end, which hurts, but reflects the reality. In real life, justice doesn't always come to everyone, right? Not everyone can have a happy ending.

Gone Girl movie teaser poster

Gone Girl is the craziest book I've ever read. However, I have to admit that it is brilliant. I think the way the author plays with the readers' feelings by telling the story from Nick's and Amy's perspectives plays a huge part in the novel's success. The story also gives me a lot of life lessons, which are:

1. There's a difference between loving the idea of someone and loving someone for who they really are. I didn't know what it meant before, but this book has taught me what it means. When you love the idea of someone that you have in your head, you could even do terrible things in order to force that person to be the idea, even though it is not who that person truly is.
2. You don't know what you've got until it's gone, just like the tagline on the poster above. If you have read the book, that sentence would make you want to laugh, bitterly. Yeah, Nick doesn't know what kind of wife that he's got until she's gone. Haha.
3. Justice doesn't come to everyone, like I said before.

So the book has been adapted into a movie and it's going to be released on October 3 this year. It's directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network) and stars Ben Affleck (Argo, Batman vs Superman) as Nick, Rosamund Pike (An Education) as Amy and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) as  Desi (Amy's creepy ex-boyfriend). The movie's early reviews are mostly positive (Well, it is directed by David Fincher, man! His movies are always great!). I also like the cast of the movie. Ben Affleck is perfect for Nick (Nick is described as a guy who is handsome but makes people wanna slap him, and Mr Affleck fits this description. It's a compliment, really!). I also like Rosamund Pike as Amy. She's beautiful but has this little danger in her eyes and deep voice that is sexy and scary at the same time (Grrr). I'm definitely going to watch the movie. You can watch the trailer below.

That's all from me about Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I'm probably gonna write again soon about a new TV show that I just found called How to Get Away with Murder. Yup, it's about murder again! 

Hope you like my first book review! :)

Rating : 4,5/5