Looking back, I don't remember knowing anyone who enjoyed doing a book review when we were in elementary school, but then again neither did I hahaha! I suppose, it's because of the fact that people don't really like it when they are asked to do something, but once they decide to do it without being ordered to, somehow it feels more bearable. Ok, let's cut the pyschology, and instead focus on the subject of this post: Book Review.

Last week, after finishing the book, The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand (which I'll also do a book review of), I decided to grab something that seems like a light easy read from my box of books from the Book Binge Bazaar. Since I'm feeling a bit fancy, and yes the dots persuaded me, I decided to grab this book by Tucker Shaw.

You see, you don't have to be Mr. Holmes to figure out that this book is heavily inspired by none other than Ms. Hepburn, particularly her fabulous portrayal of Holly Golightly.


Since this is a book review, let's cut it into 3 parts: 1. Characters and Settings, 2. A non-spoiler gist/summary, 3. Reaction with the uncontrollable spoiler (the part where you close your eyes until you get to see the 'Love Always, Nicole). With that let's start:

I. CHARACTERS

1. Gemma Beasley - The main protagonist of the story. A spirited 16 (or 17 hahaha) year old girl who's born and raised in Pensylvania by her writer mother, and father (I can't recall what's his job). She loves Audrey Hepburn so much, after discovering her from an issue of Teen Vogue she bought with her Christmas money.
2. Trina and Bryan- Trina and Bryan are Gemma's friends, whom she met online after she put up a tumblr page dedicated to Audrey Hepburn. Trina is poor like Gemma, working in a resto called Corral, while Bryan is a flamboyant Bel-Air bred boy who gets bullied because of his orange Cole Haans.
3. Telly- A constant basher of Gemma's FB page, because she can't stand how thin Audrey Hepburn is.
4. Dusty- The handsome guy who stumbled upon Gemma's blog because he needs help for his film class.

    SETTINGS

- Different parts of New York City, particularly the iconic Tiffany store front. Then there's this part where there is an auction at Sotheby's, then various restos and party places.



II. Summary (sans the spoilers)

The story revolves around Gemma Beasley, and her adoration/fascination to the perenially sophisticated Ms. Hepburn's famous character, Holly Golightly from the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her love for the character urged her to create a Tumblr blog, not only to further gush about how fabulous Holly is, but as a way of her to escape her uneventful life. There, she met 2 quirky individuals who share the love of Holly Golightly, that they have decided to do a meet-up in New York to re-live Holly Golightly's life in NYC for a day. Once they have gotten together, all three of them, found themselves in a whirling adventure more thrilling than the story line of Breakfast at Tiffany's.


III. Reaction with uncontrollable spoiler

If you want a light read to get you through Manila rush hour traffic, this is definitely a good choice. You don't need to think too much to get immersed with the story, especially since it doesn't include highfalutin words and idioms. As for the story, I find it pretty bland, and totally undeserving of its fun and quirky cover. Here are my thoughts about the story:
1. The story could have been better if they put more meat to the personalities of the characters, since the author played it safe by relying on cliches. For instance is the character Bryan, whom is gay, fabulous, and filthy rich, but aside from the those words that I described him with, there's nothing more you can say about him. Also, for the main character of Gemma Beasley, author Tucker Shaw failed to make her relatable, which in turn made me not want to root for her throughout the story.
2. I find the story as if it is the author's weird fantasy dream. Like for instance is the part where Bryan doesn't mind treating his friends to a shopping spree in Barneys, Bergdorfs and Bloomingdales. I mean, really that's just too good to be true.
3. The whole story failed to show the consequences of the main character's wrong decisions, where the silver lining came too soon even before Gemma is able to fully understand and learn from her wrong choices.
4. The story is predictable, where even at the beginning I somehow figured out that Dusty is just another cliche heartthrob who's sole purpose in life is to get another naive girl go to bed with him. It could do better than that.

To cut it all short, I give this one a 2.5/5 book ratings, because to be fair it is a fun story. I also put in consideration that I may not be its main target market, as to why I did not fully enjoy it. So, if you're into a light, sorta feel-good YA novel to pass the time, you may want to consider putting this in your reading list :)


Love, Always,

Nicole.

P.S.
Click here if you want to get yourself a copy.

Last year, I made a blog post about the feels I have gained when I finished reading Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. After a year and two months, I am about to do the same with another book (Remember, this is not a book review since I won't really be doing a synopsis because I suck in summarizing), and that book is *drum roll*...


Yes, the book about the romantic coming-of-age of young Toru Watanabe, that is Norwegian Wood. I just finished reading it recently (by recently, I mean 5 hours ago), so the feelings and emotions the book have cause me is pretty fresh.


I remember when I bought it last December (yes, you read it right) I was a bit skeptic about it, because I've heard a lot of comments that Murakami's writing style tends to be complex, and it made me intimidated (I have this notion that the only genre that could humor me is Young Adult). I guess that's pretty much a reason why it took me so long before I started devouring the pages of this wonderfully relatable novel.

So after 4-5 months of having it gathering dust in my bookshelf, I've finally read it, and I must say that I'm glad I just read it recently, because with the events happening right now (Me turning 20, missing someone, April, and constantly craving for Japanese food), I was able to relate soooooo much to the story. Despite it being a masterpiece penned by Murakami, it was a fair read, meaning I did not have any difficulty reading it. If I've read this novel earlier or later, I don't think the impact of the story would be so strong.

Anyway, a brief synopsis of the book meh I contradict myself sooo much : The story is about a protagonist who becomes nostalgic about his past. The protagonist, Toru Watanabe narrated the story on how was his life like when he was 18 in a non-restful 1969 Japan. He was head over heels in love with his dead best friend's girlfriend Naoko, whom is damaged because of far deeper roots. But because of Naoko's unstableness, Toru has no choice but to let her breathe and have space for her to be better. While waiting, Toru finds himself getting closer to a voraciously liberated girl, that is Midori... and the plot thickens :))