Book Review: Laurinda by Alice Pung

Goodreads Description:

'Nothing has a stronger hold over a girl than the fear of the thoughts of her peers – thoughts that change five times in a day. No wonder things are so complicated with teenagers.'—Alice Pung, Laurinda

Laurinda is an exclusive school for girls. At its hidden centre of power is The Cabinet, a triangle of girls who wield power over their classmates – and some of their teachers.

Entering this world of wealth and secrets is Lucy Lam, a scholarship girl with sharp eyes and a shaky sense of self. As she watches The Cabinet in action, and is courted by them – as she learns about power and repression – Lucy finds herself in a battle for her identity and integrity.

Few genres are more enthralling than the school story. In Laurinda, the acclaimed Alice Pung tells an involving, original story that captures the drama and pain of school life today, as well as revealing much about the choices of young women.

Title: Laurinda
Author: Alice Pung
Genre: YA, Coming Of Age, Contemporary
Format: Paperback

Pages: 336
Publisher:  Black Books Inc
Source: Received for free from Goodreads Giveaway

In a nutshell, this is Mean Girls set in Melbourne.

Set in the 90's, told in letters written to Lucy's friend Linh as she shares her experience after winning a scholarship to an elite privet girl's school in Melbourne. Lucy's family immigrated to Australia from Vietnam where her dad works the night shift at a carpet factory and her mum works in the family garage sewing cloths and looking after her little brother Lamb. 

We follow Lucy as she transitions from the familiarity of Christ Our Saviour, the Catholic school she attended where she was accepted as herself to the 'foreign lands' of Laurinda Ladies College where she tries to fit in and changes herself to suit the school. 

There she encounters 'The Cabinet', a trio of racist, self centered and privileges mean girls who have the power to influence and sabotage those in their way including the teachers. Lucy finds herself in an internal battle of identity and morals while catching up with the demands of Laurinda but also balancing the expectations from her family.

I love the story and connected with if from page one! Its rare and refreshing, reading a High School YA that was familiar with my high school experience.

It touches on high school topics like 'mean girls', boys, friends, adjusting to a new school, bullying and stereotypes but also topics that I rarely see in YA like culturally challenged, being the odd kid in the class/school, abuse of power and social prejudice. 

The narration was a bit confusing at the start with the letters addressed to Lucy's friend Linh who we assume is a friend from her old school.

Which we later learn that Lucy was writing a letter to herself and that Linh is actually her middle name. This I kinda foreshadowed from the start as Lucy's mum called her 'Linh' at the first part of the book.

I liked the pacing of the book and how its split into schooling semesters which reminds me of how Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl was paced out. The writing was sarcastic, honest, poetic and moving. There were also some great quotes in here, my favorite is "All teenagers are drama queens inside their minds, even the mousiest of us".

At the end of the book I was overwhelmed with emotions and happiness at the same time happy crying which is a first as I am rarely a book crier and can count the number of books that brought me to emotional tears on one hand. 

This story is not picture perfect but it feels real from the way Lucy parents talk to how we watch Lucy struggles and copes with her school life.

Lucy was an emotional roller coaster of a character to follow! At the start she was out spoken, confident, feisty yet down to earth and compassionate girl who looses herself as she struggle to fit in with the school while balancing her believes and culture. She gives into 'peer pressure' of The Cabinets and ends up being the 'quiet Asian girl', insecure and not standing up to what's right. She eventually learn from her mistake and stand up to The Cabinets in probably one of the best and most sophistic ways to make them 'BURN' as well as identify with herself and who she is.

I like Lucy from page one and though I wish she handled her problems differently or even opened up to her parents, she's a tough and smart girl and know how to climb back up with grace.

I love the family dynamic and though it was hard for her parents to understand the stuff she has to do in/for school like buying new tailored uniform or having 'friends' with drivers and mobile phones, they were still very supportive and helpful to Lucy trough the book. Lucy's dad was hilarious to read about and reminds me a bit of my own dad. Her mum was a great indirect voice of reason to Lucy's problems and like Lucy faces some issues of fitting in.

The Cabinets (Chelsea, Brodie and Amber) were a real piece of work! Catty, self cantered and power hungry, they used Lucy as their little 'pet' to gain more power! The more I read about the spoiled brats the more I wanted to slap them and cringed as it brings back memories to me biting my tongue when I hear the snobby kids in school talk. 

But wait if that's The Cabinets, wait till you read about their mothers! No joke I don't know which is worse, generation 'Offspring' Cabinets or generation 'Mummy' Cabinets! Gen Offspring's play with their peer's and teachers weakness with pranks, manipulations and bullying anyone in their way! As for their Mum's, a lovely donations is all that it takes to shut the school up!

Yah long story short, hated them the more I read about them!

I like some of the side characters especially Richard which I wish we got to read more about him.

Overall Laurinda is one of the best books I've read! Its realistic, smart, sarcastic, sophisticated and familiar. The ending leaves me smiling from ear to ear at the position Lucy is in and I kind of feel like there could be room for a sequel (*hint *nudge *wink to the author).

Its an honest and nostalgic picture of high school and yes its scary but its only for a few years.

Check out Laurinda is you want an Aussie YA take on Mean Girl.

Also if you like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, you might like this as like Fangirl its a coming of age story of trying to adjust to the new schooling environment and being true to yourself. 

This is one of the most relatable and familiar books I've read in ages! While I did connected with Lucy at many levels there were some stuff that I didn't relate to.

Relate:

1) I went to an all girl school similar to Christ Our Saviour (aka a Convent) for most of my schooling years and though it was not a privet school it was still very 'elite'. 

Its one of those schools where if you mention its nickname everyone will go 'WALAO! YOU GO TO THAT SCHOOL AH? VERY FAMOUS YOU KNOW!'  yah that's how manglish sounds like.

Just for laughs check out the 20 mangilsh slangs Malaysians love to use and yes, I use them quiet often (my fav is abudin) (Click Here)

2) Like Lucy I've witness and received my fair share of being bullied for my race and discrimination. It also happen in Asia.

3) I'm Chinese like Lucy though she's Chinese born Vietnams and I'm Chinese born Malaysian.

Didn't relate:

1) I didn't need a scholarship as I went to a government/public school.

2) My family don't have to work as hard as Lucy's family and I am bless that my parents can afford to send me overseas for Uni.

3) My family didn't migrate to Australia and I will probably stay in Oz till I'm done with Uni.

4) I am thanking my guardian angles that I didn't have to encounter girls like 'The Cabinets' in school. Even if there were girls as such, I probably was not aware of it.  

5) She gets nicer, more 'posh' uniforms! I dare you to Google 'Malaysian Secondary School' uniform and see the lovely 'apron' (I wore the pinafore, never the Baju Kurung) I have to wear in high school... yah it was the reason why I loved my PE uniform and Koperasi Polo shirt more. (sorry to the teachers who might be reading this... not a fan of my uniform but I still wore them!)

Book Review: Pop Rock Love by Raine Koh

Goodreads Description:

Before she had a whirlwind affair with a mysterious Japanese breakdancer named Yuki, Mimi was contented with belting out rock tunes at a pub on the island city of Singapore. When Yuki suddenly disappears, Mimi goes to Tokyo in search of him and discovers that he actually belongs to a sugary-pop, manufactured boy band called the Fire Boys. Mimi and Yuki belong to different worlds. Is their love strong enough to triumph over all?

Title: Pop Rock Love
Author: Raine Koh
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Format: Paperback

Pages: 212 pages
Publisher: Horasis
Source: Received for review from the author

Before I start I want to thank the author for sending this book!

While the plot was well paced out this book took me 3 attempts to read as the beginning was not engaging but once I hit a certain of the book, I breezed trough it. While I did enjoy the story, I was not satisfied with the ending and felt like it could be extended by a couple more pages to wrap it up better.

The book follows Mimi who's boyfriend Yuki returns to Japan suddenly with no explanation. There she finds out he is part of a J-Pop band called Fire Boys.

I like Mimi's character! She's cute yet feisty. I enjoyed reading about her passion for music and indie rock. I also love how she follows her heart and stay true to herself. As for some of the choices she makes trough the book, I was not a fan of especially the ending.

For the romance, sadly this is one love triangle that I was not a fan of.

Yuki and Sato, both characters I have mix feelings about. Sato trough most of the book I was not a fan of him, even when we get to see his 'softer side'. Also I was not satisfied with Sato's ending as there was no conclusion for his story. As for Yuki, I was kind of disappointed with his character as I felt like we didn't get to know much about him or his relationship with Mimi.

Even so I did like the side characters especially Mimi's brother and Yuki's band mates.

I enjoyed the music elements of the book and learning about the Asian Music scene as that's something I'm clueless about. 

Also this might sound odd but reading this book had a familiar atmosphere of home. Maybe its because the book set in Asia or that the Author is from Singapore and her style of writing reminds me of the locally publish books I used to purchased from the 'Popular Bookstore' back in high school but a wave of nostalgia hit me when reading this.

Lastly couple of things I was not a fan of in the book. Firstly I found the book too descriptive. I wish the author would tone down the description and leave it to the readers imagination. There were some grammar errors in the book and the way some of the dialog was written came out awkward. Lastly was the narration. While I was a fan of the multiple POVs, I found it confusing at times wondering which character I'm following.

Overall its a cute story! Check it out if you are interested in the Japanese music scene and Asian drama.

 

Are you into Asian drama/music?

For an odd reason I'm Asian but NOT into both Asian drama and music though lately I've been watching a Taiwanese drama called 'Office Girl' and its freaking cute, and does not make me cringe at the drama as its hilarious.

Book Review : The Bet by Kimberly Joy Villanueva

Goodreads Description: 

Drake Swift has never lost a bet with his best friend - until now. His punishment? Make a girl in school fall for him and then break up with her just as shes fallen for him. But who would be oblivious enough to fall for that? Her.

Enter Sophia Taylor - quiet, brainy, and unassuming - the perfect pawn for their game. And for Drake, that's all it is - a game. But is it? Drake finds that Sophia is quite more than he bargained for. Perhaps he has her figured out all wrong. The real question is, will Drake win the bet, or will Sophia win him over instead?

 Title: The Bet
Author: Kimberly Joy Villanueva (iluvbooks on wattpad)
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit,
Format: Paper Back

Pages: 276
Source: Gifted from friend who got if from the Philippines.

Read the original version on Wattpad

Confession : i found this story in 2011 when i first joined wattpad and randomly typed in 'Taylor Swift fanfic' and this was the top story so yah... Random...

I read the original version back when the author was posting it chapter by chapter on wattpad so this book has a special place in my heart as it not only was it cool that I followed the development of this book but also this was the first Wattpad book I read and loved!

Its been 2 years since i read the original and though I like the publish version
I preferred the original version more.

 There were a handful of typos and several changes from the original including one major story change which i didn't like and threw me off the story for a bit.

I felt like the last one-third of the book was too rushed which made the book even more disappointing for me. Maybe i would have enjoyed the story more if i didn't already read the original but I still like the idea of the story and the characters. 


Drake and Sophia were both likeable but i felt like there could be more development for their characters even though with the bet they both got to know each other more and were really sweet and cute. They also changed each other for the better. Pia stepped out of her shell more while Drake started having a drive or a purpose for the next chapter in his life.


What i don't get is how Drake twin sister is Pia's best friend yet they have never meet prior to The Bet. 

Overall its a cute story that started with a 'simple bet' but developed into something more making 'this love sweeter than fiction'.

Anyone who is a fan of Taylor Swift definitely needs to give the story a go as this indirectly is a Taylor Swift fanfiction!
 
Music lovers will appreciate the playlist the author added at the end of the book as you'll definitely find some awesome songs,some familiar and some new. My fav is Passenger Seat by Stephen Speaks.
 

If you like Wattpad romances you will definitely like this! There are many more Wattpad books published in the Philippines so I might one day pick up more of them as I do have plans to visit there... someday... ^^
 

Also the book has recently been pick up for a movie in the Philippines! I can't wait to see how its gonna look like and I might make a book to movie post on some of the book to movie adaptation I am looking forward to. 

Check out the Author on her Wattpad Page ilurvbooks for more her book including the squeal/spin-off of 'The Bet' Colliding of Fate.

What's your favorite Taylor Swift song?

Mine is Superman, 22 and Sweeter Than Fiction