I didn't die!

Hello! I've been kind of busy lately with dance team events and very messed-up sleeping habits so sorry for being so inconsistent with this blog! I assure you, I will try harder to keep this thing moving!

Anywho, yesterday I started my review on If I Stay by Gayle Forman but partway through I got incredibly sleepy.. haha. Like I said before, my sleep schedule has become very whack.

I also finished the book Wake by Lisa McMann yesterday, so I'll get a review on that soon too. Hopefully I can have a giveaway or something soon. The only problem is that I'm pretty much broke so I don't want to be spending money on shipping.. I know it's only a couple dollars across the US but still, I need to be saving up! Fees for the dance team for uniforms, shoes, etc. is a few hundred dollars... :(

Okay, bye!

Asian Dramas!

Hello world! Okay, so I've been slacking a bit with book reviews, but I have an excuse! I was watching a Korean drama haha. And if you've ever watched Asian dramas, you know just how time-consuming and addicting they are.

So, I was watching the Korean drama Boys Before Flowers. I must say, I think it's probably my favorite drama! I've seen the Japanese version that came out earlier, called Hana Yori Dango & Hana Yori Dango 2, but I like this Korean version better. I've never read the manga before, so I don't know which one follows the original story more accurately, but the Korean drama entertained me a lot. Not saying that the Japanese one was bad, because that drama was my favorite until I saw the Korean version.

Here's a sypnosis of Boys Before Flowers (Kor. version) from DramaWiki:
Jan Di is an average girl whose family owns a dry cleaning store located near the luxurious and well known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four richest and most spoiled boys known as the F4. After saving a boy from jumping off the roof of Shinhwa High School, she is admitted into the school on a swimming scholarship. Jan Di tries to avoid confrontation with the F4 at all cost because she knows what happens to those that stand against them. However, when Jan Di's friend, Oh Min Ji, accidentally gets ice cream on the leader of the F4's shoes, she's forced to declare war on the leader of the F4, Goo Joon Pyo.

Here's my little say on this drama if you ever plan on watching it (which I definitely suggest you should!):
I have to first give major thumbs up to those Korean drama producers, it seems like they're always the best at dramas! There were plenty more elements of the story compared to Hana Yori Dango, and I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster, which can be very frustrating but keeps you captivated and satisfied in the oddest way. But in the end, I enjoyed it a lot! I honestly would be watching this at about 2am, and each episode is an hour. So I would think to myself, "Oh, I'll just see one episode and sleep at 3am." Boy, was I wrong. I ended up sleeping at 6am just because it was so addicting! It is extremely hard to tear your eyes away from the computer when the drama just leaves you craving for more, more, MORE! I ended up sleeping because I wanted to fall asleep before my parents woke up and found me awake haha. Anywho, I guess I can't really say what are my favorite parts and such because that would spoil the drama very much. The sypnosis above pretty much takes place in like the first episode, out of the 25. Because so much happens in each episode and there are so many events and twists in the plot, it's REALLY good.

So since I can't really give anything away, I'll just say my little take between the Japanese and Korean version:
-If you like a faster paced, more to-the-point plot, I would suggest watching the Japanese version, Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2. Korean dramas always tend to move a bit slower (in my experience).
-If you like a more variety of things happen that takes your heart up and down, I would suggest the Korean version. There's more plot twists and elements in it that don't occur in the Japanese version. For me, I liked these other elements a LOT, even though they leave you feeling extremely sad or disappointed at some parts.
-By the end of the whole series, I would say I was more satisfied with the Japanese version because you feel only happy and nothing else. For the Korean version, I guess I was more happy but then at the same time you still feel a hint of sadness. Haha hard to explain if you don't see both.

If you watch both of them like me, I would suggest watching the Japanese version first and then the Korean version, because if you do it the other way around, you'll probably feel like the Japanese version was missing parts.

10 smiles out of 5 smiles! Yes! It was that good!

and if you don't know where to watch these things with English subtitles, mysoju.com is a good site. I usually download mine off of Veoh or find it on the D-Addicts forum and download the episode and subtitles separately and watch it on VLC player, because then they are much better quality.

Head on Over to...

Class of 2K9!



There's a contest going on over there for TWELVE books! Including books like Breathing, Shrinking Violet, etc.

Go enter! NAO! :D

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen...

WAS SO AWESOME!



I had been excited and anticipated this movie for THE longest time! And oh boy, the movie did not disappoint. I was totally captivated in the movie the whole 2 and a half hours. In fact, I'm gonna watch it again this Sunday with some friends in IMAX instead.

Unlike other action/adventure movies, this one wasn't very predictable, which made me very happy haha. Actually, there were a couple of parts where I was just like, "AHHHH NO!" or "O____O" or "T_____T" or "GASP" inside my head because I didn't expect it to happen. Woot woooooo!

Okay, I don't have much to say just because I'm still in fan-obsession mode. Which means I'll just say nonsense that shows how much I love the movie but not any reasons for my love of it.

Oh, and before I didn't care for Shia Labeouf very much but now I find him attractive/hawt haha.






Is it just me or does he still sometimes remind of you of way back when he was a litto kiddo on Even Stevens?

:0

I've decided to not do reviews on: Cruel Summer, When It Happens, Keeping the Moon, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! :O Why? Because I read them all like a whole month or more ago and so now none of the stories are fresh in my mind which means I'd do crappy, non-thorough reviews on them. Haha that's what happens when the last month of school is filled with so much stress and finals that it eats your brain.

And you would not believe how much I'm sleeping during the daytime despite getting plenty of sleep at night! Much needed sleep to make up for lots of sleep deprivation throughout the school year. And my laziness has carried on with me into the summer break even though I have more time--I'm too lazy to scroll down my Blogspot feed to see what various posts the blogs I follow are putting up. Which kind of makes me sad because I haven't been entering giveaways so that means I don't win any free books :( My mailbox has been lonely.

But luckily I have much, MUCH more time to read and review books now :) And tons of overdue ones from the library that I must read...

Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty Review

Product Description (from Amazon):
Jessica Darling, the lovably cynical heroine of Sloppy Firsts (2001), is about to begin her final year of high school. She is not looking forward to it. Her best friend, Hope, has moved away, leaving her with only budding-movie-star Bridget to confide in. She also is doing her best to forget Marcus Flutie, the oh-so-sexy guy who captured her heart the year before, only to break it. Jessica has resolved to apply to Columbia University, but after the 9/11 attack, she's doubly certain her parents won't hear of her going to school in New York City. She's flattered by the attentions of Len Levy, a hot brainiac, who just might be the one to drive Marcus from her mind, not to mention relieve her of her virginity. As the time to graduation ticks down, Jessica discovers she knows less about Bridget, Marcus, and the other people who surround her than she thought she did. Smart, tentative, and funny, Jessica is a likable and wry observer of the competitive, gossipy high-school world. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review:
I actually really enjoyed this book! Sloppy Firsts left me with a total cliffhanger so I was so eager to read Second Helpings, and it did not disappoint! I admit that the beginning moved a little slow for me and I somewhat wished I could have just skipped the whole beginning when Jessica attends the writer's workshop, but I guess that part is pretty crucial for the story. The plot was very realistic in the sense of all the high school drama, and all the denial that Jessica goes through. I really, really like Marcus Flutie! Anyone who knows me knows that I DESPISE anyone who does or has done drugs, but I like Marcus :) He seems like a person I would really want as a friend, just because he seems so random and intellectual to talk to. The world needs more people like him! Anyways, Second Helpings keeps you interested in all the drama that happens at Pineville High, from Jessica's sucky love life to Sara's increasing weight. McCafferty has a way with words and really knows how to convey the thoughts of a high schooler. Everything is written very naturally, and I can imagine myself thinking in the same kind of words (but not the same thoughts!). Contrasting with Sloppy Firsts' cliffhanger ending, Second Helpings ends with more closure, like... a real ending. But the book still leaves me drooling for Charmed Thirds. It makes me happy to know that there are still 3 books in the series for me to read :)

4.5 out of 5 smiles

Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson Review

I expected the book to have a lot of romance in it like so many other young adult literature but was surprised that there was a huge mystery and suspense element added to the plot, in a good way. I think that made the story much more captivating so it was hard for me to put the book down. When Dan dies in the beginning of the novel, I honestly didn't understand why he suddenly suffocated. But then Henderson does a great job of subtly giving clues to his death. The reason I don’t give the book a full 5 smiles is because I wish the characters were better analyzed and described, since they were only seen through the main character’s eyes and not anyone else’s. Plus, I find it kind of hard to relate to since no one in the novel seems like anyone I know in real life. For example, in the book Plum is the "queen" of the school and pretty much control anyone, but my school doesn't have any "popular girl" that's like that or anything. I really cannot wait to read the sequel of the book though! Haha I was disappointed in t=he end of the novel when I realized I have to wait for the mystery to be resolved in the next books.

3.75 out of 5 smiles