The first time was on Sunday  the 1st of May, we arrived at approximately 9 PM and left the building just as they were closing at 11PM. 2 hours did not seem like a long time, the book fair was hugeee! Oh btw for those who are not familiar with the event, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is a book fair held in a convention centre where you can find tons of books with discounted prices. When I say discounted I mean VERY MUCH. Books (mostly English, imported) were sold for as low as IDR 30,000 (~US$ 2). They have a lot of genres as well, ranging from novels – self help – business – health – kids books – cook books, etc.
Last week I started reading The Selection Series by Kiera Cass… and managed to finished all three books in three days!
Image from Google.com
The book is another teen story with dystopian setting which revolves around the life of America Singer – the heroine of the book. She lives in Illea, a country where castes do exist and the prince (named Maxton) finds her wife from an American Idol-like show called The Selection. Through The Selection, the selected girls of Illea got to meet the prince, stay in the castle and “compete” with other girls to become the one a.k.a prince’s wife a.k.a future queen of Illea.
Now the story gets more exciting because.. well, America did not want to become part of The Selection at first, she was in love with somebody else. Then there’s the rebels. Then there’s the mean girls. Sounds like any other teen books? Kind of…
I am fully aware that this is, a teen novel. I am… Not in my teenage years anymore. I should have gotten over romantic love stories. I should have known better than to be swayed by dialogues between two madly in love teenagers.. But, Surprisingly enough, what makes it unputdownable to me is the dialogue between America and Maxton! They were so cheesy-ly (is there such a word?) romantic and forgive me for being a total hopeless romantic but the words really got my attention.
All in all, this book is a really a fun and light read – no need to think much while reading it (the more you think about it, you start to lose all the fun), just embrace the hopeless romantic in you! :p
This book – written by Kevin Kwan, was recommended to me by my friend, Rio and it has been sitting in my e-book reader for months before I finally started to read it. When I finally started to read it, I was not too interested on it – I spent some time only reading few pages daily. But as I turned more pages, I got more and more hooked to this book.
Image from google.com
Like the title, it tells the story about “Crazy Rich Asians” – Chinese people with generations of wealth currently living outside mainland China. The story revolves around a young Chinese couple who lives in New York, Rachel Chu and Nicholas Young and their travel to Nicholas’ hometown in Singapore to attend Nicholas’ best friend’s wedding.
Rachel – coming from a middle class immigrant family, did not realise that the Youngs are very rich and extravagant. Nicholas’ cousins, extended family and relatives are the the kind of people you would see in high – end lifestyle magazines. Nicholas’ family house looks like a castle filled with luxury items which Rachel has never seen before. The private jets, luxury cars, social evenings and fancy dinners make Rachel feel overwhelmed. Plus, she thinks that Nicholas did not prepare her for anything of those at all, thus makes her shocked and confused.
Nicholas – educated and worked in the West, thinks that all those wealth are his family’s, therefore not important to him. He simply thought the trip would be just an ordinary trip with the woman that he loves. What he missed to prepare is how to handle the way his family – especially his mum, reacts to him bringing home a girlfriend.
How do you think his family reacts?
What happens to Rachel & Nicholas’ relationship during their trip to Singapore?
Read the book to find out… 😉
It is indeed very entertaining, witty, and enjoyable to read!
Christa Bercerita 