Cut by Cathy Glass

"Tomorrow I will be fine. I promise you, Cathy."

Writing under a pseudonym and based on true story, Cathy and her husband John has been trying for years for a baby until they turn into fostering. Few years later, she found out she is pregnant while fostering a first child.

When the baby was born, and the foster child was given back to his family, the fostering agent called Cathy to foster another child. And she met Dawn, a 13 year old and very polite girl. But the foster agent told Cathy otherwise but she didn't believe a word when she finally found out about the truth when Dawn steps out into the outside world.

On the first night when Dawn arrived, she sleepwalks into Cathy & John's room. Then, Cathy found out about Dawn's cutting problem from Dawn's biological mother. Cathy tries to find out why Dawn did it as the fostering agent and Dawn's mother wouldn't tell Dawn's past.

A story of an abandoned, abused little girl who was desperate to be part of a family. I finished this book in just 4 days! Saw this book in Times Bookstore, KK and when I opened this book and read the first letter...yes, letter! It just got me addicted!

Ps. If you like this you may like this one too

The Last Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need by Paul Pearsall

This book is no ordinary self-help book. It will not help you to become thin, to be healthy, to be happy, to live life to the fullest, to enjoy life and so on. These are among the common topics for many self-help books out there. In this book, Paul Pearsall criticised the self-help industry and he pointed out some weaknesses of the self-help industry. In one particular part in the book, he wrote "They call to children, to the elderly, to ethnic minorities, and to every conceivable sexual oreintation..despite the hundreds of guranteed programs designed to help us discover our full potential and lead wonderful lives, most of us still languish in the doldrums or think we're not as happy as we should be." For me, there are some parts of his view on the self-help industry that I do not agree. Although self-help books might or might not be able to fully transform some people but reading those self-help books will give them some ideas on how to transform or improve themselves. This book is interesting to read and I would give it a 2 out of 5. Maybe this is the last self-help book you'll ever need.

A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern

'Oh', a tear fell from her eye & she quickly wiped it away. 'What else, who else did you see? Did my mum & dad say anything? What did they look like?'

And so I brought her home.

Sandy Shortt is obsess in finding things that gone missing since the disappearance of her childhood classmate 20 years ago. Any missing things such as a missing pair of socks, the car keys she misplaced, or people missing from their loved ones. Her main goal is to find them and send them back home.

Jack Ruttle is one of those desperate person who is in search of his brother that gone missing for a year. He turns to Sandy for help.

But when Sandy goes missing too, she stumbles upon a place where all the missing people and things are. Being in that place, away from her lovved one, her goal now is finding her way back home.

One of Cecelia's book that I might not reread again, because there's not much dialog and too much flashbacks which I got confused along the way. One thing I like this book is that it's imaginative, that's what Ms.Ahern's does best. But it also makes me sad when reading at some parts. The starting is a bit slow but the ending is satisfying.

Ps. U.S version is called 'There's No Place Like Here'

Sweetness in The Belly by Camilla Gibb

"I wanted to know. We were drying off, getting ready to leave & he said: Maybe one day you'll have a chance to ask them. It was odd - like he knew somehow that I would."

Story about the life of a British girl, Lilly. Lilly's parents leave her at a Sufi shrine in Morocco (while they were on vacation) at such a young age & they will be back to collect her in 3 days. 3 weeks later, she learns that they've been murdered.

At the age of 8, she started studying the Quran taught by her guardian & live as a muslim. Few years later she travel to Harar in Ethiopia, where the Harari people called her 'Farenji' - foreigner. She tries to soften and win the heart of the Harari people by teaching their children the Quran & do chores. Then, she met a doctor & falls in love with him but due to political complications, Lily has to flee back to England where she thinks she's an outsider.

The story is good but very slow. And at one chapter, I felt so angry at the leading lady because of something she did. I finished this book a bit faster then I thought because I really wanted to know what's happening to all of them especially Lilly and the doctor. I don't believe it myself that this book is not written by a muslim writer.