Chinese Cinderella and The Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah

Not one of the best book by Adeline Yen Mah who is the author of the bestselling book 'Falling Leaves'. This book tells the story of a girl named CC (Chinese Cinderella) who seek refuge in a martial art school under the guidance of Grandma Wu. She later joined the Secret Dragon Society and got involved in a few daring adventures which include rescuing a crew of American pilots. The story was set in China during the Second World War.

The story of CC and the secret society was originally a short story written by Yen Mah when she was small. At the beginning, I expected this book to be somewhat similar to the heartbreaking story written in Falling Leaves which I have already reviewed in this blog. Looking at the picture of the small girl on the front cover which was also shown on the front cover of Falling Leaves, made me thinking that this book must have some connections with the book Falling Leaves. Since I really like the story in Falling Leaves, I decided to buy this book instead of buying Paulo Coelho's Like a Flowing River. And now I feel regretting buying this book.

The book's description of a girl's adventure with a secret society with a little bit of kung fu might sound appealing at first but quite a disappointment when reading it. Firstly, I cannot deal with the fact that the society members included a Japanese Russian boy, a Chinese American boy and CC herself. I am not being a racist but why aren't there any real chinese members excluding CC, in the Secret Dragon Society? I would assume that having a true chinese as the members of the society would be more interesting that they will show some interesting cultures being a chinese as well as some real Kung Fu moves! I assumed that The author is trying to suit the story to the western readers by creating characters which are mixed-blood. This might be acceptable for the Western readers but not for me. Having wathing Chinese Kung Fu movies all my life, I have come to accept that every Kung Fu movies have Chinese warriors showing their their remarkable Kung Fu and later getting involved in some kind of adventure.

I think that this book would definitely suit to the small children who might be interesting with the concept of secret society and Kung Fu. But for the rest of us, it might be worth checking out other books.

Thanks For The Memories by Cecelia Ahern

"Blood comes from the heart."

Kate gasps. "It came straight from his heart, " she says dreamily.

"Oh, so now blood transfusions are romantic to you."

Ever heard 'Blood is thicker than water'? Well, this book kind of related to that statement. Another magnificent story by Miss Ahern.

Joyce Conway, the main character has a blood transfusion after she had an accident. She remembers things she shouldn't. Remember faces that she never met and walk down a street that she never steps on. Question in her mind, "How can you know someone you've never met?"

While Justin Hitchcock, a divorced man arrives in Dublin to give a lecture on art and meets an attractive doctor, who persuades him to donate blood (he hates needles). It's the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time.

When I first read this book, I quickly follow how the story goes. Very humorous (because of her friends, Justin and Joyce's father behaviour) and sad and also kind of annoying. Joyce then live with her father, and let me tell you I almost put down this book but at the same time, her father just want to make Joyce smile again. Josh Hitchcock is kind of a 'rushing' man that makes me wanna say, 'Could you slow down? I can't catch up with you.' The annoying part of this book, they met! But they don't have time to sit down and talk. Sometimes they got interrupted and stuffs and I'll go 'WTH?!'. Best book to read I must say. Don't skip this one!

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

"For anyone with a love-hate relationship with their flexible friend"- COMPANY (LONDON)
"Don't wait for a sale to buy this book!"- ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

My friend recommended me this book long before it was turned into a movie. I feigned interest in listening to her go on and on about Sophie Kinsella's books while my mind was somewhere else. When it comes to chick lit, I often pass. I'd rather be caught dead than caught reading it. I've always thought that chick lit is all about make-up, rainbows and unicorns. Yawn!!!

Although Confessions is about shopping, those fab Armani glasses and a whole lot more designer stuff, this book is highly entertaining. Meet the heroine, Becky Bloomwood, an enviable young woman living in a trendy London flat. Becky or Becks is always decked in chic, expensive clothes and has socialite friends. She buys anything she fancies by swiping her credit cards. Judging from her exterior, nobody could guess that she is actually BROKE! And to make matters worse, Becks is actually a financial journalist who writes advice on how to save money!

Follow Becks' journey as she ignores her bills, signs bounced cheques and dodges calls from Derek Smeath, her bank manager who's hot on her trail. Read how she went on a date with Tarquin, her flatmate's cousin and one of the wealthiest men in Scotland. Perhaps she seduced him enough for a small loan? Other characters include her best friend Suze, Becky's parents who think that she's a big shot financial journalist, her neighbours Martin and Janice who think she's still in love with their son, Becks' enemy Sacha and the sexy Luke Brandon.

The writer is witty enough to make Becky a very loveable character much like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, only smarter and more comical. Even a strictly no chick lit reader like me was greatly entertained. You'd probably want to read this book while alone because you'll be laughing out loud.

(For those who have seen the movie, the book is WAY much better. The movie is disapointing if you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella).

Reviewed by: Haryati Abd Gafur

Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela

This book depicts the story of one of the greatest icons of the world, Nelson Mandela, starting from the story of his childhood and his transformation into a political activist fighting for freedom in the apartheid years of South Africa and the years he spent in prisons until his achieved his own freedom in 1990. One can never again wonders why Mandela is a legend and considered an icon by many people after reading this book.

It is amazing to read about how he never gave up his fight for freedom even after being prosecuted by the government many times and spending most of his time in jail and away from his family. One should admire his courage and his undiminished hope of seeing a free and equal South Africa. It is sometimes heartbreaking to read about his struggle and the ugliness of the apartheid system of the South African government and the unequal treatment towards the Black Africans, the original inhabitants of Africa before the European colonialists took over their land. But sometimes small funny details appeared throughout the book which makes this book more interesting to read.

My favourite part of the book was the part where Mandela was in the prison in Robben Island. Nonetheless, this is a great book and a must have book for any bookworms.

Q&A by Vikas Swarup (Now a Major Film Slumdog Millionaire)

"Absolutely 100% correct! Mr. Ram Mohammad Thomas, you have made history by winning the world's biggest jackpot. One billion rupees!"

Ram Mohammad Thomas was poor. He was an orphan. Ram never went to school. He was a servant.

But when Ram went on W3B (Who Will Win A Billion), he hit the biggest jackpot. So how did he manage to answer all the questions correctly? He was just a poor kid. Surely he must have cheated!

Ram Mohammad Thomas was captured by the police in the middle of the night. In jail, he was forced to strip and tortured by the potty-mouthed Inspector Godbole. Luckily for Ram, Smita , a lawyer he never heard of, saved him from jail by storming through the police station and demanded his release immediately.

Smita took Ram under her wing and while watching tapes of the show, Ram explained how he knew the answers. Ram told Smita tales of him growing up that were unbelievably all related to questions on the show.

Read how Ram got his unusual name, how he almost got fondled by a gay actor and who Prem Kumar (W3B host) really was. I watched the film (Slumdog Millionaire) before I read the book but I was not disappointed at all. The book is far better and more delightful. The writer's use of humour kept me entertained and the story, though far-fetched, is cleverly-written. This book is unputdownable!

By: Hjh Haryati Hj Abd Gafur