This is one of my favorite chick Lit novel. I read it in the middle of my research in the collage (I read lots of chick lit book at that time). "Faking it" written by Jennifer Cruise, telling the story about Matilda live as a wall painter recreating famous works for the rich, and Davy Dempsey a professional thief (Davy was also a character in another cruise's book "Welcome to Temptation"). As fate play rule in their life one day both of them finding them self stuck together in a dark closet which turn their life more then they can expect.

Matilda have a passion to paint her own original work and she is trying to avoid her past meanwhile Davy is an ex con man, who has spent his life trying to avoid 'settling down'. Then one day Matilda forced to steal a painting from the home of a wealthy art collector to avoid a long time family secret to be exposed. This is when she meets Davy who has his own mission in the same home. They never meet each other before, but then they have to cooperate so both of them wont be caught. But somehow the sparkle of love or passion (maybe desire is more appropriate) comes across them, somehow Matilda finds her self in the arms of Davy's. Then all of it seems to begin upside down for Matilda and Davy's love from here.

"Faking it" really cover it all from revenge, running from past life. Dissatisfied feelings, multiple personalities (just like in the reality lots of people who are not what they seem), with the spice of love life from the characters.

At The end we can learn from "Faking it", that all of us have to really know who the true of you before finding who the true of someone else. And sometimes facing the past and accept it in our life can make our life happier

Bibbi Bokkens magische Bibliothek

I've read this one in Indonesian language version with the title of "Perpustakaan Ajaib Bibbi Bokken". This novel was originally published in Norwegian. With the setting of Norwegian country. It was made to be a novel for children or teenagers, but frankly sometimes the novel contains philosophical word that is hard to understand. But either way it brings more interesting things in the novel.

The novel was written by Jostein Gaarder and Klaus Hagerup, it is telling a story about two brothers Berit and Nils. They live in different town Oslo and Fjaerland - Norwegia, they choose to write a letter in “letter-book" to tell each other about their live.

Every letter from Berit and Nils contain a short prose about their experience, imagination, their message and impression about their live. Sometimes the story doesn't have any connection but it does completing the path to the whole story. And sometimes the story telling us so many things about "Library world" with many "librarian terms" such as Dewey's decimal (a person who introduce catalog system to the library world), incunabula and the history of books in Norwegia. The books also contain so many famous people such as Anne Frank, Winnie the Pooh, Peer Gynt, Astrid Lindgren (who becomes one of the character in the book), Roald Dahl, A.A Milne, etc. With a few of famous poem in it.

The fantasy of Berit and Nils’s adventure was so interesting and great to follow. How their imagination comes so lively in this book. And the mystery of Bibbi Bokken and a deaf Italian man makes this book full with adventure.

So this book successfully combine the meaning of learning new terms and philosophical word with interesting imaginative story which make it far from a boring book.
You should read it if you are a person with fondness in fantasy story and really have a passion to learn. This is absolutely a book for you :)

Beauty and The Bitch

Beauty and The bitch is an Indonesian chick lit written by Christina Tirta. This book has a complex story in it. It seems that all the character in the book by someway or another has a complex connected life to each other.

The two main character are Nadine, a girl who has classical beauty but so naive and old-fashioned. And the other one is Isabelle, beautiful and exotic girl but too aggressive and has a big enthusiasm. Both of them were best friends since elementary school but have to separate because Isabelle moved to Singapore. Then coincidentally after 16 years apart they meet again but their simple live has change.

Nadine now is a wife of successful entrepreneur, she now life wealthy, but she feels lonely and can't feel happy although she living in her dream as a child. Nadine constantly feeling insecure in her married live, she afraid that her husband will be cheating on her.

Isabelle still very beautiful and sophisticated, she has a boutique of her own just as she dream as a child. But her world has falling down since her mom died and her father got in jail because his friend betray him, and the most hurting part in Isabelle life, she saw her mother live and died miserably because her father has an affair with other woman and has a child in her age from the other woman. Isabelle has a child but she is not married because she doesn't believe in married.

Unexpectedly their meeting changes their fate forever. Secrets that have been kept for years reveal in front of their eyes. Their relationship will not be the same after the secret reveals. As I said before it seems that somehow the connection between Isabelle and Nadine bring so many complex connections to the people around their life. Then in the final part, all the connection will bring to a great secret revealing.

Interesting to read, but frankly the story end can be predictable before the final chapter. But still if you have time and enjoy reading chick lit story as I do, you should read "beauty and the bitch" and put it in your collection.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

This book full with funny story with the background of sorrow, it was written by Dai Sijie, a Chinese writer (born in 1954) who run away to France in 1984 and write this book in his escaping land. The book seems to be a semi autobiography of him self, because the book telling about two young man who get a "re-education" from the Mao's government, meanwhile Sijie himself also got "re-education" in the year of 1971-1974. Maybe this is what inspiring him to make this book, and comes out to be a very touching memorable story. The copyright have been sold to 19 country, although unfortunately this book still banded by the Chinese government.

This novel telling a story about Sijie's unnamed 17-year-old protagonist and his best friend, Luo, are bourgeois doctors' sons. In the era of Mao's government when all of the young intellectuals was send to a program called "re-education" to live with the farmers in a village as a program to clean all the young intellectuals mind in the years 1971-1974. Because "young Sijie" and his best friend was young intellectuals group, and so they condemned to serve four years in a remote mountain "re-education" program.

Every day they have to work in a traditional mine and have to carry pails of excrement daily up a hill. Only their ingenuity helps them to survive. The two friends are good at storytelling, and the village headman commands them to put on "oral cinema shows" for the villagers, reciting the plots and dialogue of movies. One thing that makes them happy in the "re-education" time is their meeting with the "Princess of Hong Mountain" a.k.a "the little seamstress" from the other village who really loves their stories. The two young man very exciting to tell their stories to the little Chinese seamstress.

In other village the two young men have a best friend which they call "the four eyes", he is also in the "re-education" program. He has a secret suitcase which hold lots of book from western writers that was already translate to Chinese. In that time, all of those books were a forbidden book in china, if anyone known to have it they will have to deal wit the mean minister. But both of the young man (luo and "me") very interesting with those book. And after some persuasion they make to "the four eyes", they can read a thin book that is the book of Balzac and make it as an entertainment for them self so they can let their imagination free.

When "the four eyes" leaves the mountains, the friends steal the suitcase full of forbidden books that he has been hiding. They dare to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo to the village tailor and to read Balzac to his shy and beautiful young daughter. Luo, who adores the Little Seamstress, dreams of transforming her from a simple country girl into a sophisticated lover with his foreign tales. He succeeds, but the result is not what he might have hoped for. Who about the ending of the story? Well again I won't tell it to much to keep your interest in this book on fire ;). Do enjoy the reading because this book certainly worth it.

And baby makes two

This book written by Dyan Sheldon. First impression the book is quite easy to read, another fun chick (teen) lit light reading easy to enjoy. But after I read it a few pages somehow I realize that this book has a quite meaningful heavy story in it.

The book telling about a young girl named Lana Spiggs who wants to be treated like an adult. She is sick and tired, with her mother acting as the ruler of her world, and she wants to be a grown up herself and get married to a perfect husband then have children and makes a perfect family. But Lana was only 15 years old.

Lana meets Les, a guy who seems to her as a perfect guy to be her husband. A twenty years old guy who Lana thinks can end up her misery. Then soon enough they get together and Lana find her self to be pregnant.

Lana was overwhelming with this reality and she thinks that her dream is finally comes true, she keeps her baby (although her mother and her friends keep reminding her that having a baby is a big things with heavy responsibilities for a child (in the age of 15) to bear). Lana give birth and she named her baby Shinola which she thinks have a beautiful meaning in African language (later on she found out that it is a name of shoe polish, and her friends make fun of it). Then all the problem soon comes in. Les never seems to be around when she needs him, she doesn't have money to buy Christmas present, and Les mother seems never know anything about Lana and her grandchild Shinola.Lana finally finds out that adulthood is not an easy thing as she dreams about.

This book was a great chick (teen) lit generation which has a meaningful story in it. It teaches us to enjoy every step of our live. Because every step in our life has a big meaning for the next step, so if you still in the childhood or now going to teenagers live or even now you’re living as an adult, just try to enjoy every step of it. There is no need to fast forward it. Take it easy and enjoy so you won’t regret what you have done in the pass as Lana did.

Perfume the story of a murderer

When a friend of mine know that I'm making a blog about book reviews he immediately tell me to write about "Perfume the story of a murderer" written by Patrick Suskind. This novel was so great that it has already be an international bestseller novel and sold more than 15 million copies. A movie with the same title was made base on this book on 2006 and it is also one of the phenomenal movie.

This book telling a story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille a boy that was born without body odor but he have an extraordinary smelling sense, as a boy he survive from a rough life, born without his mother wanting him, and move around frequently from one house to another. The present of Grenouille made uncomfortable feelings to other kids who also live in the same orphan house, not because he is a bad boy but just because he has no scent of his own body.

Grenouille grown up to be a genius in making perfume aroma. One day after he kiss a red head virgin he got obsess to make a perfume with the scent of a virgin. This is the base of the story : Grenouille obsession to make the ultimate perfume with the body scent of a virgin. Then he began to kill 25 virgins and taking their body scent using waxing technique, the virgin’s body wilted as if they have been suck till the end, their clothing, hair and skin has gone!

This suspense fiction novel is horrifying but somehow has a strong story that makes it so interesting to read it from the beginning till the end. With unexpected ending. This is more than just an ordinary novel. In amazone. com a reader even said that this novel is the most elegant, aristocratic and erotic novel!!

There is no question that this is an absolute must read novel.

The husband

The husband, a novel by Dean Koontz, telling a story about love and the question does love have a boundary?. The main character named Mitch, a simple guy who lives as a gardener with his beloved wife in LA, for him simple is the best.

Then one day his work interrupted by a cell call, the first call that is going to change his whole live. The call was from his wife, she says that she love him but then another voice take the call and tell him that they have his wife and they want $2 million. But Mitch only has $11,000 in his checking, and the kidnapper only gave him 3 days and if they don't get it they will kill his wife and himself!

Mitch loves his wife dearly so deep, but will he do almost anything for love. Does love really is “the everything” in live? This book will give the answer, well at least for Mr. Mitch Rafferty, but we can also take the lesson from him. Although I do hope it doesn’t have to be that much intrigue for us ;)

In his journey to get the ransom for the kidnaper, Mitch live transform from a simple life to a shocking - horrifying - to an impossible live. And this entire journey is very interesting. The author is a genius in making the plot. We can't guess it easily like other thriller book. Very nice to read it when you have a spare time to enjoy.