The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything

written by Robyn Schneider
published August 27th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
genre Young Adult/Contemporary/Coming of Age/Romance
a stand-alone
335 pages
read in English/Indonesian (not yet translated)
originally titled as Severed Heads, Broken Hearts

***

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

"We move through each other's lives like ghosts, leaving behind haunting memories of people who never existed. The popular jock, the mysterious new girl. But we're the one who choose, in the end, how people see us."

Ezra Faulkner was the 'it' guy, the guy you would exactly want to date in high school: A popular jock who's also the captain of a team (tennis varsity, in this case), President of Junior Class, hanging with the popular crowd... And you would want to be the popular girl she's dating. But it was all in the past, before an accident left Ezra with a shattered knees and removed all the dreams he had.

Now Ezra's suffering in silence. He sees himself as the one whose life is screwed by the tragedy; having to use a crane to walk, not talking and keeps avoiding his old buddies, fired from the tennis varsity team, cheated by his girlfriend, and all. It's horrible. All those big plans he had about getting a scholarship for college is no longer exists. He used to had all his life planned ahead, now it's all just a fragment of memory. Ezra is no longer the guy who has high confidence and happy, he's now quiet, has a lot of insecurities about himself, and feeling sad pretty much all the time.

At this time Toby, a guy who used to be Ezra's bestfriend in the past (before Toby's own tragedy strikes) comes and invites Ezra into his own crowd: the debate team. Then Ezra meets Cassidy, the girl whom then he fall in love with. Being in Ezra's head is kinda depressing since he's full of these negative vibes directed toward himself, so reading about how he falls in love with Cassidy was a relief. They do many things together, one of my favorite part was when Cassidy took him sneaking into a university class unnoticed. This experience ended up with Ezra's feeling 'freshened' and I love reading what he thought about it.

"I've never been walked out of a classroom with my mind racing with what I'd learned, and I wanted to savor the feeling as long as possible. It was as though my brain was suddenly capable of considering the world with far more complexity, as though there was so much more to see and do and learn."

I know how much fun college could be, Ezra, I know! ;)

The first pages of The Beginning of Everything was truly enjoyable. Robyn Schneider didn't waste much time to laid out the problems, and she mastered the art of writing a story from a high school boy's point of view excellently; not once I ever stopped for a moment feeling that this isn't how a boy supposed to think! No. Ezra's voice, eventhough like I said above, kinda depressing at times, but also believable, full of charm, witty and likeable (On another note, he reminds me a lot of John Green's characters. Particularly Looking for Alaska's Pudge). I instantly understand how easy it was for Ezra to be the it guy, because everyone who know this guy will simply love him. He's clearly the main factor that made reading The Beginning of Everything fun.

Ten Books I'd Like to See as a Movie or TV Show

Sometimes when you read great books you just want the movies that are playing in your head to be something real; you start imagining this actor as the main character, this particular scene to be located in a certain place.... Plus point, movies attract more people to watch it (first, then they'll read the book later). It's a win-win situation between book lovers and movie goers.

So here is the list of books I'd like to see as a movie (in which the world is a perfect world where they don't ruin movies based on a book...) :

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

To be honest, I didn't fancy the book as much as I expected to but I think it would be great to see it on the big screen. Circus screams joy and wonderful tricks being showed, and the romance between Marco and Celia would be a great addition to the storyline.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I have so much love for this series and I would be pretty terrified if they plan to make movies out of it. But who wouldn't want to see Akiva & Karou being portrayed beautifully, also all those chimaera and seraphim creatures? Daughter of Smoke and Bone would make a great fantasy movie.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

The main reason of why I want this book to be a movie is because I want to hear the actual song of Audrey, Wait! so bad. I wouldn't mind if they pick someone else (not a boy with ginger hair) as James, though...

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Australian wilderness. London. Camel. Being completely surrounded by desert with no one else beside your captor. Paints. Stockholm Syndrome. This is totally random, but my version of Tyler while I was reading the book was Jake Abel. I'm sure there will be tears running down the audience's faces at the end of the movie.

Jika by Windy Ariestanty, Alanda Kariza, Rahne Putri dkk

Jika
dan hanya jika

Oleh Alanda Kariza, Artasya Sudirman, Bella Pangabean, Desiyanti, Feba Sukmana, Gita Romadhona, Hanny Kusumawati, Mita M Supardi, Nanette Isdito, Novi Kresna Murti, Stella Ang, Windy Ariestanty
Kumpulan cerita
Diterbitkan Agustus 2013 oleh Gagas Media
224 hlm

***

Apa yang tebersit dalam hatimu, saat kaki sudah menjejak di masa sekarang, tetapi sebuah ingin masih tertinggal di masa lalu? Kau mungkin berharap semesta mengulang jika. Apa yang memenuhi harapmu saat melihat esok masih terlalu gulita dan gelap tak mampu kau kira? Kau mungkin mendamba banyak jika. Jika, dan hanya jika. Tiga belas penulis mengabadikan rentak yang mereka temui di perjalanan dalam foto. Lalu, mereka beri “jika” ke dalamnya, ditambah rindu, cinta, dan harapan yang kadang hampir selesai. Menjelmalah, tiga belas “jika” penuh warna.

Angan-angan. Bersama napas yang kuhidup dan 

kuembus, jutaan khayal bertransformasi menjadi energi 

yang memompa nadi, mengirimkan pesan pada hati

mengajak diri untuk memulai suatu perjalanan.

Don't judge a book by it's cover lama-lama nggak berlaku lagi buat saya. Dari dulu, buku dengan cover cantik-menarik-dan ciamik selalu berhasil menarik perhatian, entah apakah isinya sepadan dengan bentuk fisik tersebut atau tidak. Begitu juga dengan Jika. Cover ini buat saya gorgeous banget! Penggunaan ambigram kata Jika di cover sangat unik (Ambigram: Jenis typografi dimana sebuah kata bisa tetap dibaca sama meskipun dari berbagai sudut pandang. Coba bolak balik cover buku Jika ini sebagai contoh), kayaknya baru sekali ini saya nemu buku dengan ide desain cover yang pakai ambigram.

Tapi Jika tidak hanya memuat kumpulan cerita. Halaman-halamannya dihiasi dengan foto-foto indah yang membuat pembacanya lebih menikmati dan meresapi setiap cerita maupun sajak yang ada. Pada Setumpuk Jika di Manhattan, Alanda Kariza menghadirkan sosok Navita yang sedang mencari Ayahnya di New York demi menjadi wali dalam pernikahannya dengan Leo. Jika saja aku tidak membuat Ayah dan Bunda berpisah, semuanya tidak akan menjadi seperti ini adalah premis dari cerita pembuka tersebut.

Lalu Rahne Putri hadir dengan Kisah Cinta di Balik Pintu Renta yang sangat menyentuh. Saya sudah lama follow beliau dan selalu terkesan tiap kali membaca sajak-sajaknya di Sadgenic, dan bagian partisipasi Rahne dalam omnibus Jika punya sebuah paragraf yang jadi favorit:

Sebuah mimpi tidak selayaknya egois terhadap mimpi yang lain. Biarkanlah mimpi berkembang, dan biarkan cinta tersimpan di sela-selanya. Biarlah jarak dan waktu menjadi benalu sementara, dan jika kau percaya, cinta bisa kau bangunkan sewaktu-waktu bersama-sama.

IPR'S FIRST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY: THE WINNER(S)!

Malam urang sadayana!
Hehehehehehe. Alhamdulillah giveaway pertamanya IPR sudah selesai dan ospeknya juga sudah beres jadi bisa diumumin malam ini (meskipun dengan badan masih super pegal-pegal ea /curhat)

Pertama-tama, terima kasih banyak ya buat semuanya yang udah ikutan! Nggak nyangka juga pesertanya bakal sebanyak ini. Tirta bacain rekomen buku dan komennya satu-satu kok. Terima kasih sekali sudah mau meluangkan waktu buat join. Jadi terharu sendiri :')

Setelah aku teliti entriesnya, dominannya yg komen bilang kalo tulisan di IPR kekecilan, atau tentang header yg nggak nyambung sama buku, atau katanya layout keramean dan nggak fokus karena di tengah (banyak yg saranin enakan dua bagian aja, hihi) Thankyou so much atas semua masukan! Insya allah bakal dijadiin pertimbangan lagi kalo nanti mau ganti blog designnya. Banyak juga yang bilang aku harus rajinin post update-annya..... Oke deh jendral :') #eh #masihkebawaatmosfirospek

Udah kenapa sih Ta, nggak usah banyak basa-basinya. *didorong*
Iyak jadi pemenang yang beruntung untuk giveaway perdananya IPR ini  berdasarkan pilihan si Rafflecopter adalah..................................

Top Ten Things That Make My Life as a Blogger/Reader Easier

 This week's topic is

TOP TEN THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER AS A BLOGGER/READER

Goodreads
Well, of course. Friending lots of people on Goodreads (Here's mine. Add me up!) or reading people's reviews of a book on this site really, really help to decide what book should I read next. Also, it's easier to find quotes and the book details when you write a book review! :)

Tumblr
Social medias are awesome! There are lots of book tumblrs out there right now, and I loooove browsing through all the lovely pictures of books or fanarts. And tumblr posts tend to be shorter but also straight to the point, which I love about it. Check out IPR's tumblr!

Twitter
Yay for twitter! Now I could follow awesome people in the book industries (local or international), and it helps getting to know some infos or tidbits such as what book this publisher will translate next, or if my favorite translator/editor is planning to read these books that I love, the progress of a book's production, fun tweets from authors, giveaways(!) that are going on, andddd many others!

Bookmarks
I refuse to dog-ear my books, no thankyou very much. So I really, really like it when I buy a new book and the publisher provide a cute, lovely bookmark inside. Seriously, eventhough I could just as easily remember what page I'm up to, bookmarks help. And I could use almost everything as a bookmark: tickets, cards, sometimes my money, receipts or bills... Once, I used my socks. It was clean, I promise!

Awesome book blogs and its equally awesome owners out there!
Really. I love finding people who has pretty much the same preference of books and read their reviews; it's important to me. Sometimes I also get encouraged to try to read books that are out of my comfort zone, and I've never been more thankful. My fave book bloggers inspire me a lot in so many ways that they don't even know. To know my favorite book blogs that I frequently read and regularly visit each time I'm on the internet, click the Preference page. It's now back on!

Book Bloggers/Readers Community
Being a member of Book Blogger Indonesia and Goodreads Indonesia helps a lot especially when I want to decide what local books to read next. There's lots of interesting topics about books discussed and I always love reading them. And also, getting more people to read my blog ;) Some time ago, I also joined Underrated Books Project that started on Tumblr by Rebecca Day; the goal is to get people to read more good books that are underrated. I love finding hidden gems!

Not stressing about the amount of....
Books I read or reviews I posted here. Seriously, obsessing over the number is not healthy for me. Sometimes when I see a blog that successfully come out with a new, fun post almost every day (twice a day, even!) I get amazed. But then I just decided to go along with the flow (read: my mood...) when reading. If I don't feel like reading, okay I'll put the books on hold for a while. If I don't want to write a review yet, okay, let's move onto the next book. I know some people want me to review more regularly, but with the amount of tasks and activities I have to do in this first term of college, I think it'll be hard. Not that I won't, but I'll try! ;)

Google!
The main reason why google is helpful for my blogging life is when I want to design my blog (because, let's be honest, I don't have the budget to afford an amazing blog design *sad face*). I know, saying 'Google it' is so not specific and lame. But seriously, all the tips of how-to and easy tutorials of making things (like, those lovely 'quick search', 'the reader', 'blog archive', or how to style my blockquote), I get it by looking on Google. You just have to find the right keywords, and voila! And beside, I love learning new things ;)

Aldiko
I don't own Kindle, iRiver or any e-reader. I only have my phone and Android tab with me. So when I discovered Aldiko it was like getting a birthday present! From all the ebook reader apps I've tried, Aldiko book reader is the one that I feel very comfortable to use. Pdf, epub, mobi, no problem! Aldiko also provided some free books which are listed as public domain (Les Miserables, Jane Austen's books, Oliver Twist, and many others).

Blogging tips written by other bloggers
I check out Parajunkee's and Nose Graze's blogging tips almost every week; they're awesome. I need some serious learning on how to manage a book blog and surviving, so I read and google lots of tips. The Broke and Bookish also had brought this 'top ten tips for new book bloggers' subject on their Top Ten Tuesday and I'm so happy to be swimming on people's opinion on this!

Also, another one:
Memes and Reading Challenges!
Seriously. Participating in a meme like this one has given my blog an awesome impact. I learned how to beautify my blog (because I feel itchy everytime I open up a blog that has a wonderful design, ugh, sooo envy of them!), discover more books that maybe I haven't heard of but turns out to be AWESOME!, keeping up with my pile of books that I still need to read and getting to know more readers out there. It's cheesy but true, I feel like I learn something new everytime I visit another book blog.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue

by Leila Howland
Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance/Summery Book
published May 7th 2013 by Disney Hyperion
294 pg
Stand-alone

***

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

Why do I like Nantucket Blue enough to recommend it to anyone who read this post?

First, Nantucket Blue is so fun to read. It's a summery book so it didn't take long for me to like it. The opening scene of the book, which was a lacrosse game, instantly engrossed me to read more. Cricket is kinda a strange name for a girl, but she's a lovely main character. I love the voice/tone that Leila used when telling the story from Cricket's point of view. And Nantucket Blue is one of those books that made you want to go there. The author described the setting pretty clear and I love that about Nantucket Blue. I googled lots of pictures of Nantucket after I finished reading and spent some time dreaming myself being in that lovely island for some good days, wearing a big hat and sunglasses, feeling the heat, basking in the sun while sipping on a glass of cocktail. Hmm, lovely image.

A beach on Nantucket. Picture credit to Adriana Casey

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait!

by Robin Benway
Published in April 2nd, 2008 by Razorbill
320 pg
Young Adult/Contemporary/Music/Romance
Stand-alone

***

California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, “Audrey, Wait!” a break-up song that’s so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

You said your piece and now I've got to say mine

I had you and you strung me on the liiiiinnnneeee!

We said we loved and it was a lie

I touched your hair and watched you die

You crucified my heart, took every part, and hung them out drrrrrryyyyy!

'It's all good', you always say

But save it for another day,

'Cause now I'm watching you walk awaaaaayyyy!

So, I read Audrey's story on my way back home from Palembang (or Prabumulih, to be exact) and finished it at the exact moment my car finally touched the ground of my house's garage after a week. Okay, that's such unnecessary things to say, but believe me when I tell you that I was smiling and giggling like a mad girl all the way!

Audrey, Wait! has a very simple premise. You know, just a boy (who happens to be in a band) break ups with his girlfriend, writes a song about it, then suddenly the song gets ALL people's attention, gets famous, and now Audrey has to deal with all the crazyness, newfound fame as the impact of it, because she's the girl in the song. Who thought people will put so much attention to a girl mentioned in a song, right? It kinda made me wonder whether Drew got his life 'changed' after Taylor Swift wrote a song dedicated to him (Remember? Drew look at me, I fake a smile so he won't see etc etc. Or the Dear John one but since we know John Mayer's already famous he doesn't count...)

But Robin Benway's strength in this book happens to be her snarky, fun, witty, sarcastic but fresh writing. And dear god Audrey, Wait! is SO FUNNY! Like, sarcastic-funny. Like, awesome-funny! I swear I caught my mom sneaking a glance weirdly at me numerous times because I was goofy-smiling and trying to hold my giggles in the car. The romance was fluffy and cute, too, it made me happy reading about it.

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You walked out the door and I want you to see me slam it shut!

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You can say all you want, but I want you to know that this is the cruelest cut!

I PREFER READING'S 1ST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!

August is here! Yaaaaaaay! *throws confetti*
Agustus adalah bulan favorit saya sepanjang tahun. Selain karena bulan ini adalah bulan ulang tahun saya (hihihi), kebetulan I Prefer Reading juga pertama kali dibuat Agustus tahun 2012 lalu (Coba tebak, tanggalnya tanggal berapa hayoo).

Selama setahun ngeblog tentang buku udah ngapain aja, Ta?
Blog IPR sejauh ini kebanyakan masih berisi review buku. Jadwal postingannya...... masih suka-suka, apalagi kalo real-life lagi hectic huehuehue (misalnya pas persiapan Ujian Nasional beberapa bulan lalu... Dalam sebulan pernah cuma posting satu review /plak). Mudah-mudahan ke depannya bisa lebih teratur yah :')

Post review pertama yang ditulis di IPR adalah review buku Before I Die karya Jenny Downham, yang saya dapat sebagai hadiah giveaway Tell Me Your Wish-nya Reading in the Morning! Kalau post yang paling banyak diintip, ternyata adalah review Twivortiare-nya Ika Natassa (karena pernah disebut Gramedia sebagai #ResensiPilihan), Cinderella dan Empat Ksatria-nya Baek Myo, dan Looking for Alaska-nya John Green. Tapi buat saya personally, saya paling suka waktu nulis review buku-bukunya Laini Taylor, Golden-nya Jessi Kirby sama The Moon and More-nya Sarah Dessen! Entah kenapa.

IPR pernah ikutan Book Kaleidoscope (yang dihost oleh Mbak Fanda) di akhir tahun 2012 lalu, lho. Belakangan ini juga suka ikutan posting Top Ten Tuesday (weekly meme yang di-host The Brooke & The Bookish) meskipun belum rutin tiap minggu. Oh iya, nggak lama habis bikin IPR saya juga gabung ke BBI, tapi sampe saat ini masih rada-rada pasif kalau lagi ngadain acara semacam Posting Bareng BBI atau Secret Santa gitu ( ._.)/|maafkan saya...|

Lalu lewat post ini juga, Tirta ingin berterimakasih pada siapapun yang udah baca IPR selama setahun ini, baik yang sering comment, silent reader ataupun yang cuma lirik-lirik aja (hihihi)... Thank you so much! It's been a wonderful experience having a book blog and knowing that there are actually people who read it out there. :')

Jadi sekalian merayakan bertambah tuanya umur, setahunan IPR, sekaligus ngelaksanain niat untuk berbagi dan syukuran karena (alhamdulillah) udah diterima di PTN (yay jadi anak kuliahan! hehehe), I wanna share this joyfulness with you all. :) TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY! Bismillahirrahmanirrahiiim, pertama kalinya ngadain giveaway, semoga lancarrr.
And the prize is:

WIN ANY BOOKS YOU WANT UP TO 150k!

Yup. Saya akan bagi-bagi buku apa aja yang diinginkan oleh pemenang. Jumlah bukunya boleh satu, boleh dua, boleh tiga, berapapun asalkan bukunya tersedia di toko buku Gramedia atau di www.bukabuku.com. Ingat, total maksimalnya Rp 150.000 (exclude ongkos kirim) yaaa :D

Giveaway akan berlangsung sejak 1 Agustus sampai 25 Agustus 2013 dan diperuntukkan bagi teman-teman yang berdomisili di Indonesia. Pengumuman pemenang akan saya post di blog ini pada akhir bulan (Mudah-mudahan bisa dapet waktu luang sedikit di sela-sela ospek universitas... Hup hup hup) Siapapun yang menang nanti akan saya hubungi via Twitter atau email segera setelah pengumuman (paling lambat akhir Agustus)

Untuk ikutan giveaway-nya, gampang kok! Silakan isi Rafflecopter di bawah ini dan ikuti perintahnya ya. Jangan lupa cantumkan nama, akun twitter dan alamat email yang bisa dihubungi di comment page.

Once again, thank you for reading IPR, aaaand good luck! Enjoy August ❤

a Rafflecopter giveaway