Book Review: Finding Audrey

I never imagined myself reading another Sophie Kinsella's novel until I chanced upon a book review on Guardian and apparently the review convinced me over to read another Chick Lit book. The genre isn't totally chick lit. Instead, it was under Young Adults. With that Kinokuniya voucher Doan gave me on my birthday last year, I bought the book last Wednesday. I was hooked. I spent the entire last Friday reading this in the library whilst waiting for Alicia and Xuan as they studied for their Block Test 2 which makes me reminisce those times... That is not the point.

Who should read this book: 

1. Young Adults 
2. People who love comic writing
3. People not looking for a cliche romance book

Anyone looking for some form of comic writing, this is the book I'll recommend. As usual, Sophie never fails to make me laugh with her comic writing. I had so much fun as I read this book at night and the bulk of it in the library. She offers interesting psychological insight into anxiety disorders and depression. Though I'm not sure how true, I literally cringed when Audrey starts crawling back into her 'den' as she meets Linus or anyone new. Her struggles were seemed real such that I was able to empathise with her. Each panic attack was an interesting episode and an insightful read as she struggles with her lizard brain and her heart. Her brother is a total gaming addict while her mom is a Daily Mail addict which resulted in a huge uproar in the family. A huge conflict arises between Frank and Mom when Mom read an article on Daily Mail and finds out that Frank is addicted to gaming. A series of family conflict where Mom and Dad argues over protecting Audrey from the cause of her current situation, and on curbing Frank's addiction to gaming was definitely not helping Audrey either. I was able to draw some parallels when mommy occasionally scolds my brother after reading a certain article on addiction and daddy would be all calm. Thank god, it didn't escalate to throwing the laptop down the balcony or bringing the CPU to yoga classes. (My mom attends yoga lessons too!)

Here's the cliche part: Linus, her potential boyfriend a.k.a Frank's best friend plays a huge role in speeding up Audrey's recovery and mending the broken ties within her family. We all know that this isn't reality. For a fun read, I totally recommend this book and every other Sophie's book. She's the only author that I follow and I blame that on my mommy as she introduced the 'Shopaholic' series to me when I was a lot younger.

The book ended with a simple message- a 14 year old girl who is trying to find her identity after a fall in life. Life is never a straight graph that continues to go up as Audrey wanted. There'll always be ups and downs in life just like how a relapse may occur to a mental patient making a steady recovery.

I'll definitely read this again a few years later! (I'm still a young adult!)

Book Review: Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids?

This will be my first ever book review that I've written. Likewise, I will want to remember the books that I've read and thus my first book will be 'Why bad grades happen to good kids?' 

I picked this book up in the library genuinely because the title caught my eye. I thought to myself that this book might provide me with another point of view as to why some people do not do as well even though they studied as hard. Well, its a book for parents. And in this case, for their children. Essentially, it is not for teenagers.

Who should read this book: 

1. Parents (Obviously) with young kids or parents to be
2. People who are interested in education (Me)
3. Teenagers aged 18 and above

Parents who want their young children to do well, in particular parents that are in the midst of filing a divorce and parents who are too busy earning money for their family. In this age, both parents work and hence may not have time to monitor what their child does in school. This book offers how providing a child with a sense of safety at home and/or in school helps the child to concentrate better in school and academically. My parents genuinely want me to do well in life, similarly like every other parent who loves their child. Yet there are many advertises faced in this economically driven world- the need for their child to excel academically and may eventually unknowingly form goals for their children.

That brings to my next point on why teenagers aged 18 and above should read this book, including me- to help me understand my parents better. This book offers different case studies and I could better understand my parents point of view. At the same time, to help our younger siblings and to be better sisters/brothers. This book- even though written for parents- can be seen as a self-help book for us to improve ourselves (if seen from another perspective) in the future and by understanding why we didn't perform well when we were younger.

For people interested in education, it helps me to understand what a teacher should say, do and speak. It has helped me to understand how the power of words and actions can affect a student academically and emotionally in school.

What did I learn from this book: 

1. S-T-R-O-N-G
2. Self-esteem is essential for growth and development. There is a need to accept and encourage the child in a positive way to motivate them. 
3. What struck me most was 'Self-esteem is built when your child develops in areas she considers valuable, not in those that you decide should be valuable' (Chapter 2, page 23) 
4. Trust- the need to trust the school, parents and friends. Mutual trust. 
5. Responsibility- by providing the child opportunities to show that he/she is responsible, it builds up his/her self-esteem and tend to do better academically. Reason being- to be more responsible in school and to be better able to take charge of his/her homework and assignments. Otherwise, encourage him/her that he/she was responsible before and they should do the same for his/her homework and assignments. 
6. Options- Providing the child different options and allowing them to weigh what will benefit then will essentially allow them to chose the right path under proper guidance. 
7. Needs- The different learning abilities, the need for safety at home and in school. (This improves trust and self-esteem once their needs are met.)
8. Goals- Goals are extremely important and it is essential to set realistic short term and long term goals. Short term goals to guide them towards their long term goals. 'Goals are like rudders on ships. Realistic short- and long-term goals help us to steer our lives' (Chapter 7, page 133) 
9. Teachers need to set realistic rules and to ensure the needs of each student are met. 
10. Words and Actions are really important in the classroom as it can motivate a student to do better. 
11. Setting realistic homework and homework that builds their confidence. 

Questions to ask myself: 

1. How do we effectively tackle the causes if they're not doing well?
2. How did I grow to trust my teachers?
3. What about kids who come from parents who are not around?

Okay, that ends my first book review. Its a rather short book of around 135 pages.