food for thought, books for reading.

Last week, there was a bazaar in school, where they sold books at cheaper prices.

At first I bought The Alchemist, only to be scared away by its language, right from the 1st page. Maybe I'm not deep enough or wat, but it sounds too ancient/sophisticated/confusing/khó hỉu/khó nuốt and in general, too much for me :|

So within the day, I exchanged the book for another: "The 5 people you meet in Heaven". Well, easier to read, easier to understand, but just so-so for me. It's not captivating enough, the story doesn't really go anywhere, and sometimes I felt it tried a lil bit too hard to impress people. So I regreted buying it 3:-o (It was around 15 bucks, FYI)

Then I came across My sister's keeper. Here's how the summary goes :

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

The drama and the complicated situation implied in this synopsis caught my attention. It promises a thrilling story. And it didnt fail to deliver that.

Okay, 1stly, lower ur expectation plz, it's not a perfect flawless story.
I don't really understand Jesse's behaviors (why the hell he had to do that???). I don't feel the 'history' between Campbell and Julia is necessary (jeez, why do people have to inject some kind of love story into a book? is it to sell more?)

But generally, I'm glad I bought it.
The writer took the readers through a complicated, delicate and controversial situation with a surprising clarity. The story sounds too dramatic, but when you got into the book, you would understand people, you'd understand why they behave like that, why things happen that way, extreme, but reasonable.
Telling the story under many characters' perspective seems to be a really good way for writers to help readers to explore characters' mind. I really love this mind-reading thingy :))

People are put in conflicts, dilemmas, crossroads where they have to make decisions. Big ones. And the way they think through, the way they come to their final decisions shed light on their personality.

I loveeeee Anna. Amazingly mature for a 13-year-old girl trying to follow what she feels right, despite knowing that no one will win in the end, and yet she still loves her family a lot. Def my fav character in this book. There's sth a bit mysterious about her (of course, she was holding a secret until the end), sth dark, sth complicated yet appealing, which attracts you, makes you want to learn more about her.

One last thing: Life is full of unexpected things. You thought you have prepared urself, but actually you never know what would happen.