The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This is the book I chose to end up the year 2021 with and I was not disappointed. This is the most heart-warming book I have ever read in my entire life. It shattered me. I laughed, I cried and I totally fell in love with especially with young Lucy! (If you have intention to read it, don't judge him immediately. He is a total sweet heart. Probably he will burn you and take your intestines out on a BBQ. Yet, he is the sweetest boy ever)

The story is about Linus Baker, a case-worker with DICOMY. Linus was given a very difficult assignment to investigate an orphanage. This orphanage involves six children that are considered different in the eyes of society. Thus, without getting too much involved, Linus had to check if the orphanage is safe for the children and that they abide by the RULES AND REGULATIONS of DICOMY. Not only the children are under investigation but also Arthur Parnassus, the head of this orphanage.

This is the story with various interesting themes and a great eye-opener. It is a book that I totally recommend everyone to read especially when on the news we see so many people suffering. This book is like a hug on Christmas eve, so delicate and pure. It is not a book to over-think about. It is a book that you have to read it with your heart. I love the writing style of TJ Klune. One can almost visualise the scenes. Seriously, I can't explain what this book left in my heart!

Totally recommended!!

Irvin Vella 6: Investigatur Virtwali. Il-Każ tat-tfajla maħtufa

This was gifted to me by @merlinkotba and this review will be spoiler free. This book is one of the most popular mystery books in Malta for children and adolescents. This is the sixth book in the series and I can’t wait to collect them all. Each story is a stand alone however there are some references in the footnotes referring to previous stories. I totally love the illustrations in the book. Francesca Grech is amazing. John A. Bonello, the author gave us a beautiful piece of work. I was totally hooked on the story and I finished the book in just three days.

The story is about Irvin Vella, a virtual investigator. Irvin has yet another difficult case to solve. The police are investigating the case of Jess Green, a Scottish 18 year old girl that was in Malta for vacation. The girl was kidnapped and the primarily suspect was il-Vleģģa, a well-known criminal. However, Irvin is not convinced. Thus, he has an investigation to conduct to find the culprit of this crime. 

Din hija storja ġdida ta’ Irvin Vella, l-investigatur virtwali. Din id-darba Irvin għandu każ diffiċli ħafna ta’ tfajla maħtufa. Din hija storja li ħadt gost ħafna naqra speċjalment f’dawn f’xi lejla xitwija. Hija storja li ħa tqabbdek ħafna kurżita’ u ma tkunx trid titlaq il-ktieb sakemm tispiċċa l-aħħar paġna. Minkejja l-każ ta’ Irvin jidher wieħed faċli, din id-darba hemm ħafna kumplikazzjonijiet u għalhekk l-istorja tħallik sal-aħħar bil-kurżita’. Tgħid din id-darba Irvin ser jispiċċa b’każ mhux solvut? Nirrakomandaħ ħafna dan il-ktieb speċjalment inti jekk inti adolexxent u trid xi ħaġa mhux daqshekk diffiċli biex taqra. Nemmen li Irvin ħa jkun kumpanija eċċezzjonali għalik f’dawn il-jiem ta’ vaganzi.

Wasal il-Milied

Wasal il-Milied

During the month of December, I try to read a lot of Christmas books. Unfortunately, this year I am behind in my reading plan. However, one of the books that I have managed to read so far is this book in Maltese and I loved every minute of it. 

@merlinkotba gifted me this book by Ernest Vella. The book is about the nativity crib and the characters of the crib that came to life especially a Maltese folk creature, il-Gawgaw, that scavenge around the streets on Christmas eve. The character searches for people who were born on Christmas Day because his only curse was that this monster was born at the same time as Jesus. 

The story revolves around an investigative journalist, Samwel Vella that was requested to write an article about Christmas. His mother and father hide a great secret about the nativity crib in their home. Even a friend of his grandfather is involved in this mystery. Thus, Vella, as an investigative journalist gets involved in an unidentified situation to discover why the characters in the crib are acting strangely. Was he hallucinating, or it is true that the characters came to life? This review is spoiler free and in Maltese. 

Wasal il-Milied huwa ktieb interessanti ferm. Ħadt gost imens naqra dan il-ktieb viċin il-presepju u fl-atmosfera li Diċembru kapaċi joffri. L-istorja hija waħda interessanti u tgħallimt ħafna fuq il-presepju tradizzjonali Malti. Sfortunatament, ftit għadni nara karattri Maltin fil-presepju. Nammetti wkoll li l-ktieb għallimni dwar min hu l-Gawgaw u l-istorja tiegħu. Huwa ktieb li jiena nirrakomandaħ ħafna speċjalment jekk tixtieq storja relatata ma’ dan iż-żmien. Il-ktieb huma mexxej ħafna u għalhekk anke għalikom l-adolexxenti dan huwa ktieb tajjeb ħafna. Nirrakomandah li taqrah fil-kenn ta’ darek, bid-dawl iteptep tal-Milied, f’xi lejla kiesħa li qed tagħmel bħalissa, b’xi tazza tat-te jew kafe. Storja ħelwa imens li tgħallimna, tgħina nirriflettu imma fuq kolllox isaħħarna.

Darko: The Sacred Heart of One Johanee Darko

@bookstagrammerscom gave me the opportunity to review Darko: The Sacred Heart of One Johanee Darko, a book by Kenny G. Down. This book was something different from what I use to read but I was intrigued to read it. This review contains no spoilers.

The book is the story of a young spiritual leader from the neighbourhood of Desire. In the story, the area is famous for crime, alcohol consumption, drugs and prostitution. From this poor area, a modern-day saint is born. 

Through-out the story we discover the upbringing of this child and how Johanne had to make a difference in the world. The story’s point of view is from King Martin, later identified as I King, a friend and an admirer of Johanee. Together with Magdalene, the lover of Johanee, I King shows how this poor, illiterate, tattooed girl had an aim in life to bring change.

The book explores how this spiritual leader became an influence of society which even cost her something very important due to this mission. The book is filled with social and religious themes. From speeches in rallies to letters, Johanee delves deeper about peace, love and connected. Although there is no specific Religion in the book, the author makes it quite extensive the idea of several religions that connects and there is no sole God in the story. This child, with aura of positivity, radiating energy and that is shown to experience visions had something to offer to the US and even the world. 

I enjoyed reading this book and I believe I learned a lot especially in the idea that Johanee proposes. The book leaves you a sense of courage. The illustrations in the book are impeccable as you can see from the photo and even though I read it through the kindle device, I still enjoyed the drawings. I can't even imagine how beautiful are the pictures in the book itself. There are a lot of prayers that Johanee prays which can help the reader to interact with the story even more. Darko is recommended to those who wants to explore more about spiritual fiction.

Stessi/Ħassartek

Stessi/Ħassartek

 

Stessi and Ħassartek are two books that were gifted to me by the author Matthew Schembri. They are both in Maltese with a very different genre and content. Here you can find summary of the books. They are both spoiler free.

Stessi is about an adolescent named Sven and a very weird object. Rob, Sven’s cool uncle, traveller and an adrenaline junkie, gave him his precious purple camera as a birthday present. This camera was special not only because it was a reminder that Rob was a very special person in his life but this camera was magical as well. She takes selfies only and exclusively when she needs to. Throughout the story, Sven discovered that he is actually possessed from the camera and thus, his life is in complete submission to what the camera what's and needs. Even his mood is changed and this camera became an obsession. The story revolves around the changes that Sven had to submit to in order to accommodate the needs of this purple camera and the consequences that occurred from this unhealthy obsession. I highly recommend THIS book to all teenagers and all fantasy lovers. I read this book in two days and I couldn’t let go.

On the other hand, Ħassartek (the second book) is ‘Stessi’, (the first book) but partially erased. Yes, you read it right. The first book partially erased. That’s why there is a similarity in the cover. Ħassartek includes 231 poems partially erased from the story of Sven and his precious camera. The poems are not related to the story of Stessi. Fascinating right? I have to admit it that I need to re-read this book once again because poems needs time to be absorbed and understood. However, I am fascinated how the author came with the idea to partially erase his book and form this beautiful work.

Strangers I'll Never Forget

The author @mj.camilleri gifted me this book in exchange of an honest review. This book is a collection of 16 short, non-fiction stories. It is the first debut book of the author and the stories are autobiographical.

This is the first non-fiction book that I have read since the opening of my insta and I think I made the best decision to accept to review it because I loved every minute. I was always afraid of reading non fiction stories because I was scared that I might find them taxing after a day at work. However, this is not the case. Each story in the book is unique in their own way, changing from comical experiences to frightful or weird events.

The protagonists of the stories are all about strangers that the author have met in his life and that somehow, they left a mark. From the Carnival gang in the early morning hours in Nadur to the girl that he met in Greece, each character in the story helped me to become aware of how beautiful our world is. Unfortunately, many of us are living in a very hectic lifestyle without having the chance to get to know other people. As I was reflecting of what I was about to write in my review I took a short walk in my village and there where I have observed the strangers that I meet every single day. Each with their own stories, lifestyles and experiences. This book is not just about other people and their stories, but it was a very an eye-opening experience for me. Although I don’t know the author personally however this book helped me to ‘get to know him’ and it was interesting that fact that for a few hours I could observe the world from a different point of view.

I can’t say anything more about the stories per se because I don’t want to spoil the fun and I promised myself that this review will be spoiler-free. However, I highly recommend this book especially to you if you are curious about the world and the strangers that we meet daily. 

The Patient in Hospital Zero

This book is written by @ramonadepares and was gifted to me by @merlinkotba . This is a non-spoiler review of the book. 

This is not the type of book that I usually read although the book cover would have intrigued me to buy it. This is the book that left me speechless this year!!

The Patient in Hospital Zero is a collection of nine stories some of them are situated here in Malta. It is a mixture of dark, bizarre, dystopian and twisted tales. The book represents the dark side of the human being whether consciously or not consciously done. The characters involved are not to be considered wrongdoers (I think) however they make decisions that are raw, immediate, direct and that sometimes are driven by selfishness, greed, lust and survival. Some stories I had to re-read because I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The stories left me perplexed!

In this review I am going to summarize only two of the stories to help you get an idea. This review will not make justice on how brilliantly this book is written. This masterpiece is something out of the ordinary.

The first story takes us in the middle of a hectic rush hour in Malta. We encounter a woman that finds her good luck charm with an accident. Driven by this obsession for good luck, she expects something that is considered weird enough to think about it let alone plan in on a calendar.

The second story is very relatable to the current situation. In the middle of a Pandemic two female characters found themselves stuck in hospital. The hospital had to be abandoned with no one there to support them and with lack of basic needs. Mark, the character’s boyfriend had to make a decision that effect the whole life of these two characters without knowing. This is the story that left me thinking.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you are someone that wants a non-boring book with a hint of dark, this is for you!

Mitt Elf Isem Ieħor - #happyvegangirljules

@merlinkotba gave me this book by @lonkirkop I loved it especially because it is the first sprayed edge book in Maltese that I own but also because it is a story that I can see a lot of students in it. As a teacher I can recognize the validity of the story and how faithful it is to real life. 

This is the story of Manda, a 13 year old from Malta. Manda is a normal teenager with a lot of social problems. She is that student that no one wants to talk to her, having a gay father resulted in a lot of bullying and thus, became very reserved yet rebellious person. Manda discovered a YouTuber her age named Jules or Julia. This YouTuber became what Manda wants in her life. She wants not only to be like her but to become Julia or Jules. This YouTuber had everything; fame, love, beauty and acceptance from others. Manda started to change like her favorite influencer thus resulting in a lot of good but also bad decisions. The twist in the end surprised me and made this whole reading experience worth-it. This review will be in Maltese and without any spoilers. 

Mitt elf isem ieħor huwa ktieb interessanti ferm. Ktieb li jiftaħ tieqa fuq il-ħajja tal-lum tal-2021 u jixref fil-beraħ dwar kemm l-adolexxenza hija perjodu li hemm bżonn ħafna sapport u smiegħ. Faċli naslu f’konklużjonijiet speċjalment ma’ adolexxenti li huma ribellużi jew fuq tagħhom. Manda hija persuna li tippersonifika ħafna mill-adolexxenti tagħna u li ħafna drabi minħabba nuqqas ta’ kommunikazzjoni, nuqqas ta’ ftehim u għaġla żejda għax m’aħniex kapaċi nifmuhom. 

B’hekk jibqgħu persuni aljeni li jivvintaw kollox barra dak li hu normali. M’għandix biżżejjed kliem biex nirrakomanda dan il-ktieb. Storja li nissugerilek taqraha jekk inti adolexxent għax probabli ħa tara l-istorja tiegħek jew almenu biċċa minna miktuba hawnhekk imma fuq kollox lilek jekk inti tixtieq tiskopri ftit mit-turbolenzi li jgħaddu minnu l-adolexxenti f’dan il-perjodu tant diffiċli għalihom.

 

Meet Me Halfway

The author @dayanebdeoliveira was so gentle to contact me and asked me to review her book. She sent me a physical book which I truly appreciated. I was impressed with the beauty of the book. The cover is impeccable, and I really enjoyed the details. Even the wrapping was something extraordinary. I appreciated also that she wrote a very beautiful dedication. Dayane is very sweet! She managed to be with me during my read and I truly appreciate her presence.

As soon as I started reading the book I fell in love with the characters. There is a smooth transition of how the story develops and how the characters are portrayed. I was immediately hooked from the first page. It is a very beautiful read. Not so heavy however there are some instances where I had to pause my read to catch a breath. A perfect Summer read.

We meet Sarah which is the protagonist of the story and a handsome teacher Jason that moves into town. At first, I saw Jason from a different perspective however the story develops and for me the change was totally unexpected. The novel is filled with different characters, all unique. My favourite is Layla. The story delves into very important topics such as trust and betrayal, love, jealousy and relationships and above all adoption/fostering and the love of a person towards another human being. The author shows fostering in a very beautiful manner and even shows the challenges and suffering.

I highly recommend this book. Her writing style is very expressive and gives you all the necessary details to enhance the experience of the book. Can't wait for the next one!! ❤