The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

Synopsis at www.goodreads.com

In 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child. CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve died – because she was there. She also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago CeeCee made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own. Now Timothy Gleason is facing the death penalty, and CeeCee has another choice to make. Tell the truth and destroy her family. Or let an innocent man die to protect a lifetime of lies.

My Comments:

I pick up this book from The Subang Jaya Book Exchange. Looks like somebody bought this book from BookXcess and donated it after finishing reading it.


I am glad that this person donated it out for I would have never found another good read. Why do I say that? It's because the font of this book is very small. Normally, this would deter me from buying the book. But the "kiasuness' overcomes this minor detail coz I got to read this book without cost.


The author is really awesome. She is versatile and able to write from a few perspective. She would raise an issue from one point of view. When I read the issue, I agree with her but a few pages later, she would gives the point of view from another person perspective which also s valid. Sorry I can't write so much as it would reveal the spoiler for you guys. 

It really pained me to read that CeeCee being duped into doing something that she feels is wrong. She tried so had to do the right thing but some how again and again fate was against her.

Some say her book will be a rival to Jodi Picoult. However. I feel it's just lacking of one thing which Ms Jodi has but she had yet to achieve; and that is the special twist at the ending. The ending of this book is pretty much straight forward. Not much of surprise to be had.

Mr Stink by David Walliams

I pick up this book from the Subang Jaya Book Exchange Programme last Sunday

It was a delightful easy read but with a lot of things to ponder about.

Briefly, Chloe is a little girl who sat a "wonderer" sitting alone at a Bench. Everyone called him Mr Stink and he has a dog with him.

Chloe being a kind hearted girl, approached this Mr Stink although she know that her parents especially her mother would be horrified by her action.

Being friends with Mr Stink changed Chloe and her family.

I love this book for being "educational" with out being too preachy. I know many would say yuck to the word "educational" but I think in this case, you can make an exception.

It teaches us on the importance of family, of giving each other space to grow and helping each other out.

I would recommend this book not only for kids but also for adult too.

Stormbreaker (Alex Rider #1) by Anthony Horowitz

Sysnopsis by www.goodreads.com

They told him his uncle died in a car accident. But fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing could prepare him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6-Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse

My Comments :

I have watched this movie before. However, I didn't know it was from a book.


For me, I preferred reading this book than the movie.


Bought this book from Logos Hope all due to the influence of my friend Chen Chzan. She was looking for the series at last year Big Bad Wolf Sale. I got curious when saw this book being offered at Logo Hope and bought it.


It certainly did not disappoint me. It was a pager turner and action packed. None too violent.


For me, am sure young adult would love this book very much. I hope to read more of this series.

Watching the Tree by Adeline Yen Mah

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

The Chinese-American author of the poignant memoir Falling Leaves now reflects on "happiness, spiritual beliefs and universal wisdom". Like Libby Purves in Holy Smoke (1998) Yen Mah is not only exploring contrasting ways of thinking. She is also working out precisely what her own beliefs now are. The result is an exceptionally readable, thoughtful and informative book.


She starts with ancient Chinese texts. In the I Ching and Tao Te Ching her spiritual journey uncovers (among some superstitions which she dismisses) many correlations between centuries-old Chinese teaching and modern science. The 64 hexagrams upon which the I Ching is based, for example, are a version of binary mathematics, such as Gottfried von Leibniz used in 17th-century Germany to develop the calculus and which eventually formed the basis of computer science. Leibniz described the I Ching, as "the oldest monument of scholarship".

Explaining that Confucian thought--family unity, parental respect and emphasis on education--arches over every faith and philosophy extant among Chinese people wherever they are in the world, Yen Mah draws examples from her own troubled past. When disinherited by her stepmother and conspired against by her siblings, it was deep conditioning with Confucian thought that made detaching herself so difficult. She goes on to write interestingly of a wide range of aspects of Chinese thought and culture. The cultural role of Chinese food, for instance. She quotes the old saying Yi Shi Wei Liao, which means "let food be medicine". Traditionally a Chinese doctor didn't prescribe pills or powders. He ordered that health-restoring ingredients be cooked into a healing broth and fed to the patient. As a retired, British-trained doctor who practised in anaesthesia for 30 years in California, she is well placed to discuss the health-giving properties of tofu, green tea and Chinese vegetables. The scope of the book is such that she also considers the grammar of the Chinese language--so different from European notions of grammar that Chinese can seem grammar-free to Westerners. The "shape" of the language colours speakers' thinking because, as Yen Mah's beloved grandfather taught her: "Ours is a pictorial language and every word is a picture of an image or an idea expressed on paper". Each symbol carries its own logic, history, meaning and several contrasting or complementary ideas. Not for the Chinese any single answer to anything. --Susan Elkin

My Comments:


Bought this book not long ago. Many have praised this book but after reading about first 10-20 pages, I feel that this book is not for me. 


Reason is that it feels too much like a reference book to me. Too much lenghty discussion. Am unable to process what the book is about. 

Feel free to give it a try if you are interested in things related to Chinese culture and traditions.

Dead Head by Rosemary Harris

This is the 3rd book that I've read by Rosemary Harris, bought from The Big Bad Wolf Sale 2011.

I have reviewed "Pushing Up Daisies" and "The Big Dirt Nap" earlier. Both were wonderful books.

In this installment of Paula Holliday mystery, she was face with a fugitive mom which happens to be her friend for many years.

The quiet and peaceful, Caroline Sturgis, is not who she seems to be. She was revealed to be a wanted criminal.

Paula is seen to be the villain that betray this sweet lady and their friendship. She have to race against time to rectify the error and untangle what had happen in the past in order to help Caroline.

Hot on her tail was a mysterious stranger that seems ti bend on harming Paula.

This is a very suspenseful and thrilling novel for me.

It took me just a few hours to finish reading it. It's truly a page turner for me.

The author kept me wonde3ring till the ending. Plot were unpredictable.

Yes, I love this book

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

My comments

I was pretty much surprised that the grand picture of the story was reveal by the middle of the book. The story was good.

The thing that I found lacking in this novel are the characters, Katie and Alex. I don't feel the "click" with them.

I pity Katie for what she had gone through. Katie makes me thinks of a trapped rat with no where else to run and in the end it was fight or die scenario. Not a pretty sight. For me, this feeling gives me the creeps.

Alex is your overall "good guy". It's kinda hard for me to believe that he is so perfect. Maybe just a tad too perfect.

The supernatural twist in the ending was a bit hard for me to accept but it was nice all the same. It gives hope.

Overall, I liked this novel but for me this is not one of his best work.