Hooked On Bookz

Title/Author: A Monster Calls/Patrick Ness Publisher: Walker Books Pages: 269 ISBN 13: 978-0141039701 In a nutshell A Monster Calls is about a teenage boy, Conor, who has to come to terms with his mom, the only person he cares about and loves, not recovering from cancer. He has nobody he could turn to. He doesn't get along with his grandmother and his dad now lives with his new family. His school life isn't any better either. In the midst of all these problems, the Monster appears, wrecking his life even further, or so he thinks. What I thought of it I was first drawn to the black and white illustration by Jim Kay. Dark, sombre, yet beautiful - a great complement to the tone and mood of the story. The complexity of the illustration was a nice balance to the straight forward manner in which the story was written. 'A Monster Calls' deals with family issues, teenage angst, peer pressure, loneliness and confusion - all of which young Conor had to come face-to-face with...

Title/Author: Monster/Allan Hall Publisher : Penguin Books Pages : 269 ISBN 13: 978-0141039701 In a nutshell On 28th August 1984, Josef Fritzl drugged his teenage daughter Elisabeth with ether and imprisoned her in a soundproof underground bunker, behind eight locked doors for 24 years . He raped and abused her. She bore him 7 children. The author has packed a great deal of insightful information into the 269-page book, complete with 150 interviews with neighbours, former tenants, childhood friends, police officers, and photographs of those involved and diagrams of the dungeon. ‘Monster’ is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It contains gruesome details, chilling confessions, terrifying truths, and a lot of ugliness - exactly what one should expect from reading about a cold-blooded animal who finds gratification in raping and abusing his own flesh and blood. See if you can stomach this: The police force which was tasked to probe the dungeon were ordered to undergo psychological c...

A grasshopper, caught browsing in a bookstore! Looked like it was spoilt for choice! hehe Such a great shot! :) Thanks Chaz for sharing it with me!

Title/Author: Room/Emma Donoghue Publisher : Little, Brown Pages : 496 ISBN 13: 978-0316120579 In a nutshell Ma was 19 when she was kidnapped, raped and kept in this room. When Jack was 5, she had lived in there for 7 years. And for 7 years, she did what all loving mothers would do – love, nurture and protect her son the best she could, even in that small space with limited resources. And for 7 years, she had to comply with her kidnapper, Old Nick’s whims and fancies, so that he wouldn’t get angry and hurt her and Jack, and continued to supply them with the basic necessities they needed to stay alive. The story’s told from Jack’s perspective. The first half of the book introduces you to Room, Jack and Ma, and it’s not a pretty picture, I can tell you. Being able to enjoy life’s luxuries, and then being shoved to live in an 11 by 11 foot, sound-proofed space would definitely be the worst nightmare anyone could experience. But Ma made it beautiful for him. She created a world of imagi...

Everyone's invited! Please come! Kids, especially ;) It’s Storytelling Time! The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson Presented by Cambridge English For Life He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws! Oh yes, he’s one ugly monster! And guess what? A tiny, brave mouse will have to defeat the monster to save his dear life! But,…how? Come and join us for a storytelling session that will take you through a deep dark wood and unravel the crafty plans of this very smart mouse. And there are prizes to be won when you participate in our games and activities! Looking forward to seeing you on: 10th June, 2011 at: 2.30pm in: Times Bookstore, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur See you there!