"Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love."

...

I really enjoyed reading this book. I admit I'm not much of a sentimental person but this book really caught me at the ending. The affinity I had with Taylor as she grieves over the loss of her beloved father . He had painstakingly succumbed under the deadly and torturous disease of pancreatic cancer as Taylor observes how he becomes more frail time after time. Her story reminds me of my grandfather, how he used to come home with unique ballet tutus and ballet shoes (including a red one which I was extremely embarrassed to be the only one wearing it for ballet classes), how he ferried me home everyday after school, how he never failed to spank my butt jokingly, calling me a naughty girl affectionately before I left grandma's home, how he always brought me out to the furthest places just to try a bowl of steaming hot noodles he claimed were the best in the whole of Singapore. Most of all, I remember the glowing warmth in his calloused yet ever so encompassing hands that clasped mine as he lay in the hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit, each breath he took with with much labor, as if gasping for more oxygen to enter his lungs. Despite not being able to speak from the tube inserted through his mouth, his sparkling eyes seemed to tell me how much he loved me, how much he loved his children. How much he loved his family. He never inched as I hugged him in the hospital unlike his usual self, struggling to detach himself from all the cords that seemed to chain him to the stifling bed. 

This made me question the fine line between life and death. From bliss and delight over the birth of a new figure in the family, to that of despair and anguish over the loss of the presence of one in a family.  One can simply cross over to the other side so easily and quickly, and in an instance, he's gone. Yet the feeling of everlasting loss still lingers on after days, or weeks, or even years. 

He was one to enjoy life and one to leave this world without any regrets. He had seen enough of life, enjoyed enough of life and for one, he has definitely never ever regretted having us as his family. His frail yet reassuring voice as he professes this is something I will never forget.

Rest in peace grandpa. Even though I could not be with you in your last moments, I love you and always will. x

“A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted- mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.” – Morgan Matson

                   

Paper Town - A place that exists not in actuality but only on maps.

{…All the houses that were built to fall apart… All the things paper-thin and paper frail }

This questions the human existence. So thin, so fragile, so frail. Maybe life is not about belonging to anyone, or anything. Maybe it is about holding true to yourself; being what you truly are.

.......

Just finished an amazing book and felt compelled to write about this wonderful piece of work written by my all-time favourite author, John Green.

The ending just leaves me fluttering about in the clouds, a heartwarming and light-hearted closure to such a breathtaking story. It's simply amazing. The mystery that enshrouds the book after the mysterious overnight disappearance of Margo Roth Spiegelman leaves Quentin Jacobsen in a state of loss, having to grapple with the sudden mysterious disappearance of his beloved neighbor. The childhood friends who have known each other since 2, are also neighbors where Q. has loved the magnificently adventurous Margo for the longest time ever. The less Q. sees of Margo, the more he longs to see her, to feel her presence.

The characters come so alive that I find it impossible to put down the book, and even after I manage to, they continue to linger vividly in my memory, as if I have known them personally. This is by far my favorite book by John Green and I applaud him once again for having created such a great piece of literature.

That inexplicable and intangible feeling one receives after reading a great book; the satisfaction of having fed one's soul with the bread of a good book; that gratifying feeling and pleasure that no quantity of wealth can amount to – is what one deserves after having read a good book, for a good book is but a uniquely portable magic. 

So I read this book called The Fault in Our Stars written by John Green. Everyone is smitten with this book so I decided to pick it up and give it a try. Now I understand why everyone is saying it's such a great book.

                               

This story revolves around 16-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster suffers from a terminal disease where her lungs constantly require a considerable amount of oxygen pumped or she will suffer from lack of air which leads to suffocated breaths. Then she meets the love of her life – 17-year-old Augustus Waters. He too suffers from a defect in his body, being an ex basketball talent to an amputee. They fall in love upon first sight at the Support Group Hazel regularly attends and their relationship does progress to that of an intimate one.

However, the essence of this book lies in its beautifully crafted and intricate language causes us to pause ponder about what whether indeed have taken everything we deem as "natural" for granted, such as the ability to breathe normally or even run. These teenagers are fully aware of the fact of their glitch in their bodies and the impending death that will befall into them. They struggle to grapple on for their dear lives, only to be pushed down by their formidable, punitive and incurable disease. They know more than anyone else that death is an inevitability, coming  to realize that they are merely "side effects" of the Universe, people that will leave personhood quietly without leaving an impact on the world.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are the underlings." is extracted from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar – the inspiration for the book's title and the allusion to stars. We have little or no control over our death. No one but God can only control when we leave the realms of Earth. Some of us leave this world earlier than others, but what's most important is that we have fulfilled our duty and enjoyed ourselves to the fullest.

My favorite quote from the book definitely has to be "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations." Indeed, at times we are unable to express ourselves, expose our true feelings, yet we know there is something, something hiding in our body and waiting to come out in due time, yet we can show it, just like how these teenagers aspire to step out of their illness and live normally for once.

This book has definitely provided a new aspect on life for me. I'm currently reading Looking for Alaska, another of John Green's works, and I'm certain it would not be a disappointment. :-)