Review: Shrink To Fit ~Dona Sarkar

Losing weight is the solution to all basketball-star Leah Mandeville's problems, or so she thinks. Getting superthin will:

a) help her jump shot

b) make her look like America's Next Top Model

c) get the attention of the high school hottie who ignores any girl with a little junk in the trunk

And it's working, isn't it? Her boo is now crushing on her. Everyone says how good she looks. But the problem is that Leah doesn't feel good. And her life is taking a huge turn for the worse, despite her new "perfect body."

THE GOOD: The not-so-stereotypical characters. For once the protagonist dealing with body image problems isn't a caucasian cheerleader. Not only is she into sports, she is also the school basketball star, the one on whom hopes are built. Leah's mom is a former supermodel and her so-called friends are the popular asian cheerleaders, so it's understandable where all that peer pressure comes from. I think the best thing about this book is how Dona Sarkar shows the length someone can can go to to look good. Leah tries every possible thing you can think of to get her dream figure from living solely on watermelon juice or laxatives to her growing dependence on pro ANA websites (after I finished this book, I went looking at some of these websites and it's freaking scary!). Very, very credible.

THE BAD: It lacked the intensity that such a topical book perhaps requires. Yes, there is a sense of death-fright, but somewhere along I would have liked to know why exactly Leah goes this way. I mean, yeah, we all know about the peer pressure thing but it was like, one moment she's thinking -'Fuck body image' and the next moment she goes -'Omg, I must get thin!'-which didn't make her a protagonist I liked very much. Shrink To Fit could have done better if it had been written in first person instead of the third person narrative. Also, I had a problem with the potential love interest, Jay, and Leah's mother, Victoria. They both came across as confusing characters. So Victoria was a woman with many layers but Jay? Um, I get the fact that he's super-cute, but hello, he was one of the catalysts to fire off Leah's downward spiral..so not cool!

THE OVERALL: Topical and very informative. I recommend this since it really gives a lot of useful information on what really happens when your body starts behaving abnormally. Shrink To Fit had the potential to be a lot better, but it's not a bad book. Try it.

I'll give this a 3/5.

New Winner and MORE Contests!

Since the previous winner never claimed her prize, I have a new winner for the Valentine's Day contest. Henceforth,  a fresh copy of Trisha Ashley's Chocolate Wishes will make it's way to -

                                       BOOKAHOLIC

Congratulations!

Meanwhile, I've been snooping around blogosphere and since there are lots of lovely books out there I so want to read, yet haven't been able to (oh, I'm a poor college student, did you know that?), I've been going the giveaway way. Some lovely bloggers are holding some fantastic contests:

--> Liz from Cleverly Inked is giving away a copy of Before I Fall and signed swag, which is just so tempting you'd be insane not to enter.

--> Marjolein from MarjoleinBookBlog is giving away a copy of Brooke Taylor's Undone. I read the first chapter on agent Kristin Nelson's blog and it had me at go!

--> Teen writer Steph Bowe of Hey!Teenager of the Year is holding a giveaway of epic proportions as part of her blog's first birthday. What are you waiting for?

So..well *rushes off to enter contests*

Authors who KICK-ASS..

....AND made my life ten times better. A tip of the hat to these demi-gods as part of Author Appreciation Week.

ENID BLYTON

I was 7 and bored and the only thing I used to do was watch T.V. or scribble nonsensical verses, when a copy of the Secret Seven fell into my lap. Yes, I devoured it and yes, I moved on to the Famous Five, Five Find-Outers and Dog and the Adventure series and the Naughiest Girl series, St. Clair's, Malory Towers and every other book she wrote that I could find. With over 600 million copies of her books sold, this woman was my idol. When I was 9, my life's aim was to meet her (before I got to know that she had died 22 years before I was born). She made me keep reading and continue writing. My first ever attempt at a book was 'The Fantastic Five' (a Famous Five rip-off, as you can see). My friends and I got together to form such a group, too. Unfortunately, we never came across smugglers or suspicious incidents in and around our neighbourhood.

I've moved on from Blyton's writings. My writing, too, is very different from her's but she still is very, very important. She remains my personal God.

J.K.ROWLING

I really have nothing new to say about this fantastic woman. She inspired an entire generation. Yes, I belonged to the Harry Potter generation (okay, so I wasn't 11 when the first book came out, but I was 17 when the last one came out). She brought back Children's books into the forefront, she threw new light upon the fantasy genre. She didn't need a magic wand. Magic flowed from her pen. I often wondered what Rowling fed on to come up with something as magnificent as the Harry Potter series, I still don't know the answer to that...it just happens that she is an extraordinary person.

She made me wait for my Hogwart's invitation at 11.

She made me buy tons of books on magic so Hogwarts would see that I really was a witch and send me a belated invitation.

She made me hope.

Well, I'm still hoping.

ANNE CASSIDY

While everyone went mad about Meg Cabot (no offense meant, I like you too, Mrs. Cabot), Anne Cassidy stood out as the 'Queen of Teen' for me. When I was 14, I came across Missing Judy and my, it totally blew me away. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was 'cause I'd never read a book about a girl with a missing sister before or maybe 'cause this was one book around that time where boys/potential crushes didn't take the centre-stage.

I was driven by an urge to find and read all her books. While I haven't read them all yet, I've read the ones I've found.

Anne Cassidy showed me a different kind of YA. One that I didn't just want to read, but I wanted to write, as well.

She rocked my world.

ANGELA MORRISON

Last September, a YA reading group on Facebook held a giveaway. I joined in (the first time I entered a giveaway contest) 'cause I liked the sound of the book and guess what, I won!

That book was Taken By Storm and yes, it took my world by storm. The writing, the characters, the whirlwind of emotions..I was swept away. I loved that book so much, I wanted others to read it. That's why I started this blog. My first (okay, second) post was a review of the book. If not for Taken By Storm, Dreamcatcher's Lair wouldn't have come into existence. Angela Morrison's made a remarkable debut and followed it up with the equally wonderful, Sing Me To Sleep.

She has played an important part in inspiring my writing.

And changing my world with this blog.

And I thank her for that.

Reworked Beginning Teaser

The first draft of Breaking Away is in hell; I'm starting from scratch. Here's the reworked beginning.

*snipped*

Why DREAM GIRL Made Me Feel Good

Claire Voyante has been having strange visions ever since she can remember. But the similarity between her name and her talents is purely coincidental. The name is French, and unlike the psychics on TV, she can’t solve crimes or talk to the dead. Whenever Claire follows her hunches, she comes up empty—or ends up in pretty awkward situations.
But that all changes on Claire’s 15th birthday, when her grandmother, Kiki—former socialite, fashion icon, and permanent fixture at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel—gives her something a little more extraordinary than one of her old cocktail dresses: a strange black-and-white onyx cameo on a gold chain. It’s not long before Claire’s world becomes a whole lot clearer. And a whole lot more dangerous. 

When I started reading Dream Girl, all I knew was that it involved a girl ominously named Claire Voyante. When I finished this book, I took back with me some of the most unforgettable characters I've come across recently. Dream Girl scores with its motley crew of characters. They are lively, quirky and so unique, they jump right off the page. Mechling makes a conscious attempt at breaking down the high school stereotypes which is why we have a mean girl with a secret dorky side and a best friend far removed from the stereotype sidekick.

Claire reminded me of a Nancy Drew with oodles of charm. Girl detectives have been missing from the YA sphere and I'm really glad Lauren Mechling's brought them back. Coming from an off beat family consisting of a French dad who's a professor and a mom who writes horoscope columns in spite of not being an astrologer, Claire is well fleshed out in all her cheerful idiosyncrasies.

When I interviewed Lauren Mechling she said that Dream Girl started out as a love letter to New York. I have never been to New York, so I can't comment on its authenticity. What I can say for certain is that, Mechling's Manhattan stands out as a character in itself. The setting had an old world charm fused with modern mysticism, that lent it a sort of personality. I felt like I walking with Claire up the stairs of the Waldorf-Astoria or cycling alongside Seventh Avenue.

The plot, I thought, turned out to be predictable but I'm guessing this was because it's geared towards the young-er adult reader and I'm past that age. Having said that, the characters and their dynamics with each other, the abundance of their appeal and the charm radiating off every page more than made up for it.

In the end, I felt good. I felt really, really good.

I'll give Dream Girl a 3.5/5. Pick this up when you need some cheering up. You'll disappear into Claire's world.

Wish Fulfillment

Now that you've all made your wishes, your gift is wrapped, packed and on its way.

While every entry was delicious, there can be only one winner.

Since I'm terrible with choosing, I let the immensely talented Trisha Ashley pick the winner. Here's what she had to say...

"Thank you to everyone who entered and gave me a chance to read your funny, poignant, witty and creative answers!  It was so hard to choose a winner that in the end I put all my favourites into a hat and drew out -                                Tara! 

Congratulations, Tara."

Thank you so much for joining in. And a huge thanks to Trisha for offering to give away Chocolate Wishes. For those who love a good dose of down-to-earth humour and wit, here's a summary of the book:

Life is sweet for chocolate maker Chloe Lyon! Business is booming at her artisan chocolate-makers 'Chocolate Wishes' in the picture-perfect Lancashire village of Sticklepond - not least because all of Chloe's sweet treats contain an inspirational prediction for each customer. If only her own life was as easy to read in the cards, perhaps Chloe could have foreseen being jilted at the altar! But Chloe has long put thoughts of love behind her - after all, life is busy enough, especially as she tries to sort out her friends' tangled love lives and the village welcomes its new vicar, Raffy Sinclair. However, the village rumour mill goes into overdrive when it is revealed that Raffy is the distinctly unorthodox ex-front man of rock band 'Mortal Ruin' - and also happens to be Chloe's first love, who left her broken-hearted! Whilst Chloe tries to ignore this blast from her past, will she discover that wishes can come true when you least expect it!?

Chocolate Wishes came out yesterday, 4th of March, so it's available in bookstores/online- bookstores everywhere.

Chocaholics, bookaholics, funaholics - go snag it!

Taking A Trip Down Procrastination Lane

Processing....

Thought: Alright, I'm getting down to work.

Action: *ping* Just a sec...email

Thought: So, where exactly is this scene going?

Action: *peeks into AW* Hey, Twin! *at Race*

Thought: MUST. FINISH. THIS. SCENE.

Action: *looks into refridgerator* Where's the food?

Thought: Ack, I haven't got a word in!

Action: Oh my, it's Gossip Girl time!

Thought: Work. Work. Work.

Action: Yay, another giveaway! Must. Enter.

Thought: Okay, Muse, enough! Inspire me.

Action: .."caught in a bad romance.."

Thought: I'm NOT going to bed till I finish this scene.

Action: Yawn. I'll just a snatch a li'l...

...zzzzz

*~next day~*