A BOOK REVIEW ON LAURA ESQUIREL’S LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

by Alexi Erlyn Sta ana Carlos

IV- Sir Isaac Newton

I. Introduction

Like Water for Chocolate is a novel in Monthly installments with Recipes, romances and home remedies written by Laura Esquirel, who is originally a scriptwriter and was nominated for the Ariel Award for best screenplay by the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures for her screenplay Chido One. The film version of Like Water for Chocolate swept the Ariel Awards in 1992 and went on in 1993 to become the biggest grossing foreign film ever released in the United States. In 1994, Like Water for Chocolate is given annually by the American Booksellers Association to the book the members of the organization most enjoyed hand-selling.

With more than two million copies in print, Like Water for chocolate has taken its place alongside such beloved first novels as The Joy Lack Club and How to Make an American Quilt as a treasured part of America’s literary memory.

II. Summary of the Content

“A tall tale, fairy tale, soap- opera romance, Mexican cookbook, and home- remedy handbook rolled into one.”

Tita De La Garza is the main character. Pedro Muzquiz is Tita's lover, marries Rosaura to be closer to Tita. Mama Elena is Tita's cruel and controlling mother. Gertrudis De La Garza is Tita's older sister, illegitimate daughter, she runs away with a soldier. Rosaura De La Garza is Tita's oldest sister, marries Pedro. Dr. John Brown- the family doctor, falls in love with Tita, has a son from a previous marriage. Nacha is the family cook, like a mother to Tita. Chencha is the family maid. Roberto Muzquiz- son of Pedro and Rosaura, dies young. Esperanza Muzquiz- daughter of Pedro and Rosaura, marries Alex. Alex Brown- son of John Brown, marries Esperanza. Nicolas- the manager of the ranch. Juan Alejandrez is the captain who took Gertrudis. Jesus Martinez is Chencha's first love and husband.

Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Esquival, this internationally popular romantic fable from Mexico centers on a young woman who discovers that her cooking has magical effects. The tale's heroine, Tita, is the youngest of three daughters in a traditional Mexican family. Bound by tradition to remain unmarried while caring for her aging mother, Tita nevertheless falls in love with a handsome young man named Pedro. Pedro returns her affection, but he cannot overcome her family's disapproval, and he instead marries Tita's elder sister. The lovestruck young woman is brutally disappointed, and her sadness has such force that it infects her cooking: all who eat it her feel her heartbreak with the same intensity. This newly discovered power continues to manifest itself after the wedding, as Tita and Pedro, overcome by their denied love, embark on a secret affair. Director Alfonso Arau, Esquival's husband at the time, presents the acts of love and cooking with the same glossy, sensual sheen. Indeed, despite occasional digressions into a magical realist tone, the film often takes on the gloss of Hollywood romance. This combination of traditional melodrama and exotic fairy tale proved extremely popular with audiences, particularly in the United States, where it became one of the highest grossing foreign language films at the time.

Emotional Oppression It is evident, especially in the first few chapters, that Tita has been emotionally oppressed by her dictator-like mother. She is forced to hold in her emotions, thus creating a "dampness" within her that does not allow the matches within her soul to light. Tita has hot, earth-shaking sex with Pedro at the end of the story and, in reference to the story of inner matches Dr.Brown told her earlier, their lust and sexual needs were so strong that she lighted all of Pedro's "inner matches"; he died from the raw emotion of it all. In her agony, she swallowed some "matches" and lit them with memories of him. She sparked, causing the bed they were having sex on to be set on fire. In the end, everything on the ranch (except for the animals because they had all run away when they sensed what was coming, and Tita's recipe book) burned down, but the souls of Pedro and Tita were transported to a special place, a place before birth. There they could finally be together without anyone judging or stopping them.

Self Growth At the beginning of the novel, Tita was a generally submissive young lady. She feared her mother and her mother's actions, hardly ever daring to disobey for fear of another brutal beating. However, as time passes, Tita finds herself to have a voice that she must use. The climax of this theme could be said to be the part in chapter five (the month of May, if one isn't going by chapters) when Tita stands up to her mother and runs out of the house. By the end of the novel, though Tita is a humble woman, she certainly is not the submissive and fearful girl she once was.

Tradition Tita and Pedro are not allowed to love because of the De La Garza tradition that states that the youngest daughter (Tita) must take care of the mother until the day she dies. The book also lists out many tradition of the Mexican culture, such as traditional recipes.

III. Analysis of the Text

Beautifully executed in the Latin storytelling tradition of magic realism, Like Water for Chocolate is a romantic drama that ultimately falls back into a Cinderella myth. Director Alfonso Arau shows the domestic chores and duties of the ranch with a commonplace realism, occasionally lapsing into fantasy sequences for the surreal events that are being cooked up. In one instance, the long-suffering Tita (Lumi Cavazos) rides away with a mile-long blanket dragging behind her, a product of her lovesick nights spent knitting. The mother is appropriately wicked, as is the sister, and Tita views her prince charming, Pedro (Mario Leonardi), as the only escape from her lifelong servitude. Like the oven-warmed kitchen where most of the action is set, the photography is warm and glowing. The connection between food and sex is well developed, in several banquets and dinners proving both memorable and humorous. Filled with characters simmering with passion and jealousy, Like Water for Chocolate lives up to its title, which refers to a method of making hot cocoa by adding chocolate to boiling water. Although heavier topics such as death, ghosts, and revolutionary war arise, the story is overall lighthearted and adheres to Hollywood romantic sensibilities.

IV. Evaluation of the Text

The book has left out a mystical story that definitely charmed the palate and the heart.

“Like Water for Chocolate is deceptively simply wonderful. It is a story of love, sex, war, and the sweep of Mexican history that belongs to human.”

In Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel extends the religious-mythical themes of magic realism to the everyday world of the domestic realm of a female-dominated household. Though not a story of the battles, great figures, and moral challenges generally associated with the epic form, Esquivel elevates this story of women, and one woman in particular, to such proportions. This strategy leads the reader to explore the feminist properties of Like Water For Chocolate, which are evident in the depictions of Tita's struggle to gain independence and develop her identity, and also in the fact that this struggle is depicted at all. In creating this female-centered cast of characters, Esquivel imagines a world in which men are physically present only occasionally, though the legacy of sexism and the confinement of women to the domestic sphere persist. Esquivel does not offer her readers the vision of a utopian sisterhood, but rather insight into the way women are restricted by standards of societal propriety perpetuated by other women.

[x.x] Conquering the Verge [x.x]

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Conquering the Verge

A Book Review: Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate

By Anna Sharmainne Abary Caoile

"Tita was literally `like water for chocolate' - she was on the verge of boiling over."

This novel was written by a magnificent author of the Mexican race, Laura Esquivel. She was the third of the four offsprings of Julio César Esquivel and Josefa Valdés. She was born as a native in Mexico on the 30th of the month of September in the year 1950.

The first book ever written by Laura Esquivel is Like Water for Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate) and it was released in 1989. The story revolved around the world of a simple, attractive girl named Tita De La Garza. Tita De La Garza was fated to have a cursed erotic relationships to whomever she loved because of a family tradtion her mother, Mama Elena De La Garza, desperately follows.

This story reveals Laura Esquivel's talents and skills in writing. The book presented many mystical and transcendenting events that no ordinary writer could ever think of. Her great imagination and story telling skills are presented in an earlt twentieth century in Mexico when there was a revolution happening between rebels and the government. The book also displayed the significance of the kitchen to the writer, Laura Esquivel, that served her as the most important place to be and to have in building a house - even a home. For Laura, the kitchen brings you knowledge that no one and no experience will teach you except the kitchen. She takes the kitchen as a very important part of her life.

The title of her novel (and first book ever written) pertains to an old Spanish saying concerning the subject of anger, passion and sexuality which are greatly discussed, talked about, and presented in her novel: Like Water for Chocolate. The book was so great, that it had been the number one best selling book in Mexico for three consecutive years and was translated into twenty-three languages. In was sold internationally for its quality and tremendous story.

As years went on, her skills were still greatly considered by many people and her first book was turned into a film that turned the United States around for its great filmography in 1993. With the help of her book and the movie with its story line, Laura Esquivel was recognized to a great extent that she received the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures award. Aside from that enormous acknowledgement, she also obtained eleven other accolades from Ariel Awards, an annaul event of recognition for excellence in motion picture making.

As Laura Esquivel's life pass, she had made it productive and have made a list of other six books namely La ley del amor (1995) (English: The Law of Love), Íntimas suculencias (1998), Estrellita marinera (1999), El libro de las emociones (2000), Tan veloz como el deseo (2001) (English: Swift as Desire) and the Malinche (2006).

During her fifty-eight year stay of living a very fulfilled life, Laura Esquivel marreid a director named Alfonso Arau.

Tita De La Garza is the main character of the story. She lives with her beloved mother, Mama Elena De La Garza, her sisters, Gertrudis and Rosaura, the family cook, Nacha, their maid, Chencha, and the other workers of the ranch Mama Elena owned from her husband.

Tita was born prematurely in the kitchen. She was extremely sensitive to onions and desperately weeps when cutting them as she prepares food with their cook, Nacha. She was exceptionally attached to the kitchen and it became her world. She grew up spending all her time inside the kitchen doors while hersisters grew up to be afraid and uninvovled to whatever activities were happening in the walls of their scullery.

The main story began in a social gathering where Tita met Pedro for the first time. They felt sparks inside of them at the instant each pf them met each others eyes and an urge of passion burst out from each of them. There came a point where Pedro was so determined to ask Mama Elena for Tita's hand and he came to the ranch with her father without due notice. Mama Elena was polite enough to them to accept them as visitors but when Pedro babbled out what he really intends, Mama Elena bursted and told them about the tradition they are dreadfully following - that the youngest daughter of a De La Garza should take care of her mother until her last days. Instead of marrying Tita, Mama Elena said that Pedro should marry Rosaura, Tita's sister, and said that she is one hundred percent available and ready to marry. Pedro agreed to the conditions thinking that it would be the only way to be closer to his only love - Tita.

Tita was the one to prepare the food for Pedro and Rosaura's wedding. The night they were being married, Nacha died and this even made her heart weigh more. Pedro and Rosaura bore a child and it was a boy named Roberto. Roberto grew up to be close to Tita for she was the one to take care of him. But after some time, Mama Elena sent Pedro, Roberto and Rosaura to San Antonio for she suspiced that there were still something special happening between Tita and Pedro.

But when they returned to the ranch, Tita again prepared the food and all her sexual urge she fet for Pedro was transferred to the food she cooked and onto Gertrudis who nearly burnt herself because of the heat she feels inside. With her urge passed onto Gertrudis, Gertrudis ran away with Juan Alejandrez nd she ended up in brothels just to kill the urge and the fire inside of her.

Eventually, Roberto died and Mama Elena blamed it to Tita. that made Tita went a bit crazy and Dr. John Brown was the one to take her in and give her a very good care. This made Tita fell for Dr. John but not entirely in love with him for her heart only belonged to Pedro. Still, she had agreed to marry Dr. Brown. Overfilled with joy, Dr. Brown decided to fetch her only living aunt for her to attend their wedding.

When Dr. Brown arrived, with her aunt, to the ranch for Tita to formally be introduced to her, Tita had second thoughts about marrying Dr. Brown for she had an affair with Pedro while Dr. Brown was on his trip. She confessed to Dr. Brown yet Dr. Brown, as gentle as he is, still accepted her and said that nothing will change his love for her.

Dr. Brown and Tita got married. Some time after. Rosaura has given birth to a girl, Esperanza and with her misscarriage to that baby, she is never to get pregnant again. Tita was very pitiful to the baby for she was afraid that Esperanza will suffer what she suffered with Mama Elena before she died - having served her mother until her mother died without anyone to help you, alone and helpless, hopeless from you only love - just because of a astupid tradition. Tita was right, Rosaura planned to contnue the tradition. But Esperanza fell in love with Ale Brown, Dr. John Brown's son from his first wife. Tita did everything she could to fight for the right of Esperanza to be happy with Alex and she was triumphant in doing so for Rosaura died from some unexplainable reason.

On the night of Esperanza and Alex's marriage, Pedro and Tita became too vulnerable to the lust they felt that evening and they made love in the dark room they had visited for several times already and unfortunately, Pedro dies the instant they were on the climax of having each other's spirit. Tita followed him and sparks were seen from the ranch. The other people to saw it thought it was fireworks celebrating Esperanza and Alex's wedding but it went on for too long. When Ezperanza and Alex went home, all they saw was ashes covering the whole land area of the ranch and a cookbook containing all Tita and the De La Garza's family.

The writer blossomed though out the novel. She expressed her style as being mysterious and numinous. The writer used simply words that struck her readers intimately as they read the novel Like Water for Chocolate. The story line was controlled by the author all through out and was very, very organized. The events didn't confuse the readers and the author used conversational words that made her readers stick to the novel and read to the end of it.

Generally, the story was captivating. Themes of passion, love, growing up, tradition and emotions were showed.

Between overflowing emotions from the characters, every bit of a page teaches every reader how to grow up as the protagonist of the story grows and learns to stand for her own good and for what she truly believed in.

Tradition was also showed by the iron-fisted mother of Tita. Forcefully enforcing what she wants for her youngest daughter, blocking the passion and love Tita feels for Pedro. Mama Elena didn't care for whatever Tita felt and her emotions were blocked by her fear of her mother.

The novel made the readers believe of tru love, destiny and fate.

What made the novel more interesting was the use of Mexican recipes on the intoduction of each chapter which, for me, are used as symbols that are matched with the settings, events and the characters invovled in a particular chapter. For me, the prime symbolism used in the novel was the onion symbolizing love that made Tita suffer and cry ever painfully.

For me, the novel was generally great but at some points, I got a little bit irritated by the recipes that would enter every chapter that at first did not seem to make sense to me but in the end, I appreciated the significance and the role each recipe played for every chapter. Maybe, the author should be more considerable about all the types of readers that would want to enjoy her book.

The book marked me as I was reading it. In the part where Tita suffered so much pain seeing her only love marry her sister made my eyes teary for I kind of experienced the same thing before but it was with a friend.

Also, it seemed to me that literal sparks and fire would come out of a human's body because of the urge he or she feels for sexual desires. To me, that was not very convincing and it was very hard for me to believe.

The book also made me realize that no matter how all the factors around you stop you from being happy and obtaining your own nirvana, if you are brave and strong enough, you can overcome any obstacle that would be on your way. Just believe in yourself and stand for you principle and what you believe in and if you succeed or fail, at least you fought for what you want and learned from what you have experienced.

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A BOOK REVIEW ON NICHOLAS SPARKS’ NIGHTS IN RODANTHE

A BOOK REVIEW ON NICHOLAS SPARKS’ NIGHTS IN RODANTHE

By John Michael Padullon

IV- Sir Isaac Newton

I. Introduction

“Nights in Rodanthe,” the latest screen adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks story, is a picture smothered in syrupy excess. It shows a moving reminder that love is possible at any age, at any time, and often comes when we least expect it.

Gere, meanwhile, is the stereotypical pop-culture surgeon - all skill and no heart. When one of his patients dies during a procedure, he has a nurse deliver the news to the family. That coldness results in the final alienation of his son, who's also a doctor.

Traveling to the Outer Banks to regroup and to fulfill an obligation, Gere gets a room at the inn, and is its sole guest as storm warnings escalate. Connections ensue.

Unfortunately, the characters are little more than cardboard cutouts crudely designed to manipulate viewers, crushing the hope that "Nights" could be that rare big-screen creature - an enjoyable romance featuring mature actors.

In his feature-film directorial debut, George C. Wolfe, whose résumé includes award-winning TV and theater projects ("Lackawanna Blues," "Angels in America"), allows the movie to meander at a maddening pace. Writers Ann Peacock and John Romano's dialogue is laughable. ("You get now," one of the locals growls at Gere when he overstays his welcome.)

II. Summary of content

Emotionally guarded divorcée Adrienne (Lane) and troubled physician Paul (Gere) are brought together one fateful week when she agrees to house-sit a friend’s B and B on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and he’s the only guest. The arrival of a hurricane leads this pair into each other’s arms (because the threat of imminent death is an aphrodisiac, at least in romances), and the healing commences. Adrienne has been burned by a cheating husband (Meloni) and Paul is, well…it’s hard to say what he is. The script suggests he’s arrogant and uncaring but ripe for reform with the help of a good woman. But Gere plays him with such imprecision that he comes off mostly as drowsy. Maybe he just needed something with a little more caffeine.

The story revolves on love and how it makes a person aware of the entire possible thing that could happen tomorrow. This has surely made readers mark up about how love changes a person’s will, how it helps us realize that we do such things only to give the one we love the best thing we can give for we never know when they would leave.

III. Analysis of text

Nights in Rodanthe is written with apparent indication of emotions that you can feel what is being expressed. As Paul and Adrienne shows their love for one another, you can feel the sincerity and passion of what they are trying to prove for the thought are always straight to express, at the same time, to let the readers evaluate readily the lines of inspiration

The characters inevitably experience The Big Contradiction. Namely, that love is fleeting - and it is eternal.

Having read some of his other book’s plot- I can vouch that they are to tear duct what milking machine is to cow udder. Rodanthe is a reliably steamy stormy sultry story about Inner Change at the Outer Banks where strangers become intimates. More specifically, where Paul Flanner, emotionally detached doctor, creatively unlocks Adrienne Willis, thwarted artist, as she shows him how to attach.

IV. Evaluation of text

In NIGHTS IN RODANTHE Nicholas Sparks has written a timeless love story, reaffirming his reputation as America's foremost chronicler of the heart.

"Nights in Rodanthe" is typical fare -- a weepy romance dealing with love, death and other unstoppable forces of nature -- that has been turned into a tasteful melodrama courtesy of the easy chemistry between its two leads.

It is a touching love story that will bring a tear to your eye and a smile on your lips. Nicholas Sparks has captured the hearts of millions of readers, and Nights in Rodanthe is a perfect example of why. His books aren't deep and complicated. Instead, they are an easy read to take you away from reality for a brief time. This was, indeed, enjoyable and moving.

A BOOK REVIEW: THE NOTEBOOK

A BOOK REVIEW: THE NOTEBOOK

By Bryan Sa Iyo Moreno

IV- Sir Isaac Newton

"Short enough to read in an evening, but long enough to tell a story of real love and devotion that spans a couple's life."

I. Introduction

For over a decade, #1 New York Times bestseller Nicholas Sparks has captivated readers with stories that explore the profound mysteries of the human heart, establishing him as one of our most cherished novelists. In his book, he restores our belief in destiny—delivering a stunning tale about a man whose brushes with sacrifice along his journey lead him to the love of his life, the one and only lady he ever wanted to be with.

The Notebook is his first novel which brought him many awards as expected. This was only the third novel in recent history to spend over a year as a hardcover best-seller This was so influencing and this has actually made many hearts eager to learn from the first mischance until the final drops of probabilities- to remain with his loved one or to stay alone even in the end of our lives.

II. Summary of the Content

Noah Calhoun
The narrator of the book and the main character, Noah is a good and kind man who fell in love with Allie fourteen years before the novel opens. He has never forgotten her and is overwhelmed with how much he still loves her when she returns to tell him she is engaged.

Allison Nelson
A young woman who comes from a privileged family, she spends a wonderful summer with Noah when they are young, but is forced to leave when her parents disapprove. She meets Lon and becomes engaged to him, but something in her makes her return to Noah to be sure she is not making a mistake.

Lon Hamilton
He is Allie’s fiancé, who fights for her in the end, but is too late. He has allowed his career to disrupt any hope he may have had to win her for himself.

Morris Goldman
A Jewish man who hires Noah for eight years in his scrap yard and leaves him part of his assets as an inheritance, which then allows Noah to restore his house.

Anne Nelson
She is Allie’s mother and had so disapproved of her being with Noah that she had never delivered his letters to her daughter. She comes to warn them that Lon is on his way to confront them both, and she finally gives Allie the letters. When she leaves, she whispers to Allie that she should follow her heart.

A man opens a well worn notebook in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. He began reading the text written. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever.

The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner got back from World War II. Noah, at the age of thirty- one, is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together back then, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

Allie Nelson, at the age of twenty- nine, is engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not been erased with the length of time that has passed. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future which relies only on his capacity.

Like a bridge over troubled water, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters.

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."

And so begins one of the most poignant and compelling love stories you will ever read...The Notebook.

The themes presented in the book are truly remarkable. Love is an essential part in a human’s life. In love, you would do anything. You would give your all. This has been a traditional theme and with all the stakes of fighting for love, there is only one thing that it all sums up to. Love conquers all.

III. Analysis of the Text

“The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope to give you forever.”

This book is very interesting, written with the well molded chastity. The points were pointed out clearly and so we were able to define themes and lessons fondly. The book is so abundant with heart aching experiences but with these, I definitely learned and was inspired. This is an excellent love story told in a Fried Green Tomatoes sort of fashion about a boy and then a man who never gives up on his first love. We urge you to read the book and/or see the movie ‘The Notebook’ if you like love stories.

The story is told on two levels - one is the present day when Allie and Noah have grown old and live in a home; the other is the story Noah reads from the notebook in which he tells how he and Allie met, fell in love, lost each other, and then found each other again. The end of their love story is tragically altered by Allie’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but even that has no power over their love.

Reading this book is truly a worth pastime. The allotted moments of absorbing every single inspirational chapter was not waste, instead, it made my free time so content. It made me filled of dedications. A lot of things entered my mind but those were all in a definite shape that love is but a fine piece of plant, which when implanted to our minds, would never be easy to avoid and to forget. There would always be a mark, a mark that would always remind us of how fate and destiny would play a game with our hearts.

IV. Evaluation of the Text

Upon understanding the flow of the story, it truly made a great amazement and I was so delighted that I have spent time reading this book, though, after watching the movie. I should have read this before watching.

All I can say is, if you would just know how a man breaks his heart when his loved one seeps another way… you would understand how we are hurt, how we are turned down to the lowest level of our dignity, that in a short period of time, we cannot get ourselves up from it. With all these, I shall say the book is wonderful and for sure, it would inspire a lot more people.

A BOOK REVIEW ON NICHOLAS SPARKS’

A BOOK REVIEW ON NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

By Andrew Diaz Villar

IV- Sir Isaac Newton

I. Introduction

Nicholas Sparks’ “The Notebook” is an American romantic novel which was later adapted into a popular romance film loved by many. This was the first published novel by Nicholas Sparks and the third written after The Passing of Wind and The Royal Murders, which were never published. Sparks is a well-known writer who often uses the themes of love, tragedy, and fate in his stories. The Notebook was followed by such famous works as Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember, and was based on the lives of his wife’s beloved grandparents. This was the #1 New York Times bestselling novels,
Inspiration for the film The Notebook.

II. Summary of the Content

Noah Taylor Calhoun

Noah is the narrator in the book. He is a blue-collar worker who spends an unexpected inheritance on restoring a beautiful plantation home. He is a hard worker in whatever he engages himself, but will never be sucked into a job that keeps him away from nature and the beauty of poetry. He is passionately in love with Allie fourteen years befre the novel opens. It is the most wonderful thing about him that he is true to his words and honest with his deeds.

Allison Nelson

She is the young woman who faces the challenge of defying the life she has been told she must live in order to connect with her soul mate, Noah Calhoun. She spends a wonderful summer with him, loses her virginity to him, and then loses him for fourteen years. She was the one and only love of Noah’s life and it is such a queer thing of her that after all her decisions which led her to Lon, she still chose to stay I love with Noah and there, they stand on to their choices and decided to love each other until the end of time.

The Notebook is an epic love story centered on an old man who reads aloud to an older, invalid woman whom he regularly visits. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths. Though her memory has faded, his words give her the chance to relive her turbulent youth and the unforgettable love they shared.

Noah and Allie are two passionate lovers. They truly have the greatest love a couple could ever possess. They are very much into the thoughts of loving each other but time is not in favor yet of their relationship by the time they have decided to live by each other. Noah used to visit Allie in the home where she was living and as time passes by, they had to stay closer and closer. It is not in their plans that they would part ways because Noah had to work and that Allie’s mother is not in favor of their propensity. And so by fate, they were brought into separate journeys. Allie had to fall for someone who was unwaveringly liked by her mother because of the riches that he had. He was Lon Hamilton. Later, they were engaged and he became Allie’s fiancé. Time rages just like the wind and Allie tries to forget memories of Noah by and by. She thought she could but every time she tries to, it is but the pictures of them when they were still together. It was never easy for her but since that was what is happening, she just have to hide what she truly feels and turn her attention to the love being proposed to her by Lon.

Although the decree of fate was not in Noah’s hands at first, when the time comes that they meet again, it was such an inevitable thing that they continue their heartwarming words of romance. They began acting as how they were like before, when they were still making the happiest of their times and they consequently fought for their love and until the time they get weary, they swore not to leave each other. Sweetest and the most powerful birds as they may be, until the time when Allie is struck by an Alzheimer’s disease, Noah didn’t move farther away from her. Instead, he always visited her and with his thorough understanding and the patience of bringing back Allie’s memories, he continued to shower Allie his love and care.

The first and most important theme is: ‘Love conquers all’. Although this idea is sometimes overworked, in this particular work, it is the most prevalent theme of all. No matter how many setbacks Allie and Noah faced, their love always brought them together again.

The second theme is: Follow your heart. Allie had spent fourteen years in fear of hurting her family and friends if she deviated from the standard way of living for her social class. It was only when she realized that she and Noah were meant to be together that she made the right decision and followed her heart.

A final theme tells us that you cannot live your life in fear of hurting others. Allie nearly learned this hard way when she almost gave in to her fear of hurting her family and friends by choosing Noah. Only with the reading of his final letter to her written twelve years before was she able to see that it was her life to live, and no one should be able to force her in a direction she didn’t want to go.

III. Analysis of the Text

The writer’s style is obviously seen. The Notebook is written with simplicity. It incorporates simple but revealing and heart touching themes and lessons. It is but so ideal that you would do the entire possible way just to bring back the happy times when you were with your loved one the only love of your life. It is clear that Sparks wanted us to feel how hard it is to wait, to sacrifice, and how recovering it is when you have already succeeded in your task. The task you promised to do as a thing for the one great thing that had happened to you. This was full of emotional scenes but every part was truly pleasing. Not one was overworked. All was fitted and pleased. This is such one big impact on our literary lives and the lessons being taught and the experience being opened to younger minds.

The mood is at times troubling and even quite sad, because of the disease that is claiming Allie’s mind. However, there is a sense of victory, in spite of the inevitability of Allie’s future, because in the end, love wins, no matter how hard life tries to make it not so.

IV. Evaluation of the Text

All in all, I can say that The Notebook is, indeed, a fantastic work of fiction by Nicholas Sparks. I liked it much for it illustrated a lot of the probable things that could happen in one’s life. It is very inspirational and full of ruling concepts. By this, I was able to figure out how a worried heart goes on when it is far from the person who holds it tight and takes care of it. It has left out a mark on my mind, which, I think would always remind me that in every turn of the world, though different from the first, if some things are really meant for you, you would still meet all over again. You just have to stay real to yourself and take care of the past, which you can feel, would lead you in the future toward the perfect guy/ lady for you.

Book Review of "A Summer To Die" by Lois Lowry

I. Introduction

Lois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. In 1977, she published her first children’s book, A Summer To Die. Since then, she had written more the 30 books for children and received awards from two of them, Newbery Medal: Number the Stars in 1990, and The Giver in 1994.
Lowry became known for writing about difficult subject matters within her works for children exploring complex issues such as racism, terminal illness, murder, and the Holocaust among other challenging topics that brought her to praise and criticisms.

II. Summary of the Text

A Summer to Die is a story about Meg, a girl who is jealous of her sister, Molly. She hates herself for she did not have the characteristics she wants to have like being pretty, attractive and almost perfect. That’s how she describes Molly.
She finds it hard to deal with her sister. They always fight even though it’s just a simple thing. It became worse when they move to another house on a different country sharing room with her. She thought it is bad to stay there until she met William Banks, an old man who owns their house lonely since his wife has gone. Will become a friend of Meg and Molly. He taught them many things about the wildflowers in their place.
For Meg, February is the worst month. Molly, on the other hand, suffers from nosebleeds making her more conscious about how she looks. They thought that it is caused by the cold weather and will be better soon as this season ends.
But it is not. Molly got confined in the hospital for several weeks. They found out that it is not just a simple nosebleed but leukemia.
Meg doesn’t know it at all. She got angry because of the continuous intake of medicine of Molly. Everything around her seems to change. Molly got thinner with pale skin and lesser hair. Her parents and also Molly has changed emotionally.
Thanks to Will and also to the couple, Ben and Maria, who just decided to live at another Will’s house. Maria is pregnant with their baby boy Happy which makes Molly a lot better. She helps her to prepare whatever Happy will need as soon as Maria gives birth to him. Until Molly got confined again and ended her life in the hospital.
It is really hard for Meg and her family to accept the reality of Molly being gone. Meg regrets many things that she was not able to do while her sister is still alive. But what she remembered the most are the good things happen to them when Molly was still with her.

III. Analysis of Text
The situations and feelings to be seen and felt were recognizable as the scenes go by. She made it clear to the readers how a girl like Meg would feel about her sister knowing that it suffered from a very serious disease and a have a little chance to survive from it.
Lowry also used supporting characters with different personalities to give the readers more lessons to learn that could be applied to reality.

IV. Evaluation of the Text

“Time goes on, and your life is still there, and you have to live it. After a while you remember the good things more often than the bad. Then, gradually, the empty silent parts of you fill up with sounds of talking and laughter again, and the jagged edges of sadness are softened by memories.”
This is a paragraph from the story that filled me up telling how it feels to be left by someone important to your life. It made me realize that you have to be strong although you feel that there’s always something missing in you. It describes a scenario in reality after a person has gone in your life.
I think the part that is not convincing is that leukemia is not that curable. It would be convincing if the writer would use cancer as disease to complicate the story.
“All things must come to an end so while life is still there, live the best of it.”
The book was so good and I can relate it to a part pf my life when my grandfather died. I regret that I haven’t done anything special to him until it is now his time. Like Meg, I hated him in some ways but in the end, I miss the things that I hated about him. It is just really hard to accept that a person who is with you since birth would leave you making you feel incomplete.

Anna Liza A. Balauag
IV-Newton

a summer t0 die

I. INTRODUCTION

A Summer to Die is the first book of Lois Lowry. It is all about Meg and her sister Molly Chalmers. Mr. Chalmers, their Dad, is an English professor and currently making his book due in a year. Lydia Chalmers, their Mom, is a housewife loves to make quilt. Their parents have decided to move to a quiet place where his father can finish his book. In there, Meg and Molly have to share room. Jealousness and bitterness are normal between sisters especially Meg because her sister is more beautiful than her having a blonde, curl hair and long eyelashes.
Lois Lowry was born March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii to parents Robert and Katherine (Landis) Hammersberg. Initially, Lois' parents named her "Sena" for her Norwegian grandmother but upon hearing this, her grandmother telegraphed and instructed Lois' parents that the child should have an American name. Her parents chose the names Lois and Ann, which were the names of her father's sisters.

Lowry was born the middle of three children. She had an older sister, Helen, and a younger brother Jon. Helen, three years older than Lois, died in 1962 at the age of 28. This experience informed Lowry's first book A Summer to Die which is about a young girl who tragically loses her older sister.

II. SUMMARY OF THE CONTENT
It begins between the struggles of two sisters. As it progresses, we begin to see that Molly, the older sister, has some type of illness. At first, she is suffering from nosebleeds that seemingly have developed from a cold. In time, these regress and she seems to be improving. However, as the story persists, she continues to have different ailments. Her health becomes fragile and she is eventually sent away, basically to die in a hospital. The book does not focus only on Molly and Meg’s relationship. There are other important characters, such as Meg’s newly made friends, Will, Maria, and Ben and the main theme does involve a complete circling of life. Near the end of the story, Meg witnesses the miracle of childbirth when Ben and Maria have a baby. The part of the story pertaining to Meg and Molly was the part that I identified with mainly.
Thirteen-year-old Meg tells the story of the summer of her fifteen-year-old sister’s death. One night Molly awakens covered with blood, Meg calls their parents, and Molly goes to the hospital where she remains for weeks, undergoing tests. It takes Meg a long time to let herself realize how bad it is, even after the magnitude of the illness is visible on Molly’s ravaged body.
Much of the medical detail in the hospital scenes makes clear how advanced the disease is, but Meg masks her growing fear with disgust, projecting her fear onto doctors she decides must be using Molly for experiments and exaggerating the seriousness of her condition. Unable to open herself to an empathy that would require both an unusual act of imagination and courage to face grief, Meg focuses on the bizarre visible effects of Molly’s illness and on her own altered daily life. Her oddly "selfish" perspective, understood as a self-protective strategy, makes complete sense.
In the midst of the slow progress of Molly’s leukemia, Meg develops friendships with an old man and a young couple expecting a baby. Both contacts help normalize her world, provide her with "reality checks" and give her a quality of attention her parents can’t manage at the time. After the baby is born, Meg gains a new perspective on the precarious miracle of life and finds the courage to go to the hospital to see Molly, now in the final stages of the disease. Meg and her parents are emotionally reunited in their loss, and in the final chapter Meg reflects on the paradox of healing that doesn’t cover over loss, but allows life to be good again in different terms.

III. ANALYSIS OF TEXT
Lois Lowry has a simple but full of sense novel. Base on my research, it is a true-to-life story though she makes it fiction. Indeed her sister also died from a disease but not the one written on the book.
The sisters were sharing room but instead of being close to each other, the chalk Molly had drawn is a boundary between them.
Meg was very jealous of Molly. But when Molly spent a long time in the hospital, the jealousy turns to love. Meg was missing Molly. She missed every time they fight.
Molly likes to draw brides, flowers, and babies. She wanted to have at least six babies when she has her own family. But it’ll never come. Her desire of having a baby was obvious when she was very excited to see the baby of Ben and Maria maybe because she know that her dream will not come true and it will never because of her disease.

IV. EVALUATION OF THE TEXT

“How can you learn if you don’t take risks?”

This was a line given by Will. It is another saying of ‘learning by experience’. Taking risks is a game that you are not sure if you’ll win or not. But if you lose the game, you’ll have the idea not to do the way yo did on last and you’ll be better.

“Better to know what your enemy is before you confront it.”

A line from Ben Brady. He was talking about the disease Molly got. It was Molly’s mortal enemy that ended her life.

For me, it is still possible if Molly had only known her disease earlier. They can still have time to prevent the virus from spreading throughout her body.


Diomdelia B. Vergara
IV – Sir Isaac Newton

Euzel Aubrey Rivas Alvarez: Book Review on Like Water for Chocolate

I. Introduction
The writer of this book is Laura Esquivel, born on September 30, 1950. She is a Mexican author making a noted contribution to Latin-American literature. She’s the third of four children of Julio Cesar Esquivel, a telegraph operator, and Josefa Valdes.

Her first novel was Like Water for Chocolate, which was released in 1989. The novel, took place during the revolution in early twentieth century in Mexico. It shows the importance of the kitchen in the author's life. She believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure. The title refers to a colloquial phrase used by the Spanish that means an extremity of feeling. It refers to a boiling point in terms of anger, passion and sexuality. The idea for the book came to her while she was cooking the recipes of her mother and grandmother. The book has been a tremendous international success: The No. 1 best-selling book in Mexico for three years, it's also been translated into 23 languages.

The novel was developed into a film, which was released in 1993 concurrently with the book's English translation. In the United States, it became one of the largest grossing foreign films ever released in the US. Esquivel earned the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures award; she received eleven in all, from Ariel Awards.



II. Summary of Text

The story revolves around Tita, a simple teenage girl with a great responsibility. She was born in the kitchen and from there, the kitchen became her world. She lives with her mother, Mama Elena, her two sisters, Gestrudis and Rosaura, and their helpers, Nacha and Chencha. Nacha was like a mother for her because they spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. They’re fund of that place. Everything was feeling all right for her and her family. Not until she fell in love.

Pedro was the love of her life. He was about to talk to Mama Elena to ask for Tita’s hand but unfortunately, Tita was obliged to stay with her mother she and take care of her until dies since she was the youngest daughter.As a result, Pedro ended up marrying her sister, Rosaura. For him, it’s the best way to stay close to Tita. It seemed to be the end of the world for her. Then the death of Nacha on the night of the wedding was the follow-up tragedy for her. A lot of things happened when Pedro, Rosaura and their first child, Roberto went to San Antonio.

Gertrudis went away with Juan Alenjandre, the captain of a troope. And then there was John, the family doctor who fell secretly in love with Tita. He let Tita stay in his house in his house

For a while when a huge fight occur between Tita and her mother because of Roberto’s death. Tita agreed to be the wife of John. On the night of their engagement, something terrible happened to her family. Some rebellious group entered their house. Chencha was raped and Mama Elena was hit by a gun that paralyzed half of her body. She died few weeks later because of poisoning herself.

John went to her Aunt because she wants to meet Tita. When he was away, something went on with Tita and Pedro. When he came back, Tita told him. But John, ever loving and understanding said that it’s up to Tita’s decision. He respects whatever it may be.

Twenty-two years later, Rosaura died. Alex, the son of John from his first wife, and Esperanza, the second child of Pedro and Rosaura got married. Pedro and Tita continued their love affair. But then, Pedro died on the night of the wedding while they were making love. And so, Tita went to her room and she chew candles one by one. Until she saw the tunnel where Pedro entered earlier. She went through that tunnel. Her physical body was burning and it made a huge explosion. People thought that it was just fireworks for the celebration of the wedding. But it’s not. It came from two people with undying love for each other.


III. Analysis of Text
The theme of romantic love appears throughout this novel. The author uses magical realism to combine the ordinary and the supernatural. Emotional Oppression is evident, as Tita has been emotionally oppressed by her mother. She is forced to hold in her emotions, thus creating a "dampness" within her that does not allow the matches within her soul to light. Self Growth also occurred when Tita was a generally submissive young lady. She feared her mother and her mother's actions, hardly ever daring to disobey for fear of another brutal beating. However, as time passes, Tita finds herself to have a voice that she must use. The climax of this theme could be said to be the part when Tita stands up to her mother and runs out of the house. By the end of the novel, though Tita is a humble woman, she certainly is not the submissive and fearful girl she once was. Lastly, the occurrence of family tradition appeared as Tita and Pedro are not allowed to love because of the De La Garza tradition that states that the youngest daughter must take care of the mother until the day she dies. The book also lists out many tradition of the Mexican culture, such as traditional recipes.

IV. Evaluation of the Text
The book suggested that first love really never dies like Pedro and Tita’s undying love for each other. It also suggested that family traditions aren’t really worth it especially when it is somewhat like this. It’s not fair for a person to be treated like that.

The story left some unanswered questions like if Rosaura’s role was being the antagonist or is it the other way around since she died and when it happened, her husband and her sister continued their love affair.

As for me, I could hardly relate to the story for I have no experience for falling in love. But I understood the story as it went on through my eyes for it does not only revolves in love, but for other things as well.

A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Womenagerie

A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Womenagerie
By Anne Mariel dG. Mañago


Introduction


Womenagerie and other Tales from the the Front is a collection of Jessica Zafra's earlier columns in Woman Today magazine. It includes “Portraits”, “Urban Nightmares”, ”Boys and Girls”, ”Greek Tragedy” and ” It’s An Ad Ad Ad Ad World”

Jessica Zafra was born and raised in Manila. She attended St.Theresa's College, Quezon City, Philippine Science High School, and the University of the Philippines where she majored in Comparative Literature. Jessica is a three-time Palanca Award winner. Her column "Twisted" appears thrice weekly in Today. She has two books, Manananggal Terrorizes Manila (1992), her first collection of short stories, and Twisted (1995)--a selection of her column pieces. She has weekly radio program weekend talks at the Ayala Museum. She is a professional writer; she writes for a living she supports herself entirely by selling articles. Her work is by nature commercial.

Summary of Content


This book is just a collection of Jessica’s Journals. It includes different characters in each journal she wrote. This book review will only focus on selected journals which includes the following:

Profile of a Modern Woman
Portraits of the Artist Among Oysters and Coke
Interview with a Jock
Real People, An Endangered Species
A Catholic-School Childhood

The “Profile of a Modern Woman” is all about a girl named Monica who lives her life like a soap opera in which she plays all the roles. Her background is in the theatre. For a living, she does something which has to do with public relations. She often describes herself as a child of the Sixties, she loves singing in retro-rock pubs and loves watching movies released in Beta-videocassette format. She is generous and thoughtful, she’s always ready to do you a favor even if you’re not yet asking for it. The theme of this journal is all about knowing somebody not by the way she lives or how she do things, it’s about knowing somebody better. Even though, she’s different from a common woman, if you will look at her at a distinct way, you will still appreciate her just like everyone else. She is as strange as a fiction but still a good person.

The “Portraits of the Artist Among Oysters and Coke” is all about an ordinary girl who do things in her own way. Her name is Stella. She is an artist and she already won different awards from several contests and has done many achievements. She’s a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. She usually goes to the pool just to communicate with her unconscious. Sometimes, she’s in the Ayala Museum, teaching art classes. She is a firm believer in classical training. Being a woman doesn’t affect her profession even though many believe that men are better artists than women. The theme talks about doing what you want even though there are several things that prevent you from doing it. You have to be optimistic enough to achieve your goals. It’s not how hard your goal is or how many obstacles you need to go through but how you perform well and how you enjoy what you are doing.

The “Interview With The Jock” is all about a guy named Samboy. He’s a famous basketball player and people idolized him. Others consider him a role model for the youth. He has a good life and enjoys what he’s doing. On the other side of his career are fractures, broken bones and concussions. But these things don’t bother him. If something bad happens to him, then so be it. The theme of this journal is about enjoying life the way you want to. Even though playing basketball might give him undesirable consequences, he still continues to play because this sport makes him happy and contented.

The “Real People, An Endangered Species” is all about how Jessica sees things in her own different way. One situation is when a wife didn’t get angry with her husband who went home with his clothes filthy and stained. For her, the wife would’ve bawled out her stupid husband. Another situation depicts a child who went home with a black eye and a torn shirt. Instead of seeking revenge, she just hugged her son and gave him milk. Those are just some of her examples of situations in which people don’t act like human being. For her, they are not real people. This journal explains how people change as time passes by. It’s not about how different they behave but how they show their care for others.

The “A Catholic-School Childhood” is about Jessica’s life when she was just studying. No wonder, she really enjoyed her elementary days. This is when she experienced unexpected things because of her hard-headedness. This journal talks about how happy your childhood is. In this stage, you will start to appreciate life. You’ll meet different persons and experience several things. It’s not about how good your childhood life is, it’s about how you enjoy and appreciate every single moment of being a child.

Analysis of Text


Jessica’s journals show how people are different from each other. She showed different situations that clearly explains the attitudes of the personas. I may say that she is not just a good writer but she caught the readers’ attentions by simply doing journals in her own way. Unlike others whose stories turn out the same, she did unique stories but are based in true experiences. She just let her hand write whatever is in her mind. It's like she is really free of expressing what she wants through her writings.

Evaluation of the Text


The journals made an impact on me because all of them are based on true experiences although some criticisms are based on her opinions. The journals explain that everyone around me is not the same. They have different attitudes, values and personalities. People can be defined on how they do things or how they live their life. they can be seen in their own little way. People are not judged by their simple mistakes but by what they’re doing to make great things better. For me, even though the journals have made a big impact, there are still unconvincing points. Some of her statements are just personal opinions. For me, some of her criticisms are not good and hard to believe maybe because it’s a part of being a writer. Almost all of the contents of the mentioned journals can be related to my experiences. Like how I sometimes act differently and how I do simple things to show my appreciation. Another is how I want to do things in my own way even though several things prevent me and trials may come in my way. All in all, I enjoyed reading the journals. They don’t only show situations but they also teach me lessons on how to live life.

A Summer to Die

A BOOK REVIEW OF LOIS LOWRY’S A SUMMER TO DIE

“All things must come to an end so while life is still there, live the best of it.”

That is one thing that I have realized after reading Lois Lowry’s first novel, A Summer to Die. Lowry is an American author of children’s literature but some of her books interests young adults as well. Her trilogy for The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger is one of my personal favorites.
As an author, she has her own way of embedding controversial subjects into her stories for children. She can freely tackle issues of racism and murder with the use of her wordplay and by weaving beautiful stories. And for this, she got both praise and criticism. But I for one am a big fan of her. She is creative and open-minded. She can tell us lessons through her creative form of writing and she can make us realize complex matters with the use of her simple words and children stories. She is pretty much comparable to the great Walt Disney. 
A Summer to Die is a chronicles a year in the lives of sisters Meg and Molly Chalmers. The younger, Meg Chalmers, is the protagonist and the narrator in the story. Molly is pretty much perfect. With the perfect face, body, and hair, Meg is very jealous of her. Their father is a writer and a professor. And since their dad has a big book to finish, they had to move to the country so that their father can have solitary confinement. Here, the sisters share a room and meet lots of interesting characters.
Like most sisters do, Meg and Molly usually quarrel over the simplest of things but they soon get over it and meet the owner of the house they are renting who lives in a smaller house in the same property, Will Banks. Banks is already old yet he became a very good friend of the two sisters. He learns about photography with Meg and teaches the two sisters about wildflowers and even compares the two to the flowers.
A few months after starting to live in the country Molly starts to become very irritable and starts to have frequent nosebleeds. She was later on diagnosed with leukemia. She started having treatments after this and seems to recover slightly.
Later on, a couple arrives to add to the bunch and they are Ben Brady and the pregnant Maria Abbott. The townspeople seemed to have a misconception about the two—that they are not married and are drug addicts. It will be later on known by Meg that the reason why Maria has not changed her last name is that she believes that she became known with that name and that she has to carry it with her forever. The couple are very deep people and has a very nice, although different, insight about life.
In the end, Molly died but Ben and Maria later on had their child born. Banks improved himself with photography and even had an exhibit. Here, he declared his masterpiece being the picture of Meg. Banks was able to capture the beauty of the insecure sister. The book is simply fantastic.
A Summer to Die is a very heart-warming book. It tells us a multitude about the lessons of life. And although it is mainly about how we should value life, Lowry was able to embed other values as well in the stories of the lives of the other characters.
This being her first novel, she got me amazed and I would have to give this book 3 stars out of 5. The book is heart-wrenching, yes. It will get you emotionally attached, yes. The only problem is that it lacks consistency. At the first part of the book, you would really get hooked. The weaving of the words were exceptionally good, she accurately described the characters and the setting around them, and the matching of words were very great. But when it comes to the latter part, it would seem like it was being rushed and the first thought that came to my mind when I finished reading it was, “Wow, ang ganda nung book kaso bitin. Parang, minadali.”
I am a big fan of Lois Lowry and I really like this book. That was the only flaw I’ve noticed. And still, I think that A Summer to Die is really a must-read. It will make you realize things that you haven’t realized before. Also, it will really make you value our life even more. It is a truly exceptional story, the type that only Lois Lowry could tell.

Venus Dimaculangan Banaag
IV – Sir Isaac Newton

A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Planet of the Twisted

A Book Review of Jessica Zafra's Planet of the Twisted

By Colene Pabruada Cabaliza

IV-Sir Isaac Newton

Planet of the Twisted is the third of Jessica Zafra’s famous Twisted books, a series that collaborates a collection of her articles, column entries, essays and stories. The Twisted series is known for her writings and commentaries about almost anything, ranting about various topics that could rage from movie stars to existential angst. The series is also known for its uniqueness and its flair.

Talented, clever and humorous, fiction writer and columnist Jessica Zafra wrote this amusing book: Planet of the Twisted. Zafra is a University of the Phillipines graduate who majored in Comparative Literature. Aside from being a fiction writer and newspaper columnist, Zafra is also an editor, a publisher, a former TV and radio program host, and even once a manager of the Eraserheads in the 90’s. In addition, Zafra has won several Palanca awards and has received many other distinctions.

Planet of the Twisted is actually a compilation of her works (most probably her column entries to the Manila Standard Today). It contains seven chapters and is composed of 63 articles all in all. The first chapter which she called “Sometimes They Just Suck,” contains her opinions, observations, and annotations on various films, documentaries, operas, stage plays, and the like. Mostly, it shows the negative points she witnessed and the weaknesses she viewed. A very short chapter comprised of only three articles is next, which is entitled “And Now for Something Really Kinky,” is a funny chapter that talks about her obsession on covering books with plastic. She even tackled about the two schools of book covering and gave tips on how to wrap a book in plastic cover. Of course, she stated the importance of doing such. “The Philistine Foreskin Coin Purse,” which is the third chapter in the book, contains many articles about different facets of life, death, love, religion and even discussed things raging from wicked stepmothers to the commandments most moms unduly impose. Meanwhile, “Tales of Humuhumunukunukuwakawaka,” contains writings about one’s anxieties, fears and points in life that are hard to forget. The fifth chapter, “Dante’s Suburbia,” talks about discontentment of people and their die-hard efforts to achieve or imitate their role models, in such obsessive effort that they could even be called wannabe’s. The confusing effects of mutation, genetic engineering, the million dollar gowns of Princess Diana, and an EQ test are just a few articles to be found in the second to the last chapter of this book which is entitled, “Di! Gowns! Di!.” The last chapter, “I Live Here,” contains articles with the same enjoyable wit and humor. It talks about stupidity of people, the things that people cannot do because of fear, her views about the media and the public officials, an article about Andres Bonifacio, better way of living without using illegal drugs, and many more. Her last chapter chiefly talked about politics, issues in our country, and an outlook for a better Philippines. Even if the last chapter is drowned in her negative comments and criticism, it is a good way to end her book.

If style is to be talked about, Planet of the Twisted author Jessica Zafra’s style is one that could be regarded as highly unique. The way she expressed her thoughts is so free, its like she just let every word flow. She writes whatever comes to her mind with still amazingly retaining her perfectly- constructed grammar. Teodoro Locsin, Jr., editor in chief of Manila Standard Today, even said that, “Zafra can do virtually anything she wants with the language. She makes no mistake, never strikes a note.” She writes and uses words logically. Aside from her very well construction of grammar, Zafra’s style is also exceptional for her manner of writing is humorous and smart. She never fails to make her reader’s laugh with her writings. Her adventures and hilarious comments are sure to elicit laughs, and readers should always be ready to be thoroughly entertained with her observations. Wit and humor is already her brand and her trademark as well. She is also bold and is direct to the point. Others believe her style of writing is what they call "post-modernist," one that is somewhat containing faux intellectualism, pessimism, and exaggeration. On the contrary, others say that her works are appropriately highfalutin. The Planet of the Twisted is the only book I have read from her, so I am not quite sure where to place my judgment. Still, it is true that sometimes, what make her works funny are her disparagements and her negative criticisms. But regardless of those, Zafra’s sarcastic, sharp and clever writing style has captured the imagination, thinking and hearts of Filipinos.

In terms of writing construction and grammar, my humble knowledge could not find anything erroneous in the Planet of the Twisted. Maybe, there are mistakes there, but they are obviously typographical errors and not the author’s mistake. Her book is indeed entertaining; it is a wonderful ride with her. It is a remarkable experience to read and share her opinions and views, though I have not agreed on everything she said. She lets us see the wrongs of the society in which we live in, and let us realize our misshapen beliefs and outlooks on many facets of life. Her book really talks about how twisted, warped, and deformed our ideals, ethics and viewpoints sometimes are. Though I am not quite a great fan of her overly using her intellect on criticizing works of others and her desire of perfection, I think that her book really pushes her readers to view life differently and live it rightly by creating our own right beliefs and not just swaying with the flow and letting the culture and traditions of the society in which we live in carry us with them and carve erroneous and faulty values in us that may cause us to live in despair. It is true that I am not moved by some of her ideals, for I believe in some things in a way much different from hers. I do not like the way she degrades one’s ideas about men, specifically, Filipino men. I could not blame her, for she is a downright feminist. But still I dislike her emphasized negative thinking about men. Still, Planet of the Twisted is a nice journey; they are like diary entries, stories that happen in everyday life. One could surely relate to her experiences which are factual and in some point, is common. I surely have related myself a lot, for I realized the mistakes I have not noticed, learned to value some things I have even disregarded and many more. Although, I do not like her in every point (for I dislike her pessimisms and some of her commentaries), Jessica Zafra still helped me construct and have better and renewed views about life.