Ruby Loves Adventure

Summary from Goodreads:
Since childhood, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But they're suddenly separated when Alexx and his family move from Dublin to America.

Their magical connection remains but can their friendship survive the years and miles?

Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them apart – until now. But will they gamble everything – including their friendship – on true love? And what twists and surprises does fate have in store for them this time ... 

This is the second Cecelia Ahern book that I've read, and well, this does not disappoint. Written in a series of letters, emails, text messages, and chat messages, it chronicles the story of Rosie from when she was six years old until she was fifty. It seems she has everything going for her during her first few years in life: she has her best friend Alex, was about to embark on a university degree in Hospitality/Hotel Management, until fate suddenly interferes with all her plans, leaving her in Ireland while Alex was in America, when his dad got a job.

It was quite a cute story, of course, some elements are a bit easy to guess. In some parts, her story was absolutely heart tugging, in some, you just can't help but want to scream to Rosie because she lacked the drive and ambition and just let fate ground her in what she currently has instead of seeking out the bigger and better things she feels she deserves. But oh well, every character for themselves, right? I can't like everything about a novel :p

The chemistry in the characters were so cute, it made me want to cry. However, how can anyone be so stupid at times? How can that character not ask the right questions at the right times? *sigh*

Quite a unique book, and definitely one that I would remember. Just goes to show that when life give you lemons, you make lemonade. And when you fall down, you always have to remember to pick yourself up and just continue living!

Summary from Goodreads:

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. 

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend. 

This is the first Dessen book I've read, and I know there are a lot of Dessen fans out there. She is one of the most famous young adult writers as she tackles real life situations, and her characters are so relatable and very realistic.

Let me just say: this book completely and utterly blew me away. The book starts off with Auden, a high achieving academic, and who, after the summer before she goes off to university, decides to go and visit her father, stepmother and half sister at a small town called Colby. It was there that she meets Eli, a loner, who helps her experience some of the things she missed out with when she was a child. She then goes on a mini-quest with him, and eventually falls for him.

Very, very cute story. It revolves around Auden trying to be her age and enjoying what life can offer her instead of acting all grown up and engrossing herself into the world of academics and trying to embrace that failure can help make you grow instead of making you feel like well, a failure. I loved Auden. I love the fact that she cannot ride a bicycle (because I can't too) and she learned how to and forced herself to keep on climbing back up the bicycle seat time and time again even though she kept falling.

I also loved the quests she kept on doing with Eli. It also shows how, if you managed to not experience something before, you could always try and make an effort to experience them, regardless of your age. The thing was, you tried, and that's what makes all the difference. At least when the time comes when you're really old, you won't have regrets when you look back and say "I wish I've done this or that, or I wonder what my life would have been like had I..." - There's nothing more sad than a life that was full of what-ifs and regrets.

Well there you go, my new philosophy in life. This book cannot have come at a better time!

Rating 5/5
Book was given by Lenore for review (thanks Lenore! :) )

Summary from Goodreads: Elizabeth Egan’s life runs on order: Both her home and her emotions are arranged just so, with little room for spontaneity. It’s how she counteracts the chaos of her family -- an alcoholic mother who left when she was young, an emotionally distant father, and a free-spirited sister, who seems to be following in their mother’s footsteps, leaving her own six-yearold son, Luke, in Elizabeth’s care. When Ivan, Luke’s mysterious new grown-up friend, enters the picture, Elizabeth doesn’t know quite what to make of him. With his penchant for adventure and colorful take on things large and small, Ivan opens Elizabeth’s eyes to a whole new way of living. But is it for real? Is Ivan for real?
I first came across Cecelia Ahern's books because she is the sister-in-law of Nicky from Westlife. As shallow as I may be, that is one of the main reasons why I was interested in this book. I bought PS I Love You but I never managed to finish reading it. Then a friend gave this book as a present to me and I thought it was just time for me to read it.

A bitter disappointment. The story has no real structure, and is very, very unrealistic and unbelievable. A girl falling in love with an imaginary friend? Puh-lease. Instead of me learning to hope or picking up some new things from this book, I felt like I had just wasted my time trying to read and finish this book. It has no concrete ending as well, which was a bitter disappointment. Kind of like Where Rainbows End (but more about this other book in a separate review).

I don't like the way the author keeps alternating how the story POV was written. It was written in the first person if Ivan was "speaking" and in the third person from the POV of Elizabeth. It's quite confusing that way!

Is this considered chick lit? Is it a love story? I believe, no and no. What I was happy about from the story though was the way that Elizabeth finally changes her beliefs and her attitude towards the end. From prissy, uptight girl to eventually a happy one. That's about it. Her mum and her sister didn't warrant a happy ending for her, and her lovelife was still a big mystery.

I hope that some of the other books I pick up from this author won't disappoint me any more.