"They Both Die at the End" (Book Review)

"They Both Die at the End"

a book review by curioshittii

  In a day, I have successfully finished and took in Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End— it was an easy read, it was fast-paced and it had a simple message. They Both Die at the End is set in an era where Death Cast exists, a company that calls a person the day before their End Day, or their death, to alert them that in the next 24 hours, you will inevitably face the terrifying scythe of death himself. The protagonists, Mateo Torrez, and Rufus Emeterio, were alerted by the said company about their demise. In search of a friend that will help them live out the remaining hours of their lives, the two meet using the app, Last Friend, which helps Deckers look for a friend before their demise. 

  In a world where your death is inevitable, who would have thought that friendship and love would spark in a matter of hours? Adam Silvera was able to successfully portray not only the sadness and grief associated with death, but was also able to portray the

"I have successfully finished and
took in Adam Silvera’s They
Both Die at the End— it was
an easy read, it was fast-paced

and it had a simple message."

adrenaline alongside it— it makes you want to feel alive, it makes you want to live out your best life, before you go and kick the bucket. Aside from this, he was able to successfully portray the power of friendship and love to heal and change who you are— before meeting Rufus, Mateo is very much “closeted”; in the context of sexuality, and in life in general, but Rufus, the energetic and lively person that he is, was able to put Mateo out of his element by teaching him how to have fun and how to take risks. On the other hand, Mateo was able to rub off his caring personality towards Rufus’ trauma. He was able to help him get through the trauma of having to deal with seeing your family drown to death, alongside his recent breakup with his girlfriend. 

  Silvera had a very simple message, and that is to live our lives to the fullest. It had such a simple theme in the plot, but the way Silvera unfolded the events to follow were powerful. It successfully portrayed trauma, happiness, friendship, love, loyalty, grief, and death in a mere span of 368 pages. Aside from this, he gave us the different effects of death, as well as the effects of the way we live or the way we inspire other people to live. 

  Overall, I think that this is a great read. It has given me another round of existential crisis, but the way Silvera played with this novel is marvelous. Definitely a top-tier read. 

"Die Beautiful: the Highs and Lows of Life" (Film Review)

"Die Beautiful: the Highs and Lows of Life"

a film review by curioshittii 

       As a project for one of my subjects in school, I watched Die Beautiful, a film directed by Jun Robles Lana, and was screened on the Metro Manila Film Fest (MMFF) for the year 2016. Die Beautiful is a story that centers on the life of Trisha Echevarria— a transwoman who've seen the highs and lows of life— a story about being true to one’s self, and loving it in return.

   The film uses the literary device called a flashback as a method to tell the story. It starts out by looking into the present; the audience is greeted with Barbs, a fellow transwoman and is Trisha's bestfriend, who is currently giving the corpse of Trisha a makeover. It was explicitly mentioned that Trisha wanted to be painted as a different person for every day during her funeral. The various artists that were emulated signifies or represents the course of her life— it is a foreshadowing of what would unfold in the flashback, a slight hint of what she experienced during that time.

   The story itself is pretty cliché, it's a typical portrayal of queer people in films, but what makes Trisha's character and her story is that it does not just portray the stereotypical cultures that most can be seen in Vice Ganda's films, but rather, Die Beautiful has depth— it shows every struggle of being different from everybody else without any imposition that every queer person is a horny, and hilarious individual who knows nothing but to procreate and make people laugh. It's a sublime mixture of comedy and tragedy; a perfect concoction of being put into a corner, falling apart, and then finding a new path to take on, a path with lots of people that will be behind you, that will propel you whilst you walk on it.  

"Call Me by Your Name" (Book Review)

"Call Me by Your Name"

a book review by curioshittii

  Call Me by Your Name is a story written by André Aciman about a powerful and intimate romance that blossoms between Elio and their family's summer guest, Oliver. The story is written in a first-person point of view, and is an in-depth depiction of Elio's thoughts, views, and feelings.

"'Call Me by Your Name is a story
written by André Aciman about a
powerful and intimate romance..."

  The story immediately captured my attention as Aciman accurately depicts and describes the feeling of something stirring inside you— that feeling that makes your gut turn out of hopes that something romantic might bloom between the two of you. The story is set in the Italian Rivieria during the summer, and Oliver was chosen as the next guest to stay at Elio's family's villa for six weeks to finish his book. 

 Throughout reading the novel, I was mesmerized by how detailed Aciman is with how he portrayed, and describe how what Elio feels and sees— it was like peeking into someone's diary voluntarily; Aciman's style of writing was like a reminiscent of his lost future— it was like he was reinstating for his readers his youth whilst acting upon one's curiosity. It sounded like Aciman created this powerful love letter for the man with whom he loves, but is now with someone else.    

   As a bookworm, I've learned to predict the events that might unfold. I was NOT expecting to read such a heartbreaking denouement! I never expected Oliver to return to the States and marry someone that's not Elio.

   Overall I'd say that this masterpiece should be read by everyone, although I do not recommend this for ages that are below sixteen, for there are a lot of scenes that are extremely erotic. André Aciman has written such a powerful yet heartbreaking love letter that would make you laugh, sob, and feel as though you are in love with someone. Call Me by Your Name definitely deserved all the gratification and accolades that it has claimed.

BULLET JOURNALS: THE MODERN ARTSY PLANNER

Integrating Art Into Your Journals

by: curioshittii

  our artsy journey doesn't end with the mere utilization of watercolors! before I got into painting using watercolors, God graced me with amandarachlee's youtube channel! her channel is filled with artsy, aesthetically pleasing, and creative videos of her, filling up her bullet journal with creative spreads! 

  I was enticed by her adorable doodles of leaves, flowers, and other fun stuff that it actually got me started on my stationery addiction and my very own bullet journal.

  my initial reaction after watching one of her videos (which is her March plan with me) was an urgent question. I was like, "that seems so tedious! how can she draw so beautifully and how the f*ck will she be able to keep filling that up without ever feeling lazy or unmotivated?" 

  

  I decided to continue on binge watching her videos. I even picked up her contagious addiction on buying various kinds of stationery which led me to buy my very first bullet journal. I started off by buying a twenty piece crayola supertips markers and a fine liner to start off my creative journal. 

  as a person that lacks the talent to draw anything but stick men and women, amandarachlee's videos proved handy as a starter; her in depth descriptions and visuals were quite handy and amusing— it definitely helped me recreate her March plan with me!

  as per my initial reaction, I was proven wrong after feeling extremely satisfied at finishing a spread. seeing it complete and cohesive feels extremely therapeutic— making it one of my favorite past times!

  if ever you wanted to start on your own creative journal, here's a link to amandarachlee's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/amandarachlee

"Children of Eden" (Book Review)

"Children of Eden"

a book review by curioshittii

"'Children of Eden', written by Joey Graceffa,
is a sci - fi novel set in a dystopian
post apocalyptic disaster."

  "Children of Eden", written by Joey Graceffa, is a sci - fi novel set in a dystopian post apocalyptic disaster. Eden, a utopia created by Aaron Al-Baz, is a safe house established to house the survivors of the EcoFail; a man made catastrophe that destroyed the Earth. In a world where population control measures are strictly enforced, Rowan, a second child, is treated as a pariah– a child that threatens the limited resources of Eden. All her life she was kept a secret by her family; a prisoner that is only able to see the world in mere computers and history books. One day, her parents found a cybersurgeon that can craft eye implants that surpasses the examinations that Eden utilizes to verify that an individual is an actual first child. She was quite eager to finally have a normal life, but was disheartened after hearing that she can no longer return back to her biological family. 

   throughout the novel, scenes that seem to correlate with the LGBTQIA+ community unfolded; like the part wherein Rowan found the Underground. a feeling of inclusion loomed over her like a skyscraper; she instantaneously felt like she had a family— a family that accepts her for who she is. Being gay, or a queer in general, it is important that each and one of us discovers our chosen family for not everyone, not even our own family, would accept us for who we truly are. 

    overall, the story was quite mediocre. if I were to compare this with similar sci - fi novels, this would fall on the middle. Joey Graceffa clearly is an amateur— a novice in art of creating heart pounding, mind boggling, stories. though I have to say, that ending definitely piqued my interest as it quite gave that element of suspense that was quite amiss. 

LIYAB 2018

    I just got back from a crazy ass competition held at the Philippine Normal University (PNU) last Wednesday and Saturday. Story time, so my club adviser, Ms. Carausos, signed me up for an editorial writing competition, alongside with some of my other campus journalism colleagues. 

  

  I was quite pessimistic about winning; given the circumstance that we did not have actual proper training for the said competition. we were only given a bunch of topics to write about; which basically served as the "practice" that I previously mentioned. though none of us won an award, we were quite grateful for such a wonderful experience that was gracefully handed over by the school. I mean, at least this can serve as a credential when we write our resumes.

  travelling from Cavite to PNU was, not gonna lie, extremely exhausting! being in a place where you can see a lot of well - versed journalists (and lots of hot young men), unnerves me, to the point that I purposefully look down upon myself; redundantly telling myself that I am a good-for-nothing, idiotic journalist that can never do anything nor write something compelling and bold that is factual as well. 

  I was quite stressed knowing that the competition is just around the corner. whilst me and my colleagues were on the way to the university, I was reading my ass off on basically every social issue which I presume might come up as the topic for my editorial. thankfully, there were seminars held during the morning to somehow reiterate some tips and tricks on how to write a powerful and critical editorial.

  all in all, I'd say that I had a lot of fun during this wonderful experience. I had a day where I could just think about hot journalist men and timely social issues, and I had a blast with my colleagues. a huge thank you to our advisers for the utmost and heartfelt support that they've made us feel during the premise. kudos to you Ms. Carausos and Ms. Vicente!

     

   

"The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (Book Review)

"The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

a book review by curioshittii

   delve into the magical wardrobe in which a magical continent awaits! "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is a fictional novel written by Clive Staples Lewis, the author of the renowned Chronicles of Narnia series. 

"'The Lion, the Witch, and 

the Wardrobe' is a fictional novel 

written by Clive Staples Lewis, 

the author of the renowned 

Chronicles of Narnia series.'"

   the Pevensie siblings were sent to London to live with a professor during a war. Lucy, the youngest of the four, accidentally found Narnia whilst playing a round of hide and seek. the world of Narnia is filled with fantastical creatures— ruled over by the evil tyrant, the White Witch.

   after days of deeply analyzing the novel, i've come to the conclusion that this novel is somewhat parallel to the story of Jesus. Aslan, who represents Jesus himself, died for the sin that Edmund committed (his loyalty to the White Witch is an act of trechery), just as Jesus himself died in order to save humankind. through Aslan's death, Edmund's sin was eliminated. the Witch itself is a symbol of the devil. devil's are known for their deceitfulness, and this was portrayed in the scene where Edmund first found out about Narnia.

   personally, i'm no longer fond of novels that strays away from reality, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great novel. it gives us a different perspective on faith, and basically talks about the limitless expanse of our imagination. the young girl in me is squealing with delight after being satisfied with the ending, and how the novel sated my desire for an escape route.