Review – Page 8 – Tara Tries To Write

{ Book Review } Songs of Our Breakup | Jay E. Tria

September 9, 2015 3 Comments

A version of this line appears in the book twice, but I’m going to tweak it a bit and use it anyway: This book should come with a warning.

About what? you ask, and I would say, Everything. Around summer this year, my friends Chi and Therese chose Six de los Reyes’s Just For The Record (JFtR) as one reading piece in preparation for #SparkNA, and they were quickly overcome with so much feels it flooded our Viber chats every so often. The other day I told them, “Guys, I think I found my JFtR.” And it came with a seafoam green Les Paul.

Songs of Our Breakup
Jay E. Tria

Every breakup has its playlist.

How do you get over a seven-year relationship? 21-year-old Jill is trying to find out. But moving on is a harder job when Kim, her ex-boyfriend, is the lead guitarist of the band, and Jill is the vocalist. Every song they play together feels like slicing open a barely healed tattoo.

Jill’s best friend Miki says she will be out of this gloom soon. Breakups have a probation period, he says. Jill is on the last month of hers and Miki is patiently keeping her company.

But the real silver lining is Shinta. Having a hot Japanese actor friend in times like these is a welcome distraction. This gorgeous celebrity has been defying time zones and distance through the years to be there for Jill. Now he is here, physically present, and together he and Jill go through old lyrics, vivid memories, walks in the rain, and bottles of beer. Together they try to answer the question: what do you do when forever ends?

BUY A COPY OF SONGS OF OUR BREAKUP!
Amazon

Click the Read More link below for my review of Songs of Our Breakup. Word of warning: I’m not even going to kid myself and say I’m going to try my best to be spoiler-free. I’m really just going to spazz and might not be able to help myself. So, read at your own risk!

Reading, Review

{ Book Review } Choco Chip Hips | Agay Llanera

September 8, 2015 No Comments

The thing about high school is it’s never easy. Ever. Anyone who’s gone past that phase will remember how we struggled with a number of things: puberty, algebra, the whole fitting in business, being cool/uncool and suffering the consequences, and the constant bickering with our parents because they can’t seem to understand us, among others. High school is rough, and Choco Chip Hips takes us back to that time–the time when we were awkward teens trying to find our place in the world– through the eyes of Jessie, an overweight girl who decides to turn her life around one summer.

Choco Chip Hips
Agay Llanera

Sixteen-year-old Jessie, a baking aficionado, is shy, overweight, and worries too much about what people think. But one summer, a family emergency makes her realize that life is too short to live it on autopilot. Taking her life by the reins, she embarks on a journey that involves ditching the apron for her tank top, as she hip-hop dances her way to new friendships, stronger family ties, and into her school’s most elite club.

BUY A COPY OF CHOCO CHIP HIPS!
Amazon | Smashwords

My review of Choco Chip Hips is right under the cut! Word of warning: I will try my best to be as spoiler-free as possible but THERE MAY BE SPOILERS. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Review, Theatre

RAKINANGINA! (Or, why I can’t stop blurting out expletives while watching Rak of Aegis)

July 5, 2015 No Comments

Cards on the table, first of all: I first saw Rak of Aegis in February last year, and again in March. I was so enamored by the entire production I couldn’t stop singing Aegis songs for weeks, and the withdrawal caused me to create an unofficial fanpage for the production . . . because I needed an outlet for my overflowing love, obviously.

At about the same time, I, together with my friend and co-fanpage moderator, Rica, began forging friendships with the cast members. They were very happy to see the effort we put on the fanpage, and were very appreciative of it. We couldn’t be happier, and would constantly get bouts of kilig over getting likes and favorites all over Facebook and Twitter.

Come June of last year, we went to the fictional barangay Villa Venizia again and were wowed by how much the musical had improved. The storyline was tighter, running time shorter, and even if I’ve already seen it twice before, there’s still that magic I felt when I saw it for the first time. Or the second time.

Before 2014 came to a close, I was able to see the production for six times already, and even then, the cast and crew of the hottest musical of the year were still giving us something new. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving, and by god, I took everything I could. I got intoxicated with everything Rak of Aegis had to offer, and my hangover was so immense it lasted me six months more until the production opened again this June.

(Further review of the musical under the cut. THERE ARE SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.)

Reading, Review

Find your fairytales

May 15, 2015 No Comments

buqoYA-3 — **#buqoYA Bundle 3: Finding Fairytales** | We all want the happy ending, the dream come true. But what if it doesn’t happen? How far would you go to get that “ever after?” Would you change who you are? Would you swallow your pride? Is the story really going to be as perfect as you think? Follow the path of these characters and see where they lead. **BUY THE BUNDLE HERE.**

It’s review time once again~ and this time, I’m doing two stories from the third #buqoYA bundle called Finding Fairytales. Admittedly, I haven’t read all of the stories in this bundle yet (because work hinders everything fun in life, yes?) but I hopefully have read enough to be able to do justice to Fall for Grace by Anne Plaza and Love in the Time of Viral Videos by R. Linea.

Review, Theatre

Ikaw, paano ka naging Leading Lady?

May 12, 2015 1 Comment

Saturday night proved to be a fun night for my sister and I, along with some friends from high school and my previous job, as we all trooped to PETA Theater to be part of Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady‘s opening weekend. Since we have been re-introduced to the world of original Filipino musicals by way of Maxie: The Musicale in 2013, we have always looked forward to new productions and tried our very best to set some time and money aside for a dose (or twelve) of theater culture. For this year, this is the second original Filipino musical I’ve seen, the first being Ballet Philippines’ Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical, which was staged at the CCP Main Theatre from February to March.

And now we have been treated to a second superhero musical, and oh, how I loved it.