Si Dru at ang Kuwento ng Limang Kaharian Book Review

Published by Adarna House, Si Dru at ang Kuwento ng Limang Kaharian is a YA novel written by Clara Ng, illustrated by Renata Owen, and translated in Filipino by Nanoy Rafael.

Isang palaaway na batang babae ang napadpad sa mundo ng limang malulungkot na hari. Isang makapangyarihang puno ang magsisilbing daan para siya ay makauwi.

This book is about Dru, a 12-year old girl who likes to fight. She’s quite bad-tempered and she is very outspoken on the things she’d like to have and to keep.

Until something magical happened, her shawl accidentally flew up in the sky and sent her to different world. There she met five lonely kings. In order to find her way home, she had to help these kings.

This translated version in Filipino is a must-read for high school students. It describes a typical teen who learns a lot about kindness, patience, and perseverance. This story tells about how the lonely kings discovered that the answer to their problems is just near them. I love how this story is narrated. It’s whimsical, light, and fun to read. There are clear descriptions about each kingdom. It has some Alice in Wonderland kind of vibes.

Please let your friends read this. There are really gems hidden in Adarna House translated books collection.

This book is still available here: Adarna House.

Advertisement

7 Things I’ve Learned from #Girlboss

I added Girlboss Series in my watch list last year. But, it was only last August 18 that I got to finish it. This series opened my mind, heart, and soul about being a persistent, goal-driven, and hardworking person. I just loved every detail about this series.

Here are seven things I’ve learned from this series.

1. Know your purpose. If you do not know it yet, you will figure it out soon. Sophia, in this story, was able to figure it out slowly. She applied as sales clerk in a store. Eventually, she just did not feel happy and enthusiastic about it. Eventually, she applied for a job which gave her a good boss and a fitting schedule.
2. Research, research. While working as a staff in an art school, she slowly built her eBay shop. Here, she does not know the technicalities yet. So what she did was to research about setting up a business online. She succeeded on doing this all by herself.
3. Know and maximize your connections. As she started expanding her shop, she worked and collaborated with a number of people in her circle. She got a model. Her best friend was in charge of the PR and Marketing.
4. Failures are normal. All businesses failed once. But, Sophia did not let this failure stop her from striving and building her shop. I think it’s an attitude that we all should have. That no matter how many times we fail, we stand up again.
5. Delegate tasks. Her best friend, Annie, who just helped her run her shop, felt that Sophia had to pay her service already. At first, Sophia disapproved. She was not welcome to hiring people. She believed that the Nasty Gal, her shop, is her passion only. Later on, Sophia realized that she had to hire people. There goes Annie, the PR department and the IT who created their website when eBay banned her from joining.
6. Deal with your critics. Every business will have critics, and a business owner must know how to deal with it. There should be proper customer service that would handle problematic buyers.
7. Dream big. This is my favorite lesson in the story. As an adult, I stopped dreaming big. By watching this series, I realized that I have to dream bigger other than this. I just have to.

My life-long goal is to make a living out of my passion–writing. I have started running my small shop here.

After watching this series, I listed again what are my dreams, what is my ideal life, and what are the things that really matter for me. 🙂

Right now, I appreciate where I am while working on my big dreams. 🙂

This is highly recommended if you feel lost and unsure of your life. Watch it when you have time!

Girlboss

Aishite imasu ni Romulo P. Baquiran Book Review

Isinulat ni Sir Romulo P. Baquiran ang Aishite imasu: Mga Dagling Sanaysay sa Danas-Japan ang mga sanaysay rito noong siya ay nagturo ng Wikang Filipino sa Japan noong 2014-2017. Inilathala naman ito ng UP Press ngayong 2021.

Bakit mo ito kailangang basahin?

Maraming dahilan para basahin mo ang librong ito. Una, basahin mo ito dahil maraming magandang paglalarawan sa Japan ang nilalaman ng akdang ito.

May isang kabanata na kung saan, malinaw na nailarawan sa isip ko ang itsura ng cherry blossoms at ang pakiramdam ng mga naroon sa eksenang iyon. Banayad ang mga naratibo. Parang nasa Japan ka na rin.

Basahin mo ito dahil napaka-natural, at totoo ng pagsusulat ni Sir Joey. Walang paglilimita sa mga danas, nakakatawa man o nakakahiya, na ikinuwento sa akdang ito. Matututo, matatawa, at makakaramdam ka ng lungkot sa mga sanaysay.

Napakaganda ng akdang ito. Parang kaibigan ka ni Sir Joey at personal ka niyang dinala sa iba’t ibang lugar sa Japan. Ipakikita niya sa’yo ang pagkain, teknolohiya, bisikleta, at ang transportasyon sa Japan. Ipakikilala ka rin niya sa mga naging kaibigan at mga nakasalubong niya sa lugar na ito.

Pwede mo pa ring bilhin ang aklat na ito sa Shopee. 🙂