It’s been ages since I made a book review. The last time I made a detailed book review was like eight to nine years ago when we were asked to read and make comments about the novel, The Pearl. I passed the said project with the help of this pre-made book review I found in National Bookstore. Hehehe. :D Whenever I read a novel or a story, I just say: “I loved it! You go read it!” or “Err. Not bad…” Just so you know, I’m not really a good novel/story critic because I, myself, am still learning about creative writing. But anyways, I’m blogging now because I got an inspiration from the book I read yesterday.

So as I said in my previous entry, I already received the free books that Summit Media sent me. I decided to read Every Girls Guide to Heartache¹ first because I was, literally & figuratively, in heartache yesterday. Haha!

The story is well-written. No need to grab a dictionary from your book shelf just to understand the words used in the story. And because I am a sucker for happy endings, I loved how Miss Marla, the author, wrote the story’s resolution.

So, would that be fine as my short book review? Haha. I told you. I ain’t good at doing this.

Although Anna, the main character of the story, is only sixteen, I still can relate with her even though I am almost eight years older than her. Maybe because I acted that way when I was still a teen. (Ugh. Why can’t be a teenager forever?) TJ may be my first real boyfriend ever, but I am just like the other girls who loved a man who didn’t love me back or let’s say, who loved me back but didn’t fight for it for some lame reasons.

I, like the other girls, have undergone the 5 stages of grieving by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross². This may not be discussed in the story but if you’ve read the book and have noticed on how she faced the my-boyfriend-left-me-and-now-I-seriously-do-not-know-how-to-face-life-without-him situation, you would agree with me that Anna really underwent the five stages of grieving (as far as I know this is not only applicable to death and dying issues).

When you get heartbroken, don’t hinder yourself from letting all your emotions out or don’t hate yourself for having puffy eyes every morning. That’s normal. And I swear, it’s healthy. I’d rather cry it all out rather than get totally insane and be sent to mental hospital for rehabilitation. BUT make sure that you don’t dwell on your heartbroken-ness (if there’s such a word) forever³. And also, don’t rush yourself to move on. Not even a superhero can move on in a snap. We all need to undergo the grieving process. We will experience that – whether we like it or not.

Always remember this quote, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end“. Being heartbroken really sucks, but doesn’t it feel good when you’ve totally got through it and you’re finally ready to start anew? Whether you came from a bitter or smooth break-up, what’s important is that you have learned a lot from that situation like dealing with heartaches and correcting mistakes done in the past. Being heartbroken doesn’t leave you like a trash ready to be thrown in a bin. It makes you a better and stronger person. It directs you to the brighter side. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe that person isn’t really for you. Maybe God is molding you into a more improved girlfriend/boyfriend for your next relationship that will last for a lifetime.

1. Thanks to Summit Media for the image. [↩]
2. I met her in my Psychiatric Nursing subject. She’s one of my favorite theorists or whateveryoucall’em [↩]
3. like what I always advise to my “clients”  in my seek-for-an-advice thread in TeenTalk [↩]