"Nothing but the Truth"

Nathania Carissa Vida Octaviani (392020032)

January 31th,  2021 

Reading Diary - Entry 3 

Introduction

“Nothing but the Truth” is a fiction novel by George Kershaw. The book was first published by Cambridge University Press on 1 April 1999. The name of the illustrator is not listed in this book. In fact, this book has 80 pages. However, because I don't have the original book, I only read it through the e-book. I read it in English e-Reader.net and the e-book is only available for 70 pages. So, I have completed the 70 pages. I choose to read this e-book, because I was interested with the title of the novel. 

The Setting 

The story takes place in Bangkok, Thailand in 1998. The most highlighted place in this story is at international school in Bangkok (Hu's school) and at Khao Yai National Park (when Hu & her friends went on a field trip) in Hing Tung, Thailand. 

Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. Meanwhile, Khao Yai National Park is no doubt the best national park in Thailand for regular visitors where it is relatively easy to see some impressive animals. Established in 1962 as Thailand's first national park, it is the third largest national park in Thailand. Situated mainly in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Khao Yai extends into Prachinburi, Saraburi and Nakhon Nayok provinces. The main checkpoint of the park is 180 km from Bangkok.

    Khao Yai National Park 

    Source: https://www.easyvoyage.co.uk/thailand/khao-yai-park-3368

The Characters 

The main character is Hu. Hu was seventeen and a good student. She studied at the Bangkok International Academy, an international school for the children of foreign people working in Thailand. Hu has complete parents, but the parents name is not listed in this story. Her father is the father who insisted on his daugther's will, he really wanted Hu to become a doctor. 

Hu has cat. The cat's name is Lao Mao, because Hu loved animals. She has friends too, their name is Marwa, Thomas, Yoshiko, John and Sean. Other than that, Hu has teachers too, he's name is Mr. Stanyer. Mr. Stranyer is a crafty english teacher.  

  

Plot 

Hu, a seventeen year old Chinese girl, is being blackmailed by her English teacher, Mr Stanyer, who says she cannot be entered for the International Baccalaureate unless her English grades improve. She dare not tell her parents, whose ambition is for her to be a doctor, so she agrees to pay Mr Stanyer for private lessons, although she cannot understand her poor grades. She uses her savings and sells a ring given to her by an aunt. 

Hu makes friends with a new American student, John Truman, whose mother is Head of the Upper School. She also becomes involved in the school show, The Wizard of Oz taking the leading role of Dorothy. 

There is drama during a school trip to Khao Yai National Park, when Hu and her friends become lost. They are eventually restored to safety. During the trip Hu learns from one of her friends that Mr Stanyer has been blackmailing other girls too, usually those with wealthy parents.

Back at school, Hu becomes very anxious and her parents eventually discover about the extra lessons. A meeting is held with the headmaster and a school counsellor but no-one believes Hu. John’s mother, Verity Truman, however, supports Hu’s story and begins an investigation into Mr Stanyer’s background. She uncovers his corruption – he lied about his qualifications and has no degree, he has got an entry visa into Thailand by deception, and he has been marking students down in order to get them to pay for extra lessons. She confronts the school authorities with the truth and Hu is finally vindicated. 

Conclusion 

In my opinion, this novel teaches us many things, especially in terms of honesty, we have to be honest, especially to our parents. Although it is difficult, it must be. We must be open to our own parents. Second, message to all parents reading this, don't force their child's will to be what you want. Third, don't be a cunning person. we have to be kind, obey the rules.

That's all, thank you :) 

"Forget to Remember"

Nathania Carissa Vida Octaviani (392020032)

January 23th, 2021 

Reading Diary - Entry 2 

Introduction

"Forget to Remember" is a family fiction novel by Alan Maley was published by Cambridge University Press, 2011. The name of the illustrator is not included in this book. In fact, this book has 96 pages. However, because I don't have the original book, I only read it through the e-book. I read it in English e-Reader.net and the e-book is only available for 90 pages. So, I have completed the 90 pages. I choose to read this e-book, because the title makes me curious to read.

The Setting

The story takes place in London, United Kingdom in 2011. The most highlighted place in Lewisham (Sarah's house) and in Marlow, Buckinghamshire (Hugh & Kate house).

Lewisham is a London borough in South London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. 

Marlow is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, 4 miles south-west of High Wycombe, 5 miles west north-west of Maidenhead and 33 miles west of central London.

I think this story takes 1 year or less than 1 year passes from start to finish. 

    Marlow

   Source: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-to-do-in-marlow-buckinghamshire-england/

   Lewisham 

  

 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewisham

The Characters 

The main character is Jan & Kate. Jan & Kate have a mother named Sarah. Jan has a daugther named Cindy. Kate has a husband named Hugh. Kate & Hugh have a daugther named Caroline, and a son named Jeremy.

1.     Jan is a patient woman, a woman who was educated very hard by her father. She always take care of her sick mother, even though there was actually a lot she could do but she was still patient to take care of her mother. 

Kate is a selfish woman, she is more concerned with herself than the others, especially her mother. She always ignore her mother when her mother sick. All she thinks about is only money, money, and money. 

Plot

Jan and Kate are sisters. They have a mother named Sarah, who has Alzheimer's disease. Jan and her daugther, Cindy, are always patient in taking care of their mother / grandmother. Meanwhile, Kate never took care of her mother and even visited her. Kate is too selfish, all she cares about is money, money and money. In fact, he forgot his mother's birthday.

Kate has a husband, named Hugh. Hugh doesn't care about his mother-in-law at all, all he cares about is his business. Instead, he made Sarah's condition an investment. Until one day, Hugh was caught having an affair with the wife of his business partner, his name is Melpa. When Hugh is caught cheating, he gets into trouble, he goes bankrupt.

 One day, Sarah was died. Jan and Cindy were very sad, according to them, even though Sarah's condition made them dizzy, they actually really loved Sarah. Finally, they also spread this news to Kate. Kate felt guilty, and finally Jan and Kate forgave each other. 

Conclusion

 In my opinion, this novel is very interesting to read. From this story, there are many lessons we can take, that family is everything, especially parents. So, the message is love our parents while they are still alive, take good care of them when they are old. 

 

"Tales from the Arabian Nights"

 Nathania Carissa Vida Octaviani (392020032)

January 15th, 2021

 Reading Diary - Entry 1 (book 2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

“Tales from the Arabian Nights”  is a fiction novel by Antoine Galland and independently published in 2017. This book is collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age.

It is often known in English as the Arabian Nights, from the first English language edition (1706), which rendered the title as The Arabian Nights' Entertainment. The work was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa.

In fact, this book has 47 pages. However, because I don't have the original book, I only read it through the e-book. I read it in English e-Reader.net and the e-book is only available for 35 pages. So, I have completed the 35 pages. I choose to read this e-book, because I was interested in reading a fairytale genre of novel.

The Setting

The tales themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Arabic, Persian, Mesopotamian, Indian, Jewish and Egyptian folklore and literature. In particular, many tales were originally folk stories from the Caliphate era, while others, especially the frame story, are most probably drawn from the Pahlavi Persian work Hazār Afsān which in turn relied partly on Indian elements.

The Characters

Actually, the characters in this story are so many. But, I just can tell you about the main characters of this story. The main characters is Sultan Shahriar, the vizir of the sultan, Scheherazade and Dunyazade.

Sultan Shahriar

 

 

(Source: http://classe.bilingue.free.fr/fr/TDM-lecture/txt/1001/6-1001-shahriar.html)

Scheherazade                                                        

              

(Source: levekunst.com/for-scheherazade/)

Sultan Shahriar is a man who has a beautiful wife, and he loved her more than anything in the world. The vizir of the sultan is the father of Sheherezade and Dunyazade. In my opinion, Sheherezade is the memorable person in this story, because she is very optimistic person and she can soften the heart of Sultan Shahriar. 

Plot

Sultan Shahriar had a beautiful wife, and he was very much in love with her. One day, the sultan found her with another man. He was very angry and cut off the man's head. Then he cut off his wife's head too and from that time the sultan began to hate all women.

He said to his vizir, he'll marry a new wife every day. The woman has to stay with the sultan for one night. Then the next morning, he’ll cut off her head. So no woman will hurt him again. The vizir had to find a new wife for the sultan every day. But this was a very difficult job. Every family was afraid. No girl wanted to be the sultan's wife for one night and then die. Fathers began to send their daughters away.

The vizir was too afraid. He can’t find any more girls. The vizir had two daugthers. One of them, Scheherazade, was beautiful and very clever. One day she said, 'Dear Father, please do something for me. It will make me, the sultan and the people very happy.' And the vizir said, 'What is it, my daughter? Ask, and I will do it for you.' Scheherazade said, she want to be the Sultan’s wife. And her father was very shocked. He don’t want his daughter to die.

The next day, Scheherazade went with her father to see the sultan. The sultan was very surprised. Why did the vizir want his daughter to be the sultan's wife? But Scheherazade was beautiful and the sultan was very happy with her. So he married her. She also took his sister to sleep with her and the sultan. And she said to her sister, one hour before morning, her sister must say, 'Dear sister, please tell me a story.' So Scheherazade began to tell the story.

Scheherazade tell many stories about a thousand and one nights in the Arabian Nights. And that makes the sultan thinks of new ones. The sultan never want to cut off Scheherazade head, because he loves her. So, Scheherazade won the Sultan’s love with her stories. She loved him too, and they were very happy.

Conclusion

In my opinion, this novel is very interesting to read, because this novel has many fairy tales that can captivate the hearts of its readers, and besides that we can take a lesson in this story, that love can change a person's heart, from hard to soft. I like this novel.

"Me Before You"

Nathania Carissa Vida Octaviani (392020032)

January 14^th, 2021

Reading Diary - Entry 1 (book 1) 

Me before You

Introduction

“Me before You” is a romance fiction novel by Jojo Moyes. The book was first published by Michael Joseph on 5 January 2012 in the United Kingdom. In Indonesia, the book was published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama on 25 July 2016. In fact, this book has 480 pages. However, because I don't have the original book, I only read it through the e-book. I read it in English e-Reader.net and the e-book is only available for 46 pages. So, I have completed the 46 pages. I choose to read this e-book, because I was interested in reading a romantic novel and because I had seen the movie too.

 The Setting

Set in the United Kingdom, Lou Clark & her family live in tiny English hometown (Smalltown, U.K.). The one point of interest is Stortford Castle (owned by Will’s family), a tourist destination that draws people from all over the world. In chapter 11, Lou & Will visited Mauritius, a small island off the coast of Africa. They Mauritius is about as different from small-town England as you can get.

In the novel closing moments, Lou visits Paris. This visit was arranged by Will before his death and is a reference to a conversation earlier in the novel when he said that it was his favorite place in the world. She sat in front of the dark green cafe, looking down the Rue des Francs Bourgeois. It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day in Paris. In a fitting way, the novel closes with Lou heading "off down the street toward the parfumerie and the whole of Paris and beyond" (chapter 12), finally taking her future into her own hands and embracing all of its possibilities.

 The Characters

Will & Lou

Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/film-review-me-before-you-ss7m7tfll

In my opinion, Louisa, Will, Treena and Nathan are memorable person in this story.

Louisa Clark is a woman who is talented, creative and funny but she underestimates herself and she has few ambitions. Louisa has 1 little sister, her name is Treena Clark who is a single mother to son Thomas, who works at flower shop and Treena always support her sister, Louisa.

Will Traynor is a man who became quadriplegic after the road accident. He is intelligent, but his impairment has left him moody, angry, and bitter. Unable to accept never being the active and adventurous man he once was, he wants to end his life. Nathan is Will's nurse who always helped and took care of him. Nathan was also considered as Will's friend.

 Plot

Louisa Clark is a woman who loses her job at a local cafe when the cafe closes. She goes to the Job Centre and after several failed attempts, is offered a unique employment opportunity: help care for Will Traynor, a successful, wealthy, and once-active young man who developed quadriplegic in a pedestrian-motorcycle accident two years ago. Louisa was interviewed by Will's Mother and she immediately accepted Louisa to work for the next 6 months. She believe Louisa can brigthen his spirit. 

Louisa and Will's relationship starts out rocky due to his bitterness and resentment over being disabled. Things get worst after Will's ex-girlfriend, Alicia, and his best friend Rupert reveal that they are getting married. Because of Louisa's care, Will becomes more communicative and open-minded as they share experiences together. Louisa only had 6 months to change Will's mind so he didn't go to Dignitas, a Swiss-based assisted suicide organization.

Louisa persuade Will to go on a holiday with her, she takes Will to the island of Mauritius. The night before returning home, Louisa tells Will that she loves him. Will says their time together has been special, but he cannot bear to live in a wheelchair. He will be following through with his plans. Angry and hurt, Louisa doesn’t want speak to him for the rest of the trip. When they return home, Will's parents are pleasantly surprised by his good physical condition. Louisa, however, resigns as his caretaker, and they understand that Will intends to end his life.

On the night of Will's flight to Switzerland, Louisa visits him one last time. They agree that the past six months have been the best in their lives. He dies shortly after in the clinic, and and he left a message to Louisa to take money from her lawyer for her life and education. The novel ends with Louisa at a café in Paris, reading Will's last words to her in a letter, that tell her to 'live well'.

Conclusion

In my opinion, this novel is very interesting to read, very easy to understand and this novel is great for people who like to read books in the romantic genre. This novel also teaches us to be people who are always optimistic regardless of the circumstances and also teaches us that if we love someone, we must love them regardless of their circumstances and and we must to support them.