Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe is a beautiful, moving tale of teenage love, friendship and family.

Reading this made me realize that reading a book is soo different now that I'm a mum. The way I see things, the way I interpret the books, my feels, my thoughts are so different now. I'm very sure that I won't feel this way if I had read this when I was single. Maybe 4yrs ago.

4 years ago, I was a girl who's in love with another girl. I was a girl who has accepted the fact that I won't have a "regular life". I was a girl who's very much at ease with her sexuality and has accepted herself. I was a girl with parents who loves me just as much.

If I had read Aristotle and Dante 4 years ago, I would have felt happy that finally a book that talks about the rawness and the reality of being 15 and scared and confused was finally published. I would have wanted to hug Dante because in one way or another, I relate to him much more. I am that crazy girl with a wonderful family. But is very much honest with her feelings.

I see Aristotle in so many girls and boys I've known before. Confused. In denial. Angry. And I was once him.

4 years ago I would've loved the book because of the main characters. These 2 beautiful, young, Mexican-American boys who fell in love.

Yes, I'd probably felt happy that their parents love them so much. I'd probably think that the parents are awesome because they knew. Wow! They understood. They knew. They have accepted.

But now, since I'm a mum myself. I feel like I connect more to the mums of the book. Well yes, since I was once on their shoes, I could definitely understand Ari and Dante. But now I really feel for the parents more. Because that is me now.

I smiled when Dante says, referring to her mother "She's God. She knows everything.". I smiled and cried at the same time. Oh how I wish I could be like Dante and Ari's mum. How I wish that someday, one day, when my daughter hits her teenage life, she could say those exacts words.

Right now, people around me say that. "Oh you probably have a CCTV here. You always know what happens to your child." Hahaha! Then I'd simply tell them, because I'm her mother. I know her like the back of my hands.

But teenage years are different. I know because my own parents, while I am sure that they love me, didn't really know me. They didn't know me. And like these two boys, I also felt alone. Lonely. Angry. But unlike them, I had to overcome everything by myself. Probably because I know that my parents love me anyway. At least they love me more than enough. It may not be the kind of love I need or want, but they love me nonetheless. And sometimes, that's more than enough.

This book had made me realize tons of things. Tons and tons of things. I'd probably read it again after 10yrs. Just to check. Just to keep myself in check.

Anyway, this is a deeply moving book. Full of young love and friendship and family. I love it so much. So much that I want to read it again. It really is an experience.

And honestly, I want to hug them both. Tell them that they are okay. That they will be okay. And I hope that the love they have won't be tainted with anything crazy and dark and sad. Because the kind of love they have is something everyone of us, wished to have.

Go read. And enjoy.

After three years, finally finished reading this book. Well, actually, I got a copy of this book (recommended by my good friend and fellow-bookworm, Desi) when I was pregnant. Eh since tamad ako magbasa nun, I didn’t got to finish it. When I gave birth, I tried reading it again but took me several months before I was able to finish. It was super effort talaga to finish reading a book when the #FabSkye was a baby.

But now, I read it again just in time for the movie. Which I haven’t seen yet, obviously, because my friends told not to. I’d be disappointed lang daw.

This book is really something. I love the way it was written. I love how the author was able to draw pictures of scenes on my head as I was reading. He was describing each peculiarity in such a way that it’ll make your imagination go wild. And then of course the photos! They are awesome. Sometimes I would find myself looking intently at the photos imagining each peculiarity and wonder if there’s a probability that everything written here was true. The last time I felt this way on a book eh sa Harry Potter pa. So yeah. Thank you Ransom Riggs for building a whole new world of peculiar and loops.

To my fellow bookworms, go and read this one. I’m on the 2nd book now and so far so good. I love the adventure, the teenage love story and peculiarities. A whole new different world. Very much engaging.

But I still haven’t watched the movie yet. Grabe daw ang movie. It’s sooo far from the book. Lahat ng bookworm friends ko na inaantay tong movie na to, galit na galit na lumabas sa sinehan. My bookworm friends, 1 week nagrarant sa chatroom namin. Nyahahahaha! Sila din nagsabi sa akin to not watch anymore. Ma-stress lang daw ako. And sayang ang money.

But I still plan to watch it. Sa HBO nalang siguro. Harhar!

How about you, have you read this book already? How about the movie? Or both? Let me know!

I was initially so heartbroken over the fact that I didn’t get this book on it’s first day of release because well, I don’t have money to buy the book. As a Potterhead, I felt like I should have this book and I MUST READ it.

But I have priorities and a 1500php book is not on it. So I let it pass. Until a friend gave me copy which I gladly accepted and read.

Ermergerd.

I hate this book. I’m so glad I didn’t shell out 1500php because honestly, I’d probably cry.

I told you I am a Potter head. I read all the books like a thousand times already and listened to the e-book, everyday, for the past 6years. That’s my “work-mode music”. I have it on my office laptop and I have to listen to it to function properly at work.

Anyway, it took me such a long time to finish reading this book because I really don’t like it. It doesn’t feel like Harry Potter at all. The characters are far from the characters I grew up reading. I kept on telling myself that this is not the Harry, Ron and Hermione that I know.

They made Harry this pathetic father, Ron turned out to be a comic father without much depth. Only Hermione turned out to be close to the Hermione that I know but still. Na-ah.

If there’s one saving grace, it’s probably the Malfoys. Sila lang talaga. Sila lang talaga yung okay.

Ermergerd.

If you are a Potter head like me, I suggest don’t read it anymore. It’s so sad. Nainis talaga ako ng bongga. I almost didn't finish reading it. Umandar lang talaga ang pagiging bookworm ko kaya tinapos ko sya ng pilit na pilit.

I grew up on a household with a tub of petroleum jelly all the time. Hindi nawawala sa bahay yan. Coz my Nanay (Mila’s mom) used to have very dry, flaky skin. As in sirena levels because of the kaliskis. That’s where I got my dry skin. And a lot of my cousins too. Although mine is not as flaky as theirs.

Probably because Mila made sure that my skin is always moisturized especially on the cold December – February season. Kaya talaga laging may petroleum jelly sa bahay.

There are also all these other ways we use our petroleum jelly:

There are more ways to use your petroleum jelly actually kaya nga it’s a household staple. And of course, when it comes to petroleum jellies, we all know which brand is the best – Vaseline.

We’ve been using Vaseline 100% pure petroleum jelly for years now and I must say, they are indeed the best. No unwanted “petrol scent” at all and I love the easy-open lid. Even all my other friends are Vaseline user and they agree that this is definitely the best.