Bayang Sofea by Teme Abdullah

Di awal penceritaan, kita diperkenalkan kepada dua watak utama—Sofea dan Danny—yang dahulunya bersahabat baik semasa zaman persekolahan. Namun, kerana salah faham yang tidak diselesaikan, mereka membawa haluan masing-masing. Sofea kini bekerja dalam dunia korporat yang penuh persaingan, manakala Danny memilih laluan sebagai peninju profesional.

Penulis kemudiannya menyuntik unsur misteri apabila watak Sofea digambarkan seolah-olah sedang melarikan diri daripada seseorang, menjadikan dirinya paranoid dan sentiasa berjaga-jaga. Dalam masa yang sama, Danny pula mula menyedari bahawa dirinya dipergunakan oleh sebuah organisasi rahsia yang mempunyai pengaruh besar dalam dunia sukan Nusaraya. Organisasi ini dikatakan memanipulasi kehidupan tokoh-tokoh ternama dengan janji kemasyhuran, selagi mereka akur kepada arahan yang diberi.

Apa yang aku suka tentang buku ini ialah gaya penceritaannya yang pantas dan mendebarkan. Premisnya juga unik—gabungan dunia korporat yang penuh drama, hasad dengki, dan politik kotor, bersama konflik dalaman watak-watak yang menarik.

Namun, aku merasakan pembangunan watak agak mendatar. Kebanyakan watak tampak dua dimensi, dan ada beberapa babak yang terasa tidak relevan, malah sedikit cringey dan ada part yang eh tiberr pulak. Walaupun begitu, aku tetap berpuas hati dapat menghabiskan bacaan ini, lebih-lebih lagi selepas hype buku ini sedikit reda. Ia tetap satu pengalaman yang menghiburkan.

Salutation Road by Salma Ibrahim

Salutation Road delivers a poignant and thought-provoking tale that straddles the line between reality and imagination, identity and displacement.

Sirad Ali is a quiet, introspective girl living in Greenwich, a place that feels more like a cage than a home. Her world is defined by the expectations of others, and her identity is shaped by the shadows of perception. Memories of her birthplace, Somalia, have blurred into abstraction—distant echoes of a life she barely recalls. With the burden of family responsibility weighing heavily on her shoulders, Sirad quietly drifts through a life that doesn’t quite feel like her own.

Then, something extraordinary happens.

Sirad receives an invitation to participate in a mysterious project called Unclassified—a one-day journey into a parallel realm designed for third-culture youth. The aim is to reconnect with their ancestral pasts in an alternate lifetime. What begins as a suspected prank soon morphs into an uncanny reality as she boards a bus from London to Mogadishu.

There, in Somalia, both familiar and utterly foreign, Sirad confronts an alternate version of herself—Ubah. This mirror image is bold, restless, and rebellious, married yet yearning for freedom. Through Ubah, Sirad is forced to face the fragments of a life she left behind, in a city scarred by war but still pulsing with untold stories.

As the two girls’ lives intertwine, Unclassified becomes more than just a journey—it’s a meditation on identity, memory, and the invisible threads that bind us to the past and future. When Ubah chooses to escape her life and board the same bus Sirad arrived on, the consequences ripple across realities, leaving both girls changed in profound, haunting ways.

Despite a few minor narrative loopholes, it is a bold, imaginative debut. The author has crafted rich, multidimensional characters and infused the novel with emotional resonance. It’s a story that lingers long after the final page—one that dares to ask what it means to belong and whether true freedom lies in staying or in the courage to leave.

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

As I made my way through the book, it struck me as a heartfelt exploration of past regrets and the desire for redemption. At sixty-one, Gail Simmons is staring down the possibility of retirement or, worse, termination just before her daughter’s wedding. Her people skills, or lack thereof, have put her in a tough spot at work, yet financially, she cannot afford to quit her job.

At the same time, Gail’s daughter, Debbie, is dealing with tensions of her own. A confrontation with her fiancé and a future mother-in-law creates a strain that spills into the wedding plans. Gail, feeling pushed to the sidelines, begins to worry that Debbie might start favoring her future in-law over her. It's a relatable conflict, and readers may find themselves connecting with this story on a personal level. 

At its core, the book delves into themes of family, marriage, and the painful midlife crisis. Gail’s journey is filled with emotional highs and lows. Some will see it as a path to growth and self-discovery, while others might reflect on their own experiences with uncertainty and the search for meaning.

Despite its deeper themes, the book remains accessible and easy to read. It offers a thoughtful, touching experience without being overly complex. A compelling look at the relationships that shape us and the choices that define us.