The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Celia Bowen is born with an innate ability and grows up moving through a series of theaters under the watchful eye of her father. He pushes her to earn money as a spiritual medium, despite her dislike, insisting she needs the practice for a greater challenge ahead. It is not a contest of skill but of endurance, one that binds her for nearly thirty years.

Her opponent, Marco Alisdair, is trained in secrecy. Like Celia, he masters manipulation and illusion, yet he must remain hidden. Years of preparation shape his life, but when he finally encounters Celia, certainty gives way to nerves and confusion. Both are groomed for a clandestine game, Celia performing in public while Marco works from the shadows. Everything proceeds according to plan until they begin to fall for one another.

At the center of their rivalry stands a mysterious circus that opens only at night and vanishes by dawn. With its black and white tents and dreamlike atmosphere, the circus travels from place to place, enchanting devoted visitors who long for it once it disappears. Even its performers sense secrets lingering beneath the spectacle.

Chosen as part of the circus, Celia must prove her strength and outshine her rival. Yet over time, she and the other performers begin to feel bound to something that demands sacrifice. The novel is richly magical, with breathtaking world building and lyrical prose. As someone who prefers fast thrillers, I found the pacing slow but pleasantly so. The ending feels simple yet fitting, closing the story with quiet inevitability. 4.5⭐

Selamat Pulang, Bayang by Husna Rosli

Dalili ialah seorang pelajar kolej yang baik, malah terlalu baik hingga dipulau oleh rakan sekampus selepas dia mempertahankan seorang pelajar lain daripada dibuli. Malangnya, pembuli tersebut datang daripada kelompok yang berkuasa dan berduit, membuatkan kebenaran mudah diselindungkan. Dari sinilah Dalili pula menjadi sasaran, dan perjalanan emosinya mula bergerak ke arah yang lebih gelap sebelum cerita beralih kepada babak fantasi.

Di alam Antara, Dalili bertemu Bayang, sosok yang membawanya memahami sisi lain kehidupan termasuk latar belakang para pembuli yang rupanya pernah menjadi mangsa buli dalam keluarga sendiri. Kemunculan entiti Anon yang kejam menambah dimensi tentang dendam dan pilihan moral, menjadikan konflik lebih simbolik daripada sekadar realiti.

Sejujurnya sukar untuk saya memberi ulasan tanpa bersikap terus terang. Saya sangat menghargai temanya kerana isu buli bukan perkara remeh. Ia ibarat barah sosial yang sering berpunca daripada persekitaran kita membesar dan cara seseorang bangkit daripadanya. Watak Dalili mungkin tampak naif dan rapuh pada awalnya, namun akhirnya dia mampu memulihkan keyakinan sendiri.

Walaupun pengakhiran untuk si pembuli terasa kurang memuaskan, saya menerima bahawa keputusan tersebut sepenuhnya milik penulis. Kalau dilihat dari review Goodreads mungkin pembaca terganggu dengan cara penceritaan yang show and tell tanpa mengasak pembaca untuk berfikir serta pembinaan watak yang agak dua dimensi. Namun apa yang saya suka ialah bagaimana Dalili boleh berdamai dengan Bayang dan menyedari Bayang akan selalu ada bersama dengannya. Saya rasa itu amat menggambarkan sifat Bayang secara harfiah.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman

The main character is a child, yet the story carries layers of meaning that resonate deeply with adult readers. Elsa is about to turn eight and she already knows she is different. She is bright, observant, and often feels out of place. She lives with her mother and her stepfather, and her only true companion is her Granny, who happens to live in the same building.

Granny is wonderfully eccentric, the kind of person who can both charm and exhaust everyone around her. She tells the most magical stories and lives life with unapologetic boldness. To Elsa, she is a hero, even if the rest of the world thinks otherwise. When Granny dies of cancer, Elsa is left in a silence that feels too heavy for a child to carry.

Before her death, Granny leaves Elsa a series of letters to deliver to their neighbours. Each letter holds an apology. What begins as an errand slowly turns into a journey of discovery, like a treasure hunt that helps Elsa make sense of her loss. Through these encounters, she learns that every neighbour carries hidden wounds and that her Granny had quietly woven herself into all their lives.

It becomes clear that the task is far from simple, yet Elsa faces it with courage shaped by love. Along the way, she discovers connection, kindness, and unexpected friendship.

One of my favourite things about this book is the characters. They are quirky, flawed, and deeply human, yet so easy to love. Each of them feels real in their own way, and watching their layers unfold makes the story even more meaningful. I grew attached to them more than I expected.

I give this book 5 ⭐s for its heartfelt storytelling. The author once again captures grief, love, and humanity with warmth and honesty.

Bercakap Dengan Jun by Hasrul Rizwan

Jun bukan hero tipikal. Dia penyeluk saku yang licik, dilabel lelaki gila dan memilih hidup terasing di perumahan terbengkalai bersama anjingnya, Saigon. Pada mata orang kampung, dia tiada nilai. Namun penulis perlahan-lahan membuka sisi kemanusiaannya.

Kehadiran seorang perempuan sarat mengandung di tempat tinggalnya menjadi titik perubahan. Tanpa banyak soal, Jun membantu proses kelahiran bayi tersebut. Adegan itu memperlihatkan sisi kemanusiaan yang jarang diberi ruang sebelum ini. Apabila wanita itu menghilang dan meninggalkan bayi perempuan, Jun berdepan pilihan. Dia boleh sahaja menyerahkan bayi itu, tetapi dia memilih untuk menjaga. Bayi itu dinamakan Ranum. Sejak itu, hidupnya berpusat pada tanggungjawab baharu. Dia meninggalkan dunia penyeluk saku dan cuba membina kehidupan yang lebih baik demi Ranum.

Tema yang jelas dalam Buku Pertama ialah kasih sayang, peluang kedua dan perubahan diri. Penulis mengangkat persoalan, adakah masa silam menentukan siapa kita selamanya. Watak Naurah dan Lily pula menambah warna dan emosi, memperlihatkan bagaimana setiap insan membawa luka dan harapan masing-masing. Penulisan yang terperinci membuatkan latar dan perasaan terasa hidup. Pengakhiran Buku Pertama benar-benar menyentuh hati.

Peralihan sudut pandang daripada saya dalam Buku Pertama kepada aku dalam Buku Kedua memberi kesan yang lebih peribadi. Dalam Buku Kedua, Jun keluar dari penjara selepas 15 tahun. Trauma dan kenangan lama masih menghantuinya, tetapi misinya jelas, mencari Ranum. Di sini, tema pengorbanan dan ketabahan lebih terasa. Moral yang jelas ialah manusia boleh berubah apabila diberi sebab untuk berubah. Dan kasih, walau lahir dalam keadaan yang tidak sempurna, tetap mampu membentuk seorang lelaki yang pernah hilang arah menjadi ayah yang sanggup berjuang habis-habisan.

Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

Before I Go To Sleep is one of those psychological thrillers that quietly crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. It is the kind of book you do not rush through, even when the pace feels slow and repetitive halfway in. In fact, that repetition is the point. I found myself trapped inside the mind of an unreliable narrator I desperately wanted to believe.

Christine Lucas is a middle aged woman who has lived with amnesia for over twenty years. Every morning, she wakes up believing she is young, only to realise that decades of her life are gone. She feels as if two versions of herself exist in the same body. While she is awake, she can retain information. Once she falls asleep, almost everything is erased. What remains are only fragments of her life before the accident.

Her husband Ben feels like a stranger, yet she is told every day that this is the man she has lived with for years. A neuropsychologist, Dr Nash, offers her a fragile sense of hope by encouraging her to document her memories in a journal. Each day, she secretly reads and rewrites it without Ben’s knowledge. The more she learns, the clearer it becomes that Ben does not want her to remember too much.

The journal becomes both her lifeline and her torment. It helps her piece together the truth while reminding her that everything will vanish again by morning. Still, she holds on to the hope of rebuilding a life worth living. When flashes of memory return like sudden visions, buried secrets begin to surface, leading to a revelation that shocked her and, honestly, shocked me too. 😅