BOOK REVIEW||Blackbird||TheNerdCorner

Have you ever been in a reading slump?

Trust me, it’s tough

I wasn’t able to read any book for almost two months, no matter how hard I tried.

I found myself losing interest in almost every genre.

I wasn’t even able to read my favourite book The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen and those who know me, knows that I LOVE that book.

But then, I found this book’s PDF file stacked in the documents in my phone and I was like why not try this one?

I found myself vaguely interested in this book from the first line and then my attention slowly increased and then I was addicted.

I guess you can’t blame a reader for that 🤗

It surprised me how this contemporary made my slump go away when a fantasy could not.

But then at the same time:

Of course, of course.

Being named after a fruit, Apple Yengko is so much more than just an ordinary fictional character. She is someone who is having a mid-life crisis to figure out who she is and how she wants to show herself to the world.

We all know middle school sucks and so does high school (now I know because I’m a freshman. Rest of the torture is yet to come!). It’s never about studies; it’s basically how you portray yourself to everyone else around you. Some things are just “assumed” by everyone else. Even if, in India this doesn’t happen that often but in other countries, it really becomes a bane for your existence.

The school is divided into various classes; the popular ones (these are the ones with whom everybody wants to be friends with), the freak ones (these are the ones who are always kind of out of the picture) , the jocks (these are the ones who seemingly don’t have much brains) and the list never ends. This distinction becomes so important by the students that you just have to fit into one of these classes otherwise you’re tagged as an outcast.

Analyn Yengko (mostly called Apple Yengko) is a Filipino who migrated to the USA at a very young age. The story begins when she gets invited by her friend Alyssa to her house. The boys start to call her Chinese and tell everyone that she eats dogs for dinner. Apple gets hurt by these false statements, she tells them that she doesn’t eat dogs and also that she isn’t Chinese

Then one of the boy gives this one racist statement that makes me more interested to read this book to know what happens

“Whatever. All Asians look the same”

Apple is an aspiring musician. She loves The Beatles, her favorite member is George Harrison and her favorite song is Blackbird.

She was never able to relate to her Filipino roots and she rarely spoke her native language.

She came to America when she was four years old; after her father died. Her mother said that they will have a better life in the USA.

But she never understood how

A famous songwriter needs a
guitar. It’s a necessity. George Harrison had one. Paul Simon, Norah Jones—
they all have guitars.

– Apple

But her mother didn’t even buy her the cheapest guitar even when she desperately wanted to, she always wanted her to get good grades because music will not take Apple anywhere.

But Apple never believed those words.

Every year, the boys in her school would make a list of the ugliest girls, called the Dog Log. Apple was anxious to know whether she was in it or not. Unfortunately she was in that list, in fact she was in the third number.

What I really love about this book is that it highlights the reality. The author talks about the savage sassy students who torment the lives of those students who are a little different.

There was the Dog Log list; where students were judged other student’s looks (mostly girls). They were teased by everyone else by their ranking and the fact that it was shown and regarded a wrong thing to do made this book really authentic.

Then there was the teenage drama (which most adults love to see) but this time it was quite intense. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the cliche “first love heartbreak” that we get to see in most middle/ high school story (and more often if you happen to be a Disney fan; we just always unconsciously wait for that drama to take place). It was about the popularity fame. Soon Apple’s friends leave her and become rude to her because she happens to be in the third number in the Dog Log. Her relationship with her mother was also faltering. Overall, her life at school and home was a mess.

Apple tries to become Analyn; a popular girl with whom everyone wants to be friends with, who has several friends and many boyfriends, who knows fashion and makeup but all of it was in vain because that Analyn will not be her.

Apple becomes lonely when everyone leaves her. Then she meets a new boy; Evan Temple. Apple and Evan become good friends; they both are different and they cannot fit in.

The friendship of Evan and Apple is super solid, it is something that I LOVED about this book.

Both of them are considered weirdos and both of them don’t care.

Evan and Apple then befriends Heleena (who happens to be the first person in the Dog Log ). Trust me, you’ll fall in love with this trio. You’ll giggle and chuckle with them when they break rules and live their own way.

Heleena is taunted with the name Bigleena and so much more. She’s always seen alone with no friends to hang out with. It makes Apple sad because back when Apple was friends with Alyssa, she used to laugh at Heleena.

But Apple and Heleena continue to stay the way they are despite all these issues.

So what are you waiting for?

Grab the book (or perhaps the PDF file if you can’t find it anywhere) because this book WILL NOT disappoint you and trust me, it will challenge you as a person.

Overall, it’s a very good book. You’ll love the story, you’ll love the characters; especially Apple and Evan and I highly recommend this to every reader.

Happy reading everyone!