BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Oke... gue gatau harus mulai dari mana atau basa-basi gimana, yang jelas semua cerbung dan cerpen dan puisi gue semua di-remove ke blog gue yang satu lagi, Confession of An Ailurophile. Maaf, maaf banget kalau ini sedikit mengecewakan, tapi semua orang punya jalan hidupnya masing-masing loh kok jadi serius begini sik hahahahahaha.

Di CAA, semua konten di-set just for invited reader, jadi SEANDAINYA ada yang niat mau baca, mention aja URL blog kalian ke @Eshaawn. Gue tau ini ribet sih, dan mungkin bakal menuai pro dan kontra dalam hidup gue... oke ini overrated. But I thought that was the best way to protect my rights as a creator.

Semua ini bermula dari seorang kawan yang minta minjem puisi gue buat nilai B. Indo, and I got mad and sick because only fools who permit anyone to use their work for shit like that. C'mon lah, gue yakin lo bisa bikin sesuatu yang jauh lebih keren dari puisi rubbish gue, something NEW and ORIGINAL, wuis saking marahnya Echa sampe dikapitaliasi semua yekan. Tapi suer tekewer-kewer, gue esmosi.

Ya okelah, gue tau itu konsekuensi yang gue emban dan telen bulet-bulet kalo nge-share sesuatu di dunia maya. Maka trik gue adalah bikin blog gue gabisa dicopas. Mayan mempan sih, sampe suatu saat gue melihat seseorang make quotes gue... dan quotes orang lain juga, and took credit for it. Someone who calls herself as an author. I was beyond disappointed.

Gue pernah baca quotes dari @AdviceToWriters begini: "If you copy from one, it's plagiarism. If you copy from many, it's research." Now I see that's not all true. If you copy from many without add something original by yourself, it's no more than rubbish.

I don't write this to humiliate anyone or whatsofckever, I just want to speak up my mind. I am so so sorry if this post disrupts you or what. I hope you understand (mostly if you consider yourself as copycat, too).

Salam meong-meong,
EchaSwift12.

28th July 2011: From Fantastic Five to Fantastic Thirteen

Time won't fly like I'm paralyzed by it.... For the first time of my life, I disagree with Taylor's statement. First, I'm never paralyzed by how time flies, I'd taken it as gift, and second, I really love how time flies and tends to change everything. Sure what's done is done, you can't undo it but you can turn back the page and learn.

Persahabatan gue sama mereka adalah cerita panjang yang bisa lo simak dalam beberapa novel yang gue tulis. Sumpah, ini bukan promosi, tapi memang mereka kehidupan nyata di balik karya-karya itu. Satu dari mereka yang palinggg awal gue kenal adalah Lista, beh gue kadang suka bingung ngejelasin kepribadiannya dia gimana. Kadang tomboi, kadang feminin, kadang childlike. All I know--and remember--is we said hello, she did it first. And as simply as that, we became chairmate. Dari kelas 7-2 itulah, gue juga kenal Eca dan Dinda, two other parts of this friendship. Duwi yang sering jadi bulan-bulanan kejailan kami duduk di depan gue, dan GATAU KENAPA sejak ngeliat mukanya aja sense of iseng gue udah tergelitik (maaf lahir batin ya Wi). Eca itu ermmm, long lost friend yang dulu gue kenal di SD sebelum doi pindah. Kalo Dinda, gue lumayan deket sama dia berkat video project TIK.

Setelah naik kelas, kita semua pun keaduk-aduk, dengan gue mental paling jauh di 8-3. Conversation became less intense, karena kelas gueee yang paling jauh HAHAHA. Singkatnya, tementemen gue pun membentuk rumpun persahabatan yang baru. Lista di 8-6 ketemu Ulfa dan Tiwi, Duwi di 8-7 ketemu Nunik, Eca di 8-8 ketemu Dini, Zahra, sama Fia. Trus berhubung Ulfa punya dua sohib  sejak SD, Rachmi dan Anis, gabunglah mereka, dan Dinda enak karena kelasnya deket. Jujur loh awal-awalnya gue iri wahahahahaha, apalagi tuh gue kira Anis itu brainiac jutek gegara mukanya jutek (pislopngawl Um), Rachmi gue kira orangnya jaim gimanaaa gitu tapi gataunya sekalinya dekettttttt... ah lagi bulan puasa, gaboleh gibah:p Trus teh kalo Tiwi gue kirain SKSD gimanaa gitu yak hahaha. Gue lupa gue mulai mengendap-endap pada rumpun mereka kapan, atau gimana, I guess gegara gue gaada barengan kalo mau shalat zuhur di masjid, gue pun ikut mereka. Trus Tiwi dan Fia dan yang lain kecuali Anis, Rachmi, Ulfa, Nunik ikutan mading hahahahahaha, what a fun time. Puncaknya sih sampe pas rohis ngadain LDKR dan gue ikutan, I got a chance to get to know them more and deeper.

Trus ya gitu. Kita sering main bareng, jalan bareng, udah kayak kembar 13 aja deh ya hahaha. Uah gitu pas nyampe rumah dari LDKR itu, gue dapet kabar kalo buku gue, Fantastic Five, bakal diterbitin. Huaaaah rasanya cetar membahana lah ya pokoknya. Gue pun langsung pamer ke mereka dan ngasih tau ceritanya dari awal sampe akhir hihihi, termasuk bagian si Duwi meninggal--nggak di kehidupan nyata nggak di novel emang lo di-bully melulu yak Wi:'>

Singkatnya sih Fantastic Five terbit bulan Juni 2011 dan mulai ada di tokbuk Juli-nya. Gue pun ngeliat cover-nya pasca jalan sama mereka (nggak jalan deng. Atletik di Senayan). Gue pun mulai sedikit percaya kalo mereka ini lucky charm gue hahaha. Tanggal 28 Juli 2011, sebagai wujud syukur, kami pun makan-makan di D'Cost, dengan satu wish, "Semoga buku ini bestseller, aamiin." Gue lupa siapa yang pertama kali mencetuskan ini, pokoknya ada yang nyeletuk, "Ih, kok lo blakblakan banget sih." Gue pun menimpali, "Iya nih, kita emang keluarga blakblakan." Keluarga di sini karena kami mendaulat Anis sebagai Umami (which is sampe sekarang I still discover why), dan karena kami butuh kepala keluarga dan Nunik yang paling manlike, maka dialah yang menjadi Upapi. Pulang dari D'Cost, kami pun ke Gramed (ciyeeeeh), sebenernya kemarenan sih udah tapi kepengin ngecek stok aja hehehe:p

Keblakblakan kami pun bener-bener baru keliatan HAHAHA. Bayangin deh Lista (ini yang paling semangat) gue Umami dan yang lain tuh ngiterin Gramed sampe lantai tiga, nawarin satu per satu orang yang (keliatannya) maniak buku persahabatan model begini. Itu pertama kalinya gue diajak foto sama orang tak dikenal dan dimintain tanda tangan:') Rasanya... yah hahaha cetar membahana lah pokoknya. Trus Upapi pun berinisiatif biar sekalian aja buku gue di-launching di sana. Gue yang pemalu pun ayo-ayo aja, dan alhamdulillah lamaran kami buat launching di-approve. Azek.

Abis itu... udah? Gitu aja? Wets perjuangan belum selesai, kawan, ahahaha. Gue sama mereka pun sibuk promosi buat launching ini, nempelin undangan dan foto buku gue di mading. Resensi buku gue pun diulas di sana (yaiyalah gue anak mading zzz), dan guru-guru pun juga kena promosi hahaha. Tanggal 21 September 2011, gue pun resmi launching... dan sepi *krik. Iya sepi, cuma mereka dan ibu mereka dan keluarga gue yang dateng. Rada miris sih kalo dibandingin sama launching-nya Mbak Trinity Traveler yang tepat satu jam setelah gue, which was crowded dan sampe ada yang ga kebagian bangku. Tapi yah tak apalah. Kita semua pun makan di CFC, dan pulangnya gue bikin desain aneh tentang kami, dengan tulisan kapital "BLAKBLAKANS FAMILY" serta tagline, "Speaking the truth then laughing out loud."

Those are the times when I wish my eyes could picture our moments, and soon I realized that certain moments go on forever, it would be captured and padlocked inside your heart, so you could rewatch them when you're upset or lonely or about to cry. But I never rewatch those moments, because whenever I'm upset or lonely or about to cry, etc., they're always here to cheer me up, and again we build new precious memories. It becomes an endless cycle, and I'm grateful for friendship like that.

So here I say, it's been two years. Two years full of laughter and argues and tears and birthday candles and photographs and milky cream, but those are never enough for me. One minute away from you and I feel the sudden hunger to see you again soon. I don't know how to say it, how to spell this mantra; I'd never been that grateful for my whole life before I met you guys. So thank you, I guess, thank you for everything.

I don't know how many times left for us to cherish, how many secrets left to unfile and laugh over it. Nonetheless, there's an upcoming and unpredictable future we can't see, or reach, or touch yet. I don't know whether we'll argue or fight or whatsoever that could end this beautiful relation, but whatever happens, never forget... we still have this wondrous one thing.

Each other.

Happy birthday, BlakBlakansFamily:) Love you to the moon and back; to death and even then.

Tired. Yet Can't Sleep

Sekutip lirik dari Fix You-nya Coldplay, sangat mewakili perasaan gue saat ini. Gue inget sama orang itu. Orang yang ngelewatin dua tahun lima bulan dari hidupnya bareng gue sebelum dia mutusin to ride on his own way. It's okay... everyone gotta choose their path. It's just... I'm not sure if I'm really fine, even after one year has passed.

Maybe he's not the kindest one or the most romantic one. Dia juga sering ga peka. Dia inosen. Dia deket sama banyak cewek sampe kadang gue ga ngerti apa yang diliatnya dari seorang Echa yang cuma Echa. Gue sering ngeliat matanya jelalatan liat cewek cakep. Kadang gue mikir dia pasti udah nggak tahan banget sama gue, dia cuma mempertahankan karena takut melepaskan. It's okay, Del, gue juga pernah kayak gitu. I'm never sorry it ended up that way. Instead, I'm grateful for all that inspiration. For all my works. Trust me, I'm beyond thankful.

Gue cuma ngerasa dia beneran ngerasa sama kayak gue pas gue ngeliat dia nangis. Orang yang selama ini gue anggap superman, gue anggap hero. Orang yang seringnya rigid sama orang yang baru dikenal, emotionless. And suddenly he borrowed my shoulder to cry.

Dan kami pisah. Setelah berbuket-buket mawar putih dan gombalan romantis, semua pelukan dan cipika-cipiki terasa hambar dan ga bermakna lagi. Setelah gue mikir emang udah waktunya gue nyerah karena we were never meant to be.

We still phoned and chatted, and I know kami udah ga ketolong lagi. Gue selalu ngerasa sakit tiap ngobrol sama dia, dia pun sakit kalo gue nolak buat ngomong. Semesta udah berkonspirasi untuk memisahkan kami. Yah. Mau dibilang apa.

I've never got enough words to say about you, Del, not in this descriptive way. I become wordless when it comes to you. But truth is, you're that Ello Rivaldi and Jonathan Mountain and Reynold Dubois and Arian Tristanandri. You always captivate me like a firework show. You inspire me, change me, a way too much.

Would you listen to this playlist, just in case you miss me and we're both too hurt to say that?

1. Jet Lag by Simple Plan.
2. Come Back... Be Here by Taylor Swift.
3. Always be My Baby by David Cook.
4. The Last Time by Taylor Swift ft. Gary Snowpatrol.
5. I'd Lie by Taylor Swift.
6. Place I'll Never Be by Adhitia Sofyan.
7. Two More Lonely People by Miley Cyrus.
8. Gives You Hell by AAR (because it gives me hell. You know what I mean).
9. The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift.
10. Superman by Taylor Swift.
11. Begin Again by Taylor Swift (you're the 'he' not 'you').
12. Come in with the Rain by Taylor Swift.
13. If This Was A Movie by Taylor Swift.
14. State of Grace by Taylor Swift.
15. All Too Well by Taylor Swift.
16. I Almost Do by Taylor Swift.
17. Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift.
18. Alligator Sky by Owl City.
19. Super Something by Yuna.
20. Just A Feeling by Maroon 5.

Oke sumpah ini absurd dan galau dan complicated. Gue sendiri aja malu ngepostnya. Tapi yah... I just try to make it easier for both of us. Am I helping?

Satu Kata

Satu kata.
Satu kata untukmu mengenang
Yah, mengenang
Mungkin juga membangun abu dari sisa bayangan
Pena yang dulu kupegang masih tersimpan dalam si kapsul waktu
Bersama kanvas yang selalu menghalangi pandangmu
Teringat pada jari-jari yang bicara begitu indah
Teringat pada mahakarya ciptaan kita
Dan aku berpikir,
Akankah kau melukiskan langit biru untuknya?

Benang Merah Ini

Kutemukan namamu di mana pun

Di balik jendela beruap
di atap gedung pencakar langit
di dalam imaji tanpa dimensi
Bahkan kutemukan namamu pada buku matematika,
Juga kotak kamera
Pada buku istilah asing
Kita menyatu
Tak terpisah
Kehilangan makna tanpa yang lain
Wahai,
apakah memang benang merahku terhubung padamu?

Holiday Reading!

Warning: This post contains spoilers!

While some teenagers are spending their times went travelling somewhere, I sat down sweetly and read. Yes, read. Like, read. My daddy's beyond busy for the last three weeks, not to mention I supposed to be in Perth right now.

But it's another story. And what I will tell to you this time is not about the shame Echa crying her renewed passport that went unused, buttt those rock books that I read during holiday. There are 11 of 'em, most I got from my aunt who dropped by one day (she's embassy. She spends most of her time on plane).

So check them out!

1. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I've been looking it for ages in almost every English bookstores in Jakarta, so guess my face when I found it at a tiny shelf in Gramedia Gancy. Just ONE copy, ppl. One copy left.

Well, it is about Samantha Kingston, high school jocks who had it all; beauty and reputation and a purrfect boyfriend. One day she went partying with her gang and having car crash on the way home. She woke up seven times after that; two times she ended up dying, and four times she made it. One time? Well, you gotta find it by yourself! ;)

I fell in love with Lauren Oliver's poetic style. Flowing, just the way it is. Plus, I gotta feeling that BIF written in simple English words, so I didn't have to carry my dictionary around. And the message was stuck with me for days; how decisions you make form who you are, how such a silly thing like bullying and humiliating could drive fatal reaction, how some things cannot be undone and you have to deal with it and live in guilt forever.

Well... 4.75 stars of 5 for this lovely book!

2. Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

I don't usually leaving a novel unfinished, but when I do, it's reasonable. I'm such a picky reader; I can't deal with ugly names and what. But I didn't make it on this book simply because I wasn't satisfied with the translation... and yes, it was the only bahasa books I read this holiday.

3. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Aha! From the well known author and mostly, one of my favourite ones, I found it at Books & Beyond Citos for ONLY 110k ppl. Lately I checked the price on other sites and it must be 140 or what.

Anyway....

I love this summer romance story! Telling a girl named Emaline as she discovered some decisions she'd done in her life, and how a short summer could leave such permanent marks. It's more likely about family and yes, life. Emaline had a handsome boyfriend for years, she had dad and father. Her father got her mom pregnant during summer romance and her father is such NATO, No Action Talk Only. He promised her to pay her education bills, and she got into Columbia. And he left her. That was it.

Meanwhile, she met Theo and Ivy, two people renting her family's summer property. Theo was a charming and mature guy and Emaline found herself attached to him after spent so many times chasing the life of Clyde Conaway, a famous painter, due to Theo's and Ivy's documentary film project. She met Benji, her stepbrother from her father, and these things were making up one another and BOOM this story.

Dessen's so much for self-finding and for me, psychological young adult like this, and with no regret I give it 4.25 out of 5 stars.

4. The Selection by Kiera Cass

Ah, another one I found at B&B. It tells us about America Singer, a gorgeous lady in after-war dystopian kingdom of Illéa. There was an obligation that the prince gotta pick a girl from Illéa, and America is one of them. Yes, it was sort of like Miss Universe competition or what, but it was made to win Prince Maxon's heart. Meanwhile, America was madly in love with Aspen, her friend who was casted lower than her.

And yeah, triangle love and stuff, but it tells more about America's and Maxon's love development. I gotta say the characters are kind of shallow, but with the contemporary prince and princess story, it was worth 4 stars at all.

5. Delirium Stories by Lauren Oliver

Yeah! Another book by LO and guess what? I was soooo excited, ppl! It's about Delirium side stories, told from three different perspective, Hana and Raven and Annabel. I warn you to read the whole trilogy because it would be lack of... what? Imagining? Kind of. You'd get lost if you haven't read the trilogy, I swear.

I had read Hana somewhere and hate it. Not hate the writing but I hate Hana for being that selfish and mean. She bertrayed her bestie, Lena, who'd always been living behind her sparkling shadow for being such luckier than her in love life. And Annabel... it kinda broke my heart, how you love someone who could never love you back that fully, wholeheartedly. Annabel's was written from now and then plot, though I enjoyed the then more.

Raven was such masterpiece, I really did enjoy her journey, when she first come to Invalid with Blue (yesss, like my character's name!), how she developed a romance with a used-to-be-called-thief Tack. Raven was tough and smart and I adore her that much, and I ended up screaming as I read the last page of her, that she and Tack... hey, read it yourself! ;)

4.75 stars for this book!

6. The Elite by Kiera Cass

Sequel to the adorable The Selection, it tells us more about The Elite, the big six (supposed to be ten), the yet-to-be Princess of Illéa America, Marlee, Kriss, Celeste, Natalie, and Elise. I like it more than The Selection because the theme was getting heavier, that political atmosphere and war and stuff.

Yet I like America less in this story because she was getting more shallow than ever. I understand she kind of reckless, what I don't understand is how Maxon gave everything to her. I hate this version of story, where the girl is a sensitive, shallow, dumb and the guy was... what? Having no such integrity? I find it really unrealistic, because the species of guy who would says sorry first when he makes mistake is rare nowadays, don't call me overrated if I find that almost impossible to see a guy who gave his world to a girl.

Oh yes, I thought that America's character was vague in some ways. She did reckless things YET she couldn't choose between Maxon and Aspen and it made me sick. What entertained me was the Halloween party and Marlee's decision. And I love Maxon for being coherent with America, how he did fair by dating Kriss (she was my favourite character after Marlee!) and stuff.

So... 4 stars for this one!

7. How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Stohmeyer

Ugh. I picked this book by the cover, simply sweet, and I didn't expect much when I opened the first page. Turned out I couldn't put this down. The story is as simply sweet as the cover.

It was about Zoe, an orphan, and her cousin, the poor Jess who were chosen to work during summer at Fairyland, sort of like Disneyland, so those who work gotta wear princess and prince costumes and what. But Zoe, sadly, was picked to be the "Queen" personal assistant, which meant she gotta get up at six a.m. and do whatever she wanted, and Zoe did them well so her beautiful cousin could win "Dream and Do" grant, worth $25.000 and scholarship. Everything was alright until Zoe stepped out to Forbidden Zone, and luckily she was saved by a guy she called "My Prince". And we got into a hide and seek game from that page on, guessing who was Zoe's real prince.

Ah, yes, Zoe is kinda that girl every girl hates because of her kindness and luck. She was trapped by various serious problems but she always survived. The "Queen" made her Cinderella, she met her Prince, those who hate her removed halfheartedly by the "Queen". And what made me relieved was Zoe survived those all, and made her dreams (mostly) come true in the end.

4.5 stars for this book!

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I was curious with those 5 stars reviews on Goodreads, so I was beyond excited when I got it wrapped nicely on my bed. It's about Anna Oliphant, a girl who came from broken home family, who had no choice but to spend her sophomore year at SOAP, School of America in Paris. The story was opened by Anna crying alone in her room until the girl next door, Meredith, came and stopped her cry. Anna visited Meredith's room and when she got back to her room, she accidentally hit the beautiful, wonderful Etienne St. Clair.

So yes, they shook hands and met, and gradually, their love story develops. However Anna felt her heart was still at home, inside a guy named Toph's grip. And St. Clair was such a jock, too, with so many fans AND a girlfriend at another school. But St. Clair always seemed to give her hope (yes, he was such a FHG, Fake Hope Giver), took her to Point Zero at Paris, took her around, called her attractive and beautiful. Sadly, Ellie the girlfriend always came at the first place, blocked Anna's way through St. Clair, so they chose to be bestfriends instead, until one day St. Clair's mother got sick of cancer and Anna listened to his whole stories, and the Christmas break broke every single piece of Anna's heart for Toph.

I couldn't say much, this book was for me. Written beautifully, setting was clear and easy to imagine, and I was extremely into this book because the witness, Anna, wasn't self centered and never thought herself pretty, never complimented herself or what, which, I've known this well, is really hard to write as a writer. I love my characters, whatever they do is gorgeous in my eyes.

And Stephanie Perkins didn't do it. I'd give her five thumbs if I had.

The ending was beautiful, too, so I'm not overrated if I call this book as perfection.

6 out of 5 stars, if I could!

9. Lola and the Boy Next-Door by Stephanie Perkins

Yessss, another book by Stephanie Perkins! Huahahahaha, sadly the setting wasn't in Paris, but the rock n' roll city, San Francisco. It's about Lola (short for Dolores), the girl whose parents were two gay men, was born because of MBA, and freak about costumes and fashions. She wore wig and dress everyday to school (which made me think, "Whoaaa, unpredictable move, Steph!") and suffered from past broken heart. Once upon a time, she had fallen for Cricket Bell, a boy who lived next to her, before Calliope, Cricket's perfect twinsis, ruined everything. Calliope was a Olympic skater and so famous for it, so Cricket gotta travel the world, follow his family in mission of supporting her career.

And Cricket came one summer day, and they fell in love again. The hit was Max, Lola's rock n roll boyfriend. Lola couldn't help it but stuck between Max and Cricket, Cricket and Max, and I know that feeling when somebody you love is out of reach while somebody once you loved would bargain his shoulder when you cry. I can't blame Lola, though, she was cute though kind of self centered and childish, but hey, she trapped in a complicated life. Cricket helped Lola finishing her Marie Antoinette gown for prom, and Lola helped Calliope when her dress was torn (Lola plenty reminds me of Irene Maurania Jasmine).

The ending was beautiful, too, and yes, Lola ended up with Cricket. I though this whole story is about, "Speak the truth even though it's bitter." And you gotta make peace with yourself, gotta forgive and be honest with it, to taste what happy really is.

4.5 stars!

10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

It's about, over all, Eleanor and Park.

What caught my eyes the most was the setting, it was set in 1986, and soon I was thinking of vintage and "Amerika tempo doeloe". It pretty reminded me of A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. Well, Eleanor was a fat, redhead girl who came from that messed up family--I really mean it, they were that messed. Poor family who couldn't pay for batteries and shampoo, with temper and alcoholic stepfather and four kids. I was blank for minutes when I discovered that, thinking what Eleanor's mom had been through.

Meanwhile, Park was an Asian guy, rich and having everything at the place. They met on the way to school on bus, Eleanor sat beside Park and those simple conversations started. Slowly they talked, reached for each other's hands, said "I like you". I undoubtedly love this story, simple, flowing, easy to imagine, but I hate the ending. SAD ENDING, PPL, and Rowell gave me no clue about that. It was like, 300 pages of sweetness and stuff and 20 pages of BITTER ending. I couldn't easily deal with it.

Every characters in this book are flawed, and I hate Eleanor for being overwhelmingly sensitive and Park for giving everything to her big baby girlfriend, AND wearing mascara. Later I accepted that, yes, because Eleanor came from messed up family and Park, well, he was half Korean (Eleanor even called him "pretty" twice or trice). Yes, there's always an excuse.

Park invited Eleanor to dinner and for the first time, her Korean mom didn't like her, and later showed her sympathy after seeing Eleanor and her big, screwed family at Christmas shopping. They slowly accepted her coming, and I love that, because once in a lifetime, I felt what Eleanor felt, being unwelcomed by the loved one's family.

KOK GUE CURHAT.

Undoubtedly, 4.75 stars for this book.

11. Infinite Sky by CJ Flood

Okay. So this story really reminded me of Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song, it tells about a messed up family; the mother left, a narrow-minded father, a brother who couldn't deal with reality, and a sister, which went off like, "She's beyond mature for her age." This one written from the sister's perspective. Iris Darcy lived in a farmland in a small town of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, where gypsies come and go every year. Sounds promising, right, and I tell you, the cover is really, eye catching. One day a gypsy group came to her dad's yard and stayed there and she fell in love with the boy from the Irish travellers--that was the way she mention that--named Trick.

So they caught a spark of summer romance while Iris' family screwed up over stuffs. It was well written, I gotta admit, with scenes built up perfectly in my head. What got me terribly sorry is... I can't really deal with the witness' stupidity.

Okay, she came from a broken home family, but what? She's so dumb... beyond dumb that I was sick because of her. She lied to her father all summer long just to meet the gypsy guy and... what term to describe it? Shy? But to her parents? I really couldn't tell why she kept up such a thing she'd already known would make everything worse. And what kind of 14 yo from England who saw her brother attacked by a strange-summer-date-fellow AND refused to explain it to her father and police? What kind of sister who still protect a rotten temporary boyfriend by keeping his address (yes, the gypsy group went away after Trick attacked Sam) and not telling anybody? I know he was there when nobody was, but HELLO, he hit your brother's head with a brick!

It was so painful, because I seriously love this beautiful story. Beautiful setting, well written. Kind of unfair a lovely summer story like this ruined by a dork (and yes, she was the main character) girl.

After all, 3 out of 5 stars.

***

Sooo these are my books, and I still have some books to read during Ramadhan (I'm so sick the holiday is over), like:

1. Shards and Ashes by various writer, another dystopian book (!!!) (I got it from B&B for only 85k!)

2. Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Stohmeyer (have read it for 39 pages before Anna and the French Kiss ruined and impossible to resist)

3. Nobody but Us by Kristin Halbrook (thank you Damen for this early birthday present!)

4. Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt (thanks to Kak Bila for bringing it home to me!)

5. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (again, thanks to Kak Bila:D)

And my wish list now is like:

1. House of Hades by Rick Riordan, the 4th book of Heroes of Olympus, coming out on October 8.

2. Just One Year by Gayle Forman, sequel to Just One Day, coming out on October 15.

3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth, final book of bestselling trilogy Divergent, coming out on October 22.

4. Panic by Lauren Oliver, coming out in March 2014.

5. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, coming out in May 2014.

6. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, coming out since forever, and I haven't read it because I couldn't find it anywhere! Online bookstore? My parents so tense up about credit card.

This is my review. What about yours?

Writing Timeline

Waktu gue buka-buka ulang autobiografi gue dan ngitungin berapa banyak hal yang miss, adek gue nanya, "Kak, kok lo nggak nulis proses lo nulis dari kecil sampe sekarang?" Gue rada jleb. Kayak kesetrum. Iya yak, kenapa gue nggak nulis writing timeline gue? Kenapaaaa? Kenapa gue keburu dikejar deadline? Kenapaaa?

Jujur, gue bukan tipikal manusia perfeksionis, cenderung reckless malah hahaha. Anyway, ada yang nanya di email, "Emangnya orang tua kakak penulis juga yak?" Jawabannya, yes and no.

Bokap gue dulu suka nulis, doi demen majang puisi di mading sekolahnya. Dia paling suka sama Enyd Blyton, mostly Lima Sekawan sama St. Clare (seri St. Clare-nya menurun ke gue, loh!). Kata bokap, sekali baca dia nggak bisa berenti, yang berujung pada penyakit hipermetropi. Kenapa bokap gue nggak nulis dan ngirim ke penerbit? Satu hal. Komputer. Doi nggak punya komputer waktu itu, which is sad, karena dia bilang dia udah nulis lumayan banyak pake pensil 2B. Nulisnya kecil-kecil, biar kertasnya nggak gampang abis karena harga buku mahal.

Cerita-cerita itu ketumpuk dan akhirnya kejual ke tukang barang bekas. Oke gue nggak tau lagi harus ngomong apa pas bokap cerita, because if I were him, I would be driven crazy and mad and maybe refused to talk with my parents. Forever.

Yah, tapi yang udah terjadi, terjadilah. Bokap juga cerita, pas gue lahir, ari-ari gue dikubur sama seri pertama buku St. Clare, dan nyokap naro pensilnya lima alih-alih tiga. Gue nggak tau belief macam ini diperoleh dari mana, tapi menurut kepercayaan keluarga gue, ari-ari mesti dikubur sama pensil dan kertas biar si anak bisa nulis dan baca, dikasih bumbu dapur biar pinter masak (untung ari-ari gue nggak dimakan garong), dikasih DUIT biar bisa mengatur keuangan (which is failed on me), dikasih lampu biar selalu hangat, biar nggak galau ketika hujan nggak ada yang meluk, dan entah apa lagi.

Mungkin karena ari-ari gue kebanyakan pensil(?) itulah, gue lebih dulu bisa nulis daripada baca. Gue bisa nulis alfabet A-Z umur tiga setengah tahun, dan bisa baca di umur empat tahun. Di masa-masa itu, kalo malam gue bakal duduk di teras sama bokap dan adek, ngobrolin masa SMA bokap yang sangat freak dan mengerikan (I mean, kencing di kelas dan sopir bus pup di celana? Mengerikan nggak sih?), atau tentang persohiban beliau dengan dua kawannya, Dayat dan Budi. Sejak saat itu I imagined bigger than my friends my age.

Buku pertama gue... yang masih gue simpan rapat-rapat di laci meja, judulnya Kiki sang Pemimpin, fabel tentang kura-kura yang jadi leader kawan-kawannya, nggak peduli seberapa sering dia dicemooh. Gue inget, gue beli itu di kios buku kecil di underground mal Blok M. TK B, gue punya buku diari sendiri, yang awalnya gue cuma tulis pas gue gondok, namun di akhir jadi kawan gue yang paling setia. Yang awalnya ceritanya rasional dan nyata, lama-lama berubah jadi, "Hari ini, ibu peri telat ngirimin aku bekal." I was such a dreamer, have always been a dreamer.

Kecintaan gue sama buku juga bikin bonyok lebih sering beli susu Dancow yang kemasan sedang, karena hadiahnya buku, sedangkan yang kemasannya raksasa isinya CD. Gue suka baca cerita itu, tapi lama-lama nggak puas sama ending-nya yang gitu-gitu doang. Kelas satu SD, gue nulis cerpen pertama gue, yang cuma sepanjang setengah halaman buku Sidu kecil. Judulnya Sapu Tangan buat Ita, cerita remake dari salah satu buku Dancow yang gue benci ending-nya. 

Jadi sih ceritanya ada seorang pangeran yang baru lahir, dan dia dikasih sapu tangan sutera sama nyokapnya. Dia tumbuh sama sapu tangan itu, sampai suatu hari dia udah nggak peduli dan ngebuang tuh sapu tangan. Sapu tangannya pun berpindah tangan. Pada suatu hari, nyokapnya sakit parah dan amanat terakhirnya adalah ngejagain sapu tangan itu. Pergila sang pangeran mencari sapu tangan, which line guides him to a gadis desa cantik bernama Ita. Mereka jatuh cinta, nikah.

Ya, gitu deh. Sejak saat itu gue nulis puisi, nulis lagu juga. Nggak tau belajar dari mana, I just did. Puncaknya sih pas kelas 3 SD, kita disuruh nulis cerita berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi. Yang gue tulis judulnya justru Peri Mawar Merah. Nilai gue nol dan peringkat gue merosot, dari dua ke enam. Cuma gara-gara satu kesalahan kayak gitu.

But until now, I still take it as the most beautiful mistake.

Masa kelas 3 SD gue dipenuhi pensil yang gampang abis dan buku yang cepat menipis. Gue nulis banyak cerpen, dan bahkan bikin "restoran cerpen". Gue bikin serangkaian judul di halaman pertama buku tulis, dan saudara dan tetanga gue bisa milih judulnya. Gue akan nulis dan ngasih itu ke mereka, dan gue dapet dua sampe lima ribu sebagai imbalannya, huahahaha. Beberapa judul yang paling laku itu Cincin Tanda Kasih Sayang, Kasih Sayang Kucing Kecil, Seperti Awan dan Pelangi, juga Balonku Ada Satu, Dua, Tiga, Empat, Lima!

Kelas empat, waktu nonton Laptop si Unyil di Trans7, ada liputan tentang Nabila Nurkhalishah Harris, yang satu tahun lebih muda dari gue tapi udah menghasilkan buku. Hari Minggu-nya, meluncurlah gue sekeluarga ke Gramedia, dan gue beli Beautiful Days. Kelar ngerampungin tuh novel, I was so inspired and enlightened and so urged to write my first novel, which titled I Love New Friend. Ceritanya tentang Mutia, bocah SD yang terbiasa dengan sistem homeschooling, sampe suatu hari Om-nya mendaftarkannya ke sekolah biasa. Mutia tadinya nggak mau dan ngamuk, euh pokoknya apatis banget deh. Tapi dia ketemu temen-temennya, Zahra, Andien, Raisha, Kesha, Rana pas daftar, dan bertemanlah mereka. Secara garis besar sih I Love New Friend is about a shy yet adventurous girl yang mendapat banyak teman baru dalam satu hari (yang, di lain hari, mengantarkan 24 Hour Stay at School pada konsep macam ini). Mutia juga ketemu adiknya yang terpisah, kepengin jadi suster, dan... I don't remember much more.

Di akhir kelas empat, gue sangat, sangat, sangat, menggilai kumpulan cerpen seri Dunia Ola (judul pertama yang gue punya adalah Teman dalam Kegelapan dan Mama Berhati Emas), dan gue pun mulai menulis kumcer juga. Gue bener-bener on fire, buku tulis gue sampe lecek dan bau amis ketumpahan segala macam makanan because I always carried it around. Buku dan coretan gue adalah teman sekaligus penghibur gue, karena gue nggak punya banyak teman waktu SD (gue jelek dan tonggos dan sering dikatain dan selalu kalah dalam permainan beregu apapun). Resolusi gue adalah, gue bisa nerbitin buku. Enough said. Gue berlama-lama di warnet dengan excuse ada tugas, numpang ngetik di rumah tetangga, apa aja asal kumcer gue bisa kelar.

Kelas lima SD, bokap gue pun menghadiahi gue laptop Acer, yang waktu itu harganya muahaaal dan gue tau bokap bekerja sangat keras untuk itu. Gue nggak menyia-nyiakan fasilitas itu; anugerah dan kado terindah yang pernah gue dapat, masih yang terindah sampai detik kalian baca postingan ini, karena gue mengasuh blog gue pun dengan komputer yang sama. Gue nulis kapan aja, di mana aja, dan ngelarin kumcer pertama gue, My Little Strawberry, waktu pertengahan kelas lima. Panjangnya 27 halaman A4, spasi satu, margin normal, isinya 9 cerpen, dan porsi satu cerpen pun adil, tiga halaman. Waktu gue bilang ke bokap gue mau ngirim cerpen, bokap langsung masang internet di rumah, make telepon, dan gue pun mengirim kumcer gue ke Penerbit Mizan lewat email. Sadly, I was being rejected. Karena gue masih kecil, malah nyokap yang sedih, sedangkan gue anteng-anteng aja makan es krim dan lanjut nulis.

Pas kelas enam dan baru kelar latihan nari, telepon rumah gue berdering dan pas gue angkat, itu... gue lupa siapa yang nelpon *sigh*. Yang jelas beliau bilang naskah gue mau diterbitin, tapi gue harus ngirim bentuk print out, CD, ucapan terima kasih dan segala macamnya itu lewat pos. Nyokap sujud syukur and burst into tears dan gue... tetep anteng makan es krim. Teteup.

Kelas enam pun berakhir dan gue diterima di SMP 12 Jakarta. Gue inget banget hari pendaftaran ulang, so many things happened that day. I got my first period and officially became a student of the most wanted JHS versi temen-temen SD di sekitar rumah and got my contract. Iya, kontrak. Gue langsung ngerasa kayak orang penting gimana giduuu.

And shortly after that, di bulan Ramadhan tahun 2009, I saw my first work in Gramedia! :D You don't know how it felt.... I cried so hard that I hiccuped two hours after. I was like, "This is my work. My work. Every single word and point and coma, I made it myself!" Gue berkoar-koar ke tetangga dan Oma gue di Kemang sampe bawa tuh buku ke pengajian huahahaha.

The next kumcer couldn't make it, and you can read one of them in two previous story. And I don't regret it, even the tiniest bite.

But that was the old era. The new era began when my cousin sent me a copy of Waiting 4 2morrow-nya Wiwien Wintarto. Novel teenlit pertama gue, yang sangat gue suka sampe sekarang. Sejak saat itu gue jadi baca novel teenlit, which built that kind of style I always wear. Penulis yang sangat, sangat, sangat mempengaruhi style menulis gue, I realised lately, adalah Esti Kinasih, yang bikin gue ngebet masuk 70 sejak gue baca Fairish, hahahaha. Nama Citra Devira Putri di Fantastic Five pun gue remake dari nama tokoh salah satu novelnya, Citra Devi. Gaya menulisnya fresh, ringan, apa adanya, dan menghanyutkan, meski nggak jarang ada adegan angst-nya. But hey, writing is about being honest in general, and for me, it's about telling your deepest secret you won't tell by your lips. Saking ngefansnya tuh sampe kepengin sungkem kalo suatu hari ketemu:'> Yah, semoga.

Anyway, inisial kami sama-sama EK dan kami sama-sama sekolah di 70. Whether it's coincidence or not, I'm so happy with these similarities. I mean, hey, she's my influence, my idol.

Kendala yang paling besar dalam menulis versi gue adalah... mood, karena bagi gue, yang susah dicari itu bukan idenya, tapi mood-nya. Kedua, kadang gue nggak sadar gue nulis dengan style penulis mana, karena buku yang gue suka banyakkk. Ada suatu naskah yang pas gue baca ulang, sepertiga halaman utama sedikit bergaya Veronica Roth, di tengah-tengah banyak humornya kayak Rick Riordan, dan di akhir-akhir puitis kayak Lauren Oliver. And I told you, ppl, it didn't work out and drove me crazy for weeks before I decided to rework some chapters.

Sejak gue SMA, bacaan gue mostly adalah YA in English, which forms sooooooo many differences on my writing (though I still write in my old style). I read a lot Stephanie Perkin's and Lauren Oliver's and Gayle Forman's and Sarah Dessen's and John Green's and Haruki Murakami's. Neil Gaiman? OMG I've been having a crush on him for so long, too, but now I start to read his works in the real language.

Cita-cita gue pun sekarang berputar di bidang literatur, kayak penerjemah (suka kesel sendiri gitu kalo ngebaca terjemahan orang nggak sesuai sama ekspetasi kita, or worse, driving out of the writer's style). And I want to write, for my whole life. In my dream, I will sit by the window, my laptop on my lap, and I type as the night turns into daylight. There'll be a cup of tea beside me when I write, and I'll build my own library someday.

I hope that dream isn't too good to be true for this ordinary Echa.

Jadi, that's all. All my adventures that form the me sitting behind this laptop. Ini ceritaku, apa ceritamu?

11/7/2013, 10:19 pm.

NB. Pesan moral dari cerita:

periksalah apapun yang Anda ketik sebelum mencetak dan menjilidnya,

terutama kalo Anda bikin autobio juga.