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Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, by James Patterson (Book Review)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 § 23

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
Format: Hardcover Edition, 320 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 978-0316969444
With Film Version? Yes, there is a made-for-TV movie.. (;
Number of Times Read: 3x


Katie finally met the perfect man in Matt-- a writer, a housepainter, and full of ideas-- everything she's imagined she wanted in a partner. But on the most important night of their relationship, Matt ends their affair without an explanation. Soon after, a devastated Katie receives a package from Matt containing a diary. The diary is actually a love letter written by a new mother named Suzanne for her baby boy Nicholas. In it she pours her heart about the hopes of starting a family, and the unparalleled joy of having a baby. As Katie reads it, it becomes apparent that the husband and the father of this young family is the lover who has just left her.. As she reads on, she struggles to understand everything that has happened and wonders if her new love has a prayer of surviving..


....
Isn't it lucky?

That is the unforgettable question that keeps on recurring all throughout Suzanne's diary. Isn't it lucky that she didn't die on that day on a park in Boston? And isn't it lucky that she had learned, and understood the lesson of the five balls? It was also lucky that she met Matt and had the most wonderful moments with him. It was extremely lucky that despite her condition, she was able to bear a child, an angel named Nicholas. All these luck made me think of the phrase that kept on recurring on my mind-- that everything happens for a reason. We might not know it at the time but when we get there, we realize how lucky we are that it ever happened to us!

Life is a game in which you are juggling five balls-- work, family, health, friends and integrity. And you're keeping them all in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball, if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other balls-- family, health, friends, integrity-- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life. (Excerpt from the book)

The excerpt above tells the story of life's five balls. I'm not sure if the story is James Patterson's original idea but, for now, that doesn't matter. I'm just glad the story was featured in the novel. It made me really think about my life. I yearn for a simple life but I just can't because society expects me not to and, also, I don't wanna be called a hypocrite to say that I don't want what it expects me to do. I have made certain "practical" decisions, which deep down, I know, do not agree well with life's five balls. I do know it takes time to really understand this kind of stuff. I have so much yet to learn, to discover! Maybe I am yet to understand the lesson of the five balls..

The question: Why is it that our decisions, our wants, our aspirations, our everything, are so driven by society? Society practically dictates just about everything we do. Like when all you wanna do is live a simple life in an island, get married and have kids. The simple life. But you just can't, so you have to go to college and be a doctor or a lawyer, or anything respectable or admirable, because everyone expects you to, or maybe, you are forced to, because its what everybody else does. You become so wealthy because you worked hard for this nice paying job, and you have an equally workaholic boyfriend.. Then something unexpected happens or rather, in the case of Suzanne, something unavoidable finally happens.

So anyway, all these stuff happened to Suzanne and has got her thinking. And thinking got her thinking about the lesson of life's five balls. And she finally understands.. Something bad has to happen, and that's when we start doing something. Its sad, but its reality. I know they say to us sometimes, "Learn from other people's experiences." It's true and that usually works out for some people, but most really have to go through particular experiences to really learn. Some even repeatedly commit the same error before they actually learn! But the real point here is, the five balls. The fifth ball-- work, comes last because you see, its rubber, its elastic, its flexible. You can leave it, and you can come back when you're done sorting out your problems with the more important balls. Those other balls-- family, health, friends and integrity-- always come first. That makes so much sense. Ponder on this for a while. (;

I love this book. It made me think of things I never use to think. Yes it has its fair share of romance but is certainly not the erotica or corny kind, you know what I mean? It has this tough quality in it. And I'm guessing its because James Patterson was the author. For those who do not know, he is a bestselling author of suspense thrillers. That's why when this novel came out, every Patterson fan itched to read it, probably wondering if he could erase 'suspense' in a love story or maybe, if he could inject suspense in a love story. I don't know about that but suspense-thriller, bestselling author James Patterson has written the love story Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas and it is a huge success. And, as always, failing to disappoint, it turns out to be a suspenseful love story, in a good-natured, mushy kind of way..

I love this book. It  isn't only a couple kind of love story but also a mother-and-child kind of love story. I think it is really sweet  of Suzanne to write a diary to Nicholas. Kinda makes me wanna have my own child. Kinda makes me wanna write a diary for him. ((:

And Katie? Why didn't I even mention her? Well, go read the book and find out what happened to her. *wink*

Buy or Borrow: Buy, if you are a hopeless romantic like me. (;
 
Quotable Quotes:

"Good memories are like charms. Each is special. You collect them one by one. until one day you look back and discover they make a long colorful bracelet."

"Life is such a miracle, a series of small miracles.It really is, if you learn how to look at it with the right perspective."

"Love between two people can last a long time if the people love themselves some, and are ready to give love to another person."

"Life can be like walking on a high wire. Falling seems a tiny misstep away."

"When its true, when it's right,love can give you the kind of joy that you can't get from any other experience."

"We is always so much better than I."

"One today is worth two tomorrows."

"It's so strange. Everything can be going alone just great, and then one day, whack, you're blindsided-- a lousy, crammy blow you didn't see coming."

"To be without love is to be without grace, what matters most in life.
We is so much better than I."

"Bad stuff happens.
Sometimes it makes no sense at all. Sometimes its unfair.
Sometimes, it just plain sucks.
Bad stuff happens sometimes.
Always remember that, but remember that you have to move on somehow. You just pick your head up and stare at something beautiful like the sky, or the ocean, and you move the hell on."

"You just pick your head up and stare at something beautiful like the sky,
or the ocean and you move the hell on."

"I've been looking for you a long time, I just didn't know it. But now I do."

the film version (;

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§ 23 Response to “Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, by James Patterson (Book Review)”

  • "Bad stuff happens.
    Sometimes it makes no sense at all. Sometimes its unfair. Sometimes, it just plain sucks.
    Bad stuff happens sometimes.
    Always remember that, but remember that you have to move on sometime."

    i like this one!

    nice blog!! blog on!

  • ka bute says:

    is it good? im a hopeless romantic too. u think i should buy one? hehe. XD

  • Sey says:

    Wow nice book! I though it was a diary written for a lover but i was wrong. It's a sweet thing that it was written for a son. Lovely indeed!

    I also read those five balls of life from one book. That we have to take care of the other for they are made of glass once broken cannot be fixed again.

    Thanks for following my blog :)

  • Unknown says:

    Another awesome book. I really envy you for having time to read books. I miss reading books but i am just so busy now.

    I'll put this on my list of books to buy. I am a hopeless romantic, I am for those corny stuff. Anything romantic will sell to me. lol.

    I like what you said about the society dictating what we supposed to do with our lives, that sometimes even if you resists it you will still end up following the norm. hayz..

    Have a great day karen dear. :)

  • kae says:

    @ka bute: thanks..! yeah i think you should! (;

  • kae says:

    @sey.. thanks.. yeah, its the sweetest thing indeed! (;

  • kae says:

    @mayen: thanks! you should buy the book. its a great love story!
    yeah, hm. the so called norms.. sometimes i just wanna run away from society. lol

  • ka bute says:

    "I've been looking for you a long time, I just didn't know it. But now I do."

    shet. pwede bang hiramin itong linya na 'to? relate na naman. XD

  • Glenn says:

    uggh. hirap ng gantong blog karen a. :) babasa ka muna then post? :). good luck.! basa lang ng basa. yung friend ko na-"bobo" dahil kkbasa ng pocket books. i mean natanggal xa sa scholarship nmen. :)). o siguro d lang tlga xa tlgang matalino. :) Gby followed ur blog

  • Thanks for following my blog and sa comment. Akalain mong we share the same passion for book. Hindi ko lang alam if we read the same kind of stories. Anyhow salamat sa pagcomment and pagfollow!

  • Anonymous says:

    hey! great blog. perfect timing, too. i've been trying to find good books to read this summer but I don't know where to start. :D

  • krn says:

    thanks karen for lots of reviews. am really planning to buy books but i'm temporary out of cash by now. lol. so i'm thinking if i can download ebook na lang. thanks anyways. i'll include these to my list to buy.

  • I didn't know that James Patterson wrote books like this one too. I'm curious. :-)

  • MG says:

    hahahaha, parang krnkrnkrn lahat ng book review mo puro buy ah? haha. barrow ko na nga lang yung sayo. hehe. ^_^ nwei parang iiyak ako sa kwento.

    love this line

    Life is a game in which you are juggling five balls-- work, family, health, friends and integrity. And you're keeping them all in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball, if you drop it, it will bounce back. The other balls-- family, health, friends, integrity-- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life. (Excerpt from the book)

  • Anonymous says:

    This seems interesting. Next time I visit a bookstore i'll check this out. I need to get back to reading. lol. :D

  • kae says:

    @ka bute: yeah? so now we have somthing in common! and yeah i think you should buy the book.. (:

  • kae says:

    @sey: yes, the sweetest thing indeed! hmm, if you have read the story of the five balls from another book then probably it wasn't patterson's original idea after all.. but no big deal, im still glad he included the story in the book! (; thanks for following!

  • kae says:

    @krn: hey you could get them from thrift/ second hand shops.. that's where i get most of my books he he.. thanks for the appreciation!

  • kae says:

    @kate: yeah, interesting, isn't it? check it out. (;

  • kae says:

    @MG: haha kaya nga ee.. laging buy talaga. basta pag binili ko, at nagustuhan, i always suggest na buy nyo na lang.. hehe.. i have good taste in books kaya yung mga nirereview ko, dapat binibili nyo din. hehehe. yea, i love the excerpt too kaya i included it dito.. thanks!(;

  • kae says:

    @sarah: yess, you really should *wink* thanks for following.. ((:

  • Anonymous says:

    i like miracle on the 17th green. its another of patterson's books that is not a thriller. you made a nice review. i instantly loved this book!