Bismilllah.

Buku ni aku beli masa pergi Book Xcess kat Ipoh haritu. Best gila tempat tu tapi malangnya I was hella broke so aku cuma beli satu buku ni je. Terpaksa aku say goodbyeee kat buku Among Ten Thousand Things kat kaunter masa nak bayar.

Masa aku nampak buku ni, firstly aku sangat tertarik dengan muka depan dia (cover). There's something that seriously draw you in once you've seen it. Lepas tu, tajuk buku ni. The Last Grand Adventure. Sounds so grand, and beautiful. It's like, do u wanna watch (read) my last adventure? Last adventure ni bagi aku satu phrase yang sangat boleh buat bulu roma meremang. Sebab dia macam penamat kepada tujuan hidup kau. Bukan mati, okey. Maksud aku, biasalah kan main characters have their own purpose of living, dan last adventure ni merujuk kepada penamat kepada tujuan tu. 

Em aku tak sure korang faham atau tak, tapi teruskan membaca. Kalau tak faham, buat-buat faham je ahahhaha.

Cerita ni ditetapkan pada zaman awal penciptaan kapal terbang. Yang ada hanyalah plane dan aircraft yang hanya muat untuk beberapa orang. Jap aku check balik tahun berapa. Oh, tahun 1967. 10 tahun selepas Tanah Melayu merdeka.

Buku ni ditulis berdasarkan POV Beatrice (Bea), seorang budak perempuan berumur 12 belas tahun yang mana her parents divorced. Dad remarried a lady with a kid younger than her, mum went off on New Jersey for her career purpose, who is a writer.

Bea sepatutnya duduk dengan emak kandungnya untuk 2 minggu or something, tapi mak dia tak dapat datang ambil Bea atas urusan kerja. So ayah dia cakap, why not Bea spend time with her grandma?

At first, Bea was reluctant but she didn't have a choice anyway. Dia jarang bercakap atau melawat nenek sebelah ayah dia ni, that's why dia rasa canggung. Nenek dia baru berpindah ke Sun City, which is kinda far away from her home.

Nak dijadikan cerita, Muriel (her grandma) ada seorang kakak named Meelie who is actually a famous pilot. Meelie menghilangkan diri selama hampir 30 tahun setelah perjalanan terakhirnya, tanpa dapat dijejaki oleh sesiapa. Takde siapa pun tahu dia kat mana. Muriel ataupun dipanggil Pidge oleh Bea, actually ada terima surat daripada Meelie over the last 30 years. Sejumlah 5 pucuk surat yang diterima, kesemuanya dikirimkan kepada Muriel tanpa ada alamat pengirim. Meelie menerangkan dalam surat tersebut bahawa dia punya sebab tersendiri; kenapa dia menghilang tanpa berita.

Dalam surat terakhir, Meelie mengatakan bahawa July 24 is the date we shall reunite again. Dan dia akan ceritakan segalanya. Tempatnya, their childhood home in Atchison. Pidge pun ajak Bea untuk teman dia balik ke Atchison in order to meet Meelie again. Bea was scared at first, of course she is. Tapi lepas tu dia setuju.

So it marks their last grand adventure - well it's actually Bea's first- heading towards Atchison.

Beatrice

The first three chapter or so menceritakan dengan baik tentang background Bea and how her character is. Came from a broken family, she had a dark opinion about life and worried about a lot of things. Aku sesungguhnya sangat concern dengan Bea sebab she is just 12 year olds and yet she thinks about the ugly war, the capitalism and all the hungry people in the world. I mean, back when I was her age, the only thing I'm worried about is getting caught for cheating on exam (sorry teacher :'( )) and whether or not that freaking guy who read my diary secretly read the part where I threw all my darkest secrets. Oh my god, talking about that guy, I still remember his name. Azraii. How I hated him back then but now I'm okay hahahaha (nope i'm not holding scissors and listing down ten things on how to get my revenge).

Well tulah apa yang budak 12 tahun patut fikir kan? She also doesn't believe in such things like, fate and forever because of what her parents did. I really think it's cruel. The adults get to have a say in their life and get off with it happily but do they ever think of how their decision affect the child? It's so depressing to listen to Bea's voice, really. She becomes wary of life because of what happens to her.

Cakap pasal divorce ni reminds me of Adele's Easy on Me, a song recently released, which, is a bop (no lie). She asked her son to understand her decision, that she really tried, for both of them. But she's tired now and want to pursue her own happiness.

In Bea's case, she suddenly got a new mom, PLUS a younger stepsister who always annoys her. I'd hate it too if your sister keeps on wanting to sleep with you, rips out your magazine and stuffs. But Sally was still a child, and i think that's how she shows her love. Yup it's undeniable that she absolutely loves Bea.

Dad got so happy with his new family that he forgots how to ask her feelings. He was always oblivious, and referring to Sally as her younger version whom she loves, and not the current her. Wait jap aku sebenarnya ada salin part yang ni, which hits hard you know. Jap aku carik. Kalau ada lah.

Ada satu babak ni di mana ayah dia cakap Sally reminds him of Bea when she was younger. He refers this part especially to when Sally rode training wheels kinda thing. Lepas tu Bea thought to herself like this:

And now you're happy, because you have Sally. Meanwhile, now that I'm past training wheels, you don't know what to make of me.

A lot of the parts where the writer writes Bea's POV as the outsider in the family. These parts are the saddest, because Bea feels left out. She feels as if she doesn't fit the new family.

But as the story progresses, we can see Bea's character development. She met new wonderful people on their journey, and she starts writing in her adventure journal and less in her worry journal. By the way, pardon my sometimes-past tense-sometimes-present tense-kind-of-writing. At the end of the journey, she becomes a better version of herself; courageous, able to decide on something rather than let it just happen and excited for the next awaiting adventure. 

Aku suka karakter Bea, and I'm happy how things turn out for her. Tapi ada satu karakter yang aku lagi suka. Nenek Bea.

Pidge

Namanya Muriel, tapi dia suruh Bea panggil dia as Pidge je. What I can say about her is that, she rocks. Totally. Dia jenis nenek yang don't-look-down-on-me-I-can-knock-four-guys-down. Nah she's not strong. She's old, sometimes forgetful. Best thing that both Bea and I love about her, is that she doesn't care if you eat junk food or sweets for dinner. In fact, the only proper meal Bea ever had since with her is that one time they were on the train.

Pidge totally loves her sister, Meelie. That's why she's willing to travel hundreds of miles just to see her despite her old age.

Pidge is not your typical grandma, did I already mention that? :P Tak nak cerita lebih-lebih sebab nanti jadi spoiler hikhiks.

Masa kecik Pidge ni memang rapattttt dengan Meelie, kakaknya. Diorang selalu buat benda sama-sama. Ibu bapa diorang memang encourage untuk diorang buat benda-benda lasak. Just like their dad said, "you are given eyes, and it's your duty to see that you own to it".

So bila Meelie menghilang tanpa khabar berita, imagine the heartbreak. The despair. The years of longing and waiting for news. The pain.

What's wonderful is that the author perfectly writes the emotion down and even I could feel how much Pidge was suffering. Anything. She'd do anything just to see her sister again. This is something that I forgot to note before, but the writing is amazing. While I was reading, I suffer the same way Pidge did, and I understand why Bea was acting that way. She was protecting herself, in a way, because she's hurt and the wound was deep. 

Having Pidge as your grandma, a lot happens on the journey. But do they ever reach Atchison? Do they get to meet Meelie? What happen to Meelie when she disappeared for 30 years?

That, my friend, is something you have to find out for yourself.

I'll just say this though: the ending was not kinda what I expected. It leaves me searching for words, but I'm satisfied nonetheless.

This book was actually based on a real life character, Amelia Earhart. She was a famous pilot and also the first woman to ever fly across the Atlantic. Her level of popularity was that even the President knows her. When she disappeared during her last flight along with her co-pilot, the whole word tried to find a clue, but they never did. No one ever knew what happens to her on her last adventure. It's amazing to read how she lives her life.

Meelie's life, as I read her letters, was one of a kind. It was extraordinary, full of danger and excitement. Me too, just like Bea, did wonder what does it feel to live the kind of life Meelie live? The life that leaves people in awe, wondering if they ever get to be as bold as her.

The age approriate intended for the book is 8-12 year olds. But like I said before, I'm not sure I'd want my kids to read Bea's dark background and opinion. It's kinda too dark for kids. But maybe kids these days are much mature than I think.... welp i dunno.

Do I recommend this book? HECK YEAH!

Out of five stars, how much do I rate this book? 5 stars.

I love everything about this book; the characters, the family and sisterly love elements, the adventures, the journey of overcoming your fear, how to face your own self, the granny comedy. It's perfect. No nudity, no inapproriate scenes and stuffs.

Hope yall read this book soon! =D