The Riddle of the Sphinx

SO... I finished the book and it was just what I was expecting. Here's what happened. The schedule gave the teenagers two free days in Aswan, were they could go shopping or do whatever they wanted, plus, the boat would stay overnight in that same place! It was clear that Octavia was madly in love with Sam by now, so she suggested to stay the night in one of those luxurious Egyptian hotels with him, having Salah to cover for them. Sam agreed and so they went to the Old Cataract Hotel, where Octavia got the main suite using some flirting and some French. Back in the boat, late in the evening all the crew was called to the deck to watch a video that the staff had made with pictures from the whole trip in the cruise. As the video played, Salah started to feel stupid for wasting all the opportunities that he had to be with Rosie, but as soon as a picture of both of them in the pool appeared, he took his chances and kissed Rosie, for this may have been his last chance. She kissed  him back, and they had to be called out by the teachers to stop. Salah had finally made it, and for his own luck, no one even asked about Sam and Octavia. Salah decided to carry the piano from the club to the deck and gathered the whole crew as a surprise to Rosie so that she could preform under the stars that she loved so much. Meanwhile, in the hotel, Sam and Octavia were talking and having the most romantic time on your lives all night long. And Rosie, loved the surprise so much that she spent the night with Salah on deck looking at he stars.


The following morning, the four friends gathered at the entrance of the boat to spend their second day together in Aswan. They decided that they would do something memorable to remember the trip forever, and what better way to do that than racing each other with carriages. After bargaining for a while with the carriage owners, they finally started, and even though it was a close race, Sam and Octavia won. It indeed was a memorable moment. Mohammed, the guide came to them and said "Now you are true Egyptians!" (O,Connell 198) For them, it was the best day of their lives. It also became a sad day though, because it was the last one, and soon they would be separated. The time came and they flew back to their countries. And when Octavia finally arrived to her house a package that Sam had sent her was waiting for her. It  was an Egyptian poem and the gifts that he had wanted to give her from the Valley of the Kings and Queens. On the base of a scarab he had written his version of The Riddle of the Sphinx with his own answer too:

(O'Connell 223)

   And for Rosie, there was a post card that Salah sent every week from New York ever since that magical experience.




"What creature has two hearts? Octavia for she has stolen mine away." -SAM  (O'Connell, 223)
I really admire the author's capacity to make such a perfect choice of words. It's one of the best love quotes I have ever read or heard. I wonder how long it would have taken Tyne O'Connell to make and decipher the riddle so that it would fit so perfectly with the story. Plus, I always tend to choose a favorite quote from every book I read and this is definitely the one I am choosing from True Love, The Sphinx and Other Unsolvable Riddles!


"I knew then that Sam totally got Egypt, which meant in a nutshell, he got me." -SALAH   (O'Connell, 220)
 When I first read this I couldn't understand why it was so important to Salah that his friends  had a better understanding of Egypt, but as I finished the book I realized that he felt so related to that country that it was actually himself who wanted to be understood. In other words, we can clearly see since the beginning, that Salah felt a little different, so he saw that school trip as an opportunity for his friends to know his true identity better.


 
I really enjoyed the whole book. I didn't feel like I had to read it but instead like I wanted to read it.
The story was finally something different from the usual love stories and, in my opinion, it was twice as interesting. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys romantic and comedy books as much as I do because this novel is truly something you should try. Or even if you don't enjoy those genres so much but you are a teenager, you should still read it, since you'll be able to relate with the characters and even find some answers to some of your doubts about love life. I am so happy that I chose this book over so many  options at the beginning of summer, since I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for supporting my blog and see you next time in Scriptum Interpretations!

A Huge Flip in the Story

Everything changed now! It's like the story just flipped in these last four chapters. Let me start from the beginning. Our protagonists went to the Edfu Temple which is where the changes started.  So, once they were inside the temple, listening to Mohammed's usual blah blah blah, Salah separated from the group and went to discover the chambers on his own. Of course, Octavia followed behind him and, following Rosie's advice, so did Sam. While looking for Octavia, Sam saw Salah alone by some statues, so he took advantage of that to find Octavia before she could find Salah. He founds her leaning on a column in one of the chambers, with a sad look on her face. "I was hoping that Salah would meet me here you know? So that we could have a moment. So that he could find me," she said (O'Connell, 147). Trying to sound romantic and to stop her crush on Salah, Sam said "I found you!"(O'Connell, 147). This apparently worked and let Octavia forget about Salah. In other words, they spent the rest of the visit together. Since Octavia thought that Rosie fancied Sam, she refused to believe that she was starting to like him more than Salah but the love for him was growing inside her. Once they were in the boat, she even commented everything that had happened with him to Rosie so that she wouldn't be jealous.

Realizing that Octavia was actually starting to like Sam, Rosie decided to stay in the boat with Salah during the afternoon visit to some ruins to give them some time by themselves. It all went smoothly, and before they knew it, Sam and Octavia were kissing in the darkness of the Egyptian ruins. I know, right? It happened so quickly!!! everything was falling into place for everybody. This is what I've been waiting for! Salah can finally be with Rosie and Sam can finally get Octavia's attention.

Meanwhile, in the Nefertiti cruise, Salah was trying to have a conversation with Rosie while she was working on her music, but she got so nervous that she made him look like a fool when he tried to talk about music.

That night, Rosie finally confessed to Octavia that she liked Salah while regretting her attitude towards him that afternoon. To her surprise, Octavia seemed extremely happy about it as she got the relief that she hadn't kissed the boy she thought her best friend was into. Finally, just to put the cherry on top, Salah knocked the girl's door and left a present for Rosie. It was a bunch of Bach's music sheets that he had bought for her. How romantic!

"She snatched the page back from me , shuffled the sheets into a pile, and put them in a folder." 
-SALAH (O'Connel, 161)
This part just confused me. Why is Rosie acting all weird with poor Salah. He hadn't done anything new for her to treat him that way. I suppose that maybe that is her way of treating people when she gets nervous or maybe too caught up in her activities. Anyway, I am hoping that with this gift that Salah gave her, she will go and apologize so that they can be happy just like Sam and Octavia are starting to be.


"...and that's when it occurred to me that perhaps Salah was inside waiting for me the way I'd waited for him at Edfu. That was exactly what I'd wanted that morning but not anymore... I was enjoying being snug under Sam's arm." -OCTAVIA (O'Connell, 157)
I have read, seen and even experienced many situations like this before, where you get so obsessed with what you think is right for you that you don't realize that the better options may be nearer than you think. Like Octavia for example, she idolized Salah so much, that it took her the whole trip to finally realize that the guy who truly loved her was Sam, who was there the whole time. When I read this in the book, I even felt some type of Deja Vu since the same happens in the book "Paper Towns" by John Green, and also in many real life experiences.

I am definitely finishing the book next week, so if you want to avoid spoilers about the end of this romantic novel, I will leave the link below if any of you would like to purchase the book and experience the end of this Egyptian adventure on your own. I can't wait to know how the story of these four teenagers will end after so much drama. Probably, Salah and Rosie will get together just like Octavia and Sam. Maybe true love will be able to win after all. I have enjoyed every piece of this novel and I wish it didn't end because of all the fun that it brought me. I'll share my final thoughts and comments on the last chapters on my next post. See you soon in Scriptum Interpretations!

http://www.amazon.com/True-Sphinx-Other-Unsolvable-Riddles/dp/1599900505

Mixed Signals

This is what has happened in the previous chapters. Right after the kiss fiasco, Sam and Salah went to their room both quiet and in shock abou what had happened. Salah tried to explain to Sam that it wasn't his fault. Luckily for Salah, his friend understood, even if he still wasn't very happy about the whole situation. The next morning they would go to the Valley of the Kings and Queens. As they headed to their destination, Mohammed, the guide, warned everyone about the hustlers that they would find in the valley. "They will offer you gifts, but will later catch you and charge you a lot of money for it! So don't accept anything from them," he said (O'Connell, 100). Of course, once they got there, Octavia accepted a lot of gifts, and Sam did the same just to impress her. As they continued their tour, Octavia's shoe broke, so Sam offered to carry her and her bag full of makeup and water. They had a really good time together and Octavia even dared to share her poverty secret with Sam. He was really impressed but he promised he wouldn't tell anyone as he saw the regret on her face for telling him. This made Octavia feel better, so she kissed Sam on the cheek.

(Sam with Octavia)

On their way back, Sam changed his shirt so that the hustlers wouldn't recognize him. Once they were all in the boat, Sam was so excited about what had happened with Octavia back at the valley that he planned a surprise for her with his friends. He would set up a whole scene with candles and cushions back in his room and he would give her the things that he got from the hustlers as a gift. To distract her while Sam was preparing everything, Salah took Octavia and Rosie to watch a movie in their friend's room. Unfortunately, Octavia hadn't taken the valley experience with Sam so seriously, so she started flirting with Salah once again while they were watching the movie. This is why, when Sam walked into the room to tell Octavia that he had a surprise, she refused to go. This let Sam, extremely frustrated with Salah, so he just left the room without saying anything else. The next day, Rosie followed Sam after breakfast and saw how beautiful his room looked with so many decorations. Rosie realized how madly in love he was with her best friend so she decided to help him get what he desired the most!

"I knew that I could win that kiss. All I needed was more time." -SAM (O'Connell, 114)
At this point I became mad with the character of Octavia. Why would she give Sam that kiss and let his hopes up?. If I were Octavia I would have told Sam since the beginning that I wasn't interested in him to  prevent him from so many disappointments. What she is doing is not fair. And the worst part is that Sam is SO in love with her that he still doesn't understand that Octavia is not in love with him.Wake up Sam!

"I swear to God I was in some sort of Shakespearean farce. Only not a funny one. Maybe a tragedy? I wanted to ask Octavia to move away but I just didn't see how I could without drawing Rosie's attention." -SALAH (O'Connell, 130)
I thought it was pretty interesting the way that the author compares Salah's situation with some sort of dramatic tragedy. That example truly reflects how Salah isn't able to love the one he really likes because of all the obstacles that Octavia sets.  Why Octavia?!? Why do you have to get everything you want? Why can't you just understand that Salah and Rosie are meant to be and that you are just standing in their way? Will true love win?

In conclusion, I have realized that the only person causing all the problems is Octavia. If she would just like Sam, everything would be perfect and everyone would be happy. On the other hand, if it wasn't for Octavia, there wouldn't be any plot in the story. I am really attached to this book and I am really enjoying every part of it. All that I can think of is what will happen next. The ideas are original and since the characters are near my age, it makes their situations way more relatable to me. I wonder if any of the problems in the novel will end before the school trip ends? I predict that, while helping Sam get Octavia, Rosie will probably change her mind and fall in love with Sam. We'll find out in my next post in Scriptum Interpretations!

Flirting Like Crazy

A lot of things have been going on throughout the last chapters. Our four protagonists went to the Karnak Temple as the first stop of their educational trip.  It was super hot and Mohammed, the tourist guide was trying to make himself heard by all the students who weren't paying any attention at all. Even worse, the teachers interrupted poor Mohammed trying to show off their knowledge every five seconds. Meanwhile, the New Yorkers where filling up the infamous Hottie Chart made by Yo (Salah and Sam's best friend) where everyone gives a score on a scale from one to ten to all of the girls so that they know who the interest of each boy lays. Of course, everyone gave Octavia the "Off the Scale" score except for Salah who had never filled one of those charts since he thought that they were lame. Later that afternoon back in the cruise were they were all staying, Octavia starts telling Rosie that she can't figure out why Salah wasn't noticing all her flirting through the whole day! Rosie just listened without expressing her true feelings for the same guy.  They opened up a bottle of vodka just to take a few sips to relax a bit, but while Rosie was in the bathroom, Octavia took a few mouthfuls.

It was pretty clear that Octavia was wasted once they arrived to the dining room, so the two girls hurried outside to get some air. Sam saw this as a chance to win Octavia over so he rushed to take care of her, leaving Salah and Rosie alone. They went back into the dining room and had a great time taking about all the things that they had in common. Salah even confessed how much he liked Rosie rather than Octavia. It was all perfect until Sam came running with the bad news! Octavia had jumped to another cruise that was sailing next to theirs and she didn't want to come back. Salah decided to go to her rescue. He jumped to the other boat and saw Octavia dancing in the middle of an old group of people who were cheering for her as she danced for them. He carried the drunk girl in his arms and jumped right back to their cruise. Then, the worst thing happened. Before Salah could even let Octavia down, She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him right in front of Rosie and Sam! Poor Salah! Both his best friend and the girl she liked were furious at him, and Salah was even more furious at Octavia! Maybe flirting like crazy was not the answer to win Salah after all.

"Usually I'm the very quiet one. Th girl no one notices." -ROSIE (O'Connell, 78)
I felt pretty related to Rosie when she said this. It made me realize how similar this character is to myself. She is really quiet and doesn't like to be in the spotlight of attention but that doesn't mean that she isn't special or talented. Now, I am not as shy as she is but I am still the one who usually doesn't talk too much when holding a group conversation. Once again, this doesn't mean that I don't have anything interesting to say or that I am insecure, but rather that I am just a little different.

Since Rosie feels like Octavia's shadow, I thought that the choir of the song "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift, would give you a better understanding of how she feels towards Salah when Octavia interferes. This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

"I pulled away but the damage was done. I looked across the railing at Sam and watched his face go cold." -SALAH (O'Connell, 84)
All I can say is poor Salah! He had confessed his love for Rosie over Octavia earlier in the night and now Rosie just thinks it was a lie. He didn't even want to kiss Octavia in the first place  but it was too late once he pulled away. Not only did he lose the trust of the girl he was in love with but his best friend felt betrayed by him for kissing the girl that he liked. Of course they would understand, but if only they weren't so mad to listen to Salah!

 I really enjoyed this last chapters in True Love, The Sphinx and Other Unsolvable Riddles! Not only was there a lot of drama that made everything way more interesting, but I also had the chance to relate to some of the characters in a deeper way. I m really looking forward to reading what will happen with the "Kiss between Octavia and Salah" situation. Will Rosie and Sam understand the true intentions of poor Salah? Will Octavia finally back off and let Rosie and Salah be happy together? we'll see next time in Scriptum Interpretations!

Destination: Egypt and Drama

I started reading this book called True Love, The Sphinx, and Other Unsolvable Riddles by Tyne O’Connel, author of various romantic comedies and writer for magazines like Vogue and Elle. This is what has happened through the first chapters. I am getting an introduction to the different personalities of four teenagers, around the age of 16, who are about to go on a school trip to Egypt. Two of them come from a school called Browers in New York. Their names are Sam and Salah. Sam loves photography but he devotes most of his time to getting any girl he likes. There is also his best friend Salah, who is originally from Egypt, where he lived when he was little until his grandparents died. He is way more thoughtful and calm and has other interests in life besides girls.

On the other hand, there is Octavia and Rosie, two English girls who attend Queens Ladies College in London. Octavia practically has the world at her feet. She is astonishingly beautiful, although there is a secret that she keeps from everyone…She is extremely poor. Octavia has to make her own clothes, and live under a house with a roof that can't even shelter her family from the rain. That is why she makes everyone believe that she is wealthy and doesn’t have any worries even if deep inside she does. She is also super flirty and gets any boy she wants just like her best friend Rosie, a complete introvert that loves music. Rosie is also beautiful and very stylish but she always seems to get the second plate, since Octavia always gets the cuter boys. She spends a lot of time in her computer mixing melodies and creating music of her own.  

 These four characters happen to meet on their respective school trips in Egypt, and here is where all the plot starts. Rosie and Octavia falls for the handsome and well dressed Salah. Sam falls for gorgeous Octavia. And Rosie caught Salah’s eye. Let the trouble begin!

"I like to give the impression that there is nothing more to my life than the persuit and conquest of girls. I know there's a lot more to life than girls, but it amuses me to think that everybody else figures I haven't worked that out yet." -SAM (O'Connell, 7)

 When Sam said this, I kind of felt sorry for him. He has created a reputation for himself that doesn't let him express new thoughts or ideas. Why can't he just tell the society that he has changed? Why would Sam like to be seen as someone who isn't the way he truly is? I guess that he, as a teenager is pretty insecure of what  society might think of him if he was different. Maybe he just wants other people to think that he is cool or amazing by acting all careless about anything besides girls and photography. Will he change after this school trip? Will he decide to change that impression he gives of himself?

"I invented a whole Outer London Zone Phobia so that people would imagine my refusal to visit their places in the country or go abroad was a delightful madness rather than asking my broker-than-broke Papa for travel money." -OCTAVIA (O'Connell, 14)

I realized that if I were in Octavia's place I probably would have done something really similar. Who wants to be pitied? Although, if her friends were real they would still be with her even if she is poor. Why doesn't Octavia trust her friends and tell the truth? It was really interesting of her to make this Outer London Zone Phobia up, but will this protect her image or destroy her friendship with all of those who believe that it is actually true? Will Octavia be able to pull this "I am not poor" act without hurting the ones she cares for?

I am really looking forward to read the next chapters and find out what will happen next. Will Octavia and Rosie fight  for Salah or will Rosie just back off as usual to let Octavia get the first prize? Will Sam use his flirting skills to steal Octavia's attention away from Salah? Will someone find out about Octavia's little secret? I just hope that the four of them will be able to work things out without fighting among each other even if it sounds almost impossible.  See you next time in Scriptum Interpretations for whatever comes next in this novel.  :)