Wattpad Must-Read Stories by Filipino Authors

14. Ang Alalay Kong Astig by sweetmagnolia

Author's Own Blurb:

Blake Monteverde is the living proof that prince do still exist. He is the ideal boyfriend every teenage girl could dream of. He's the man every lady wishes to date. And he is the perfect husband every woman aspires to marry. He's handsome, intelligent, cool and above all a sole heir of a billion-peso worth company. His elite status gave him impression of being unapproachable, snob and arrogant. But one day his flamboyant life turned into mess when a carefree, energetic and a street fight expert woman popped up into his life. She volunteered to become his bodyguard but as time passes by, he unexpectedly fall to her unique charm...only to find out in the end that she's an undercover police officer who's only using him as a bait to capture a notorious kidnapping syndicate.

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Nang una kong mabasa ang title nito, pumasok sa isip ko ang namayapang si Fernando Poe, Jr. at ang batang si Judy Ann Santos.   Hindi ako sigurado pero parang may pelikula kasi  sila na very similar ang title.  Parang "Ang Tatay Kong Astig" yata 'yon.  I'm not really sure.  Hindi ko naman kasi napanood 'yon.  Nadaanan lang ng mata ko while channel surfing at napupunta ako sa CinemaOne.  If I'm the type of person who reads based on wonderfully crafted titles, hindi ko ito pagtutuunan ng pansin.  I have to be brutally honest here.  I find the title a bit eeky sa dila.  Hindi sosyal sa dila. Hep!  Huwag niyo muna ako hambalusin ng tablet/smartphone whatever niyo diyan.  Nagsisimula pa lang ako.  Let me say my piece first before you react violently.

Nang mabasa ko naman ang blurb, I was confused.  Obvious na obvious na Filipino ang title niya tapos the blurb is completely in English.  The sharp contrast sa ka-coñohan ng title and the grammatically correct (for the most part) and proper English ng blurb  made me interested to try it out.  Bagong style ito kaya kahit medyo weird for me ang concept, I went ahead.  Iniisip ko na  subukan ko lang ang isang chapter.  Wala namang mawawala.  Good thing I did!  If nagpadala ako sa pagiging nitpicky ko sa title, ang dami sanang nawala sa akin.  Like the excellent good time I had with this  work!

Kung Tom Cruise had Renee Zellwagger at "hello", Ang Alalay Kong Astig had me at "…Three hundred thrity one…three hundred tirty two…three hundred thirty three.. Walang nagbibilang ng barya.  Tinatapos lang ng isang dalaga ang pang-umagang ritwal na two hundred push-ups at four hundred sit-ups".  I had the feeling pagkabasa ko noon na magugustuhan ko ito.  And that feeling became a certainty when I read this: "At ito ang mga katangiang sana'y taglay niya.

Napakataas ng IQ ………. Ng nagi-iisa at nakatatandang kapatid na lalaki.

Napakalinis sa bahay ………. Ng kanyang kapitbahay.

Napakasinop sa gamit ……… Ng kanyang matalik na kaibigan.

Napakalambing…………. Ng kanyang lolo.

Napakagarbong manamit …….. Ng kanyang nanay."

46 chapters?  46 chapters na 'yon?  Hindi ko naramdaman.  That's how much I enjoyed it  It has everthing: romance, action, drama, and comedy (lots of it!).  My gulay, para akong nanonood ng movie while reading it kasi ganoon ka-active ang imagination ko while binabasa ito.  Ang style ni sweetmagnolia magsulat ay very reminiscent of the old Tagalog pocketbook writers in the league of Rose Tan. I'm a fan of those pocketbooks and si Rose Tan ang isa sa mga fave writers ko especially if I'm in the mood for romance and comedy.  Pero sa pagsusulat ng action and being descriptive, sweetmagnolia is on a league of her own.

I already mentioned that medyo na turn-off ako noong una sa title pero sa kalaunan, the title grew on me.  And, my new stand is this:  The title fits the story perfectly esepcially in terms of the tone ng kuwento.  Hindi ko ma-pinpoint exactly when nagbago ang isip ko about the title pero when I think of something to read along the lines of action romcom, Ang Alalay Kong Astig ang pumapasok sa isip ko.  And  I guess, the title did its work splendidly  to make me think this way.

Kung pag-uusapan naman natin ang ibang aspeto ng likhang ito, I only have good words to say.  Ang likhang ito ang isa  sa mga obrang in Filipino dito sa Wattpad na talagang maayos ang pagkakabalangkas at pagkakasulat ng kuwento.  Sabi ko nga, this work has everything working well for it.  Kumpleto sa rekados.  And the language.  Sweetmagnolia weilded the Filipino language superbly.  I did not notice any problems sa grammar and wrong use of Filipino words.  Siguro sasabihin mo na ang pagiging nitpicky about grammar and such is sa English works lang pero I beg to disagree.  Try mong magbasa ng Filipino work na hindi maayos ang grammar kung hindi ka mas  maiirita.  I mean sarili na nating wika namamali ka pa?!  Naman! Pero it happens at napapabuntong-hininga na lang ako.  Anyway, back to sweetmagnolia, If I may say so, she is an expert in writing in Filipino.  Astig talaga!  Ang flow din from one chapter to the next is seamless, proof na this story was well-thought of bago sinulat.  I can only imagine how difficult this is to do especially na action din ito.

At dahil nabanggit na rin ang action, let's talk about that next.

Unlike most stories nowadays, this one is very physical (not in the SPG kind of way, ha).  Most authors kasi ngayon has the tendency to dwell  too much inside the minds of their characters.  The reader is often bombarded with every single thoughts and feelings of the character minsan ang sarap sapakin na ng character kasi masyado nang self-absorbed (I'm guilty of this crime, too.  I write this way din =( ). Pero, sa kuwentong ito, ang daming nangyayari at ang daming ginagawa ng mga characters.  Mahirap magsulat ng movements especially if you are using the Filipino language for descriptions.  Aminin kasi natin na although ang daming salitang Filipino na maaari nating gamitin , not all of the readers are familiar with them.  Heck!  Kung hindi ka man lalabas na sumasali ng balagtasan or tumutula, you'll bore your audience in the middle of the supposedly exciting parts.  Pero si sweetmagnolia , with this  piece, hindi ko alam kung anong salamangkang ginawa niya (binebenta ba 'yan?  Pabili naman), pero she succeeded.  With flying colors pa.

Masyado na bang obvious that I really like this story? I really enjoyed it a lot!  I can't stop talking about it nang matapos ko na.  Inirekomenda ko na yata ito sa lahat ng kakilala kong may Wattpad pati sa mga kapitbhay naming mga boarders.  Napapalibutan ang bahay namin ng mga boardinghouses dahil malapit kami sa school.  I even offered to download the Wattpad app for them and search for the book myself para mailagay nila sa reading list nila.  I really believe that this work deserves a read in the millions kasi maganda talaga.   Ito ang klase ng librong ma-aappreciate ng mga taong hindi masyadong familiar sa Wattpad pero addicted sa pocketbooks katulad halimbawa ng yaya mo or ng Auntie mo or older cousin.  This could be their Wattpad starter book.  Sa akin, it worked on my older cousin.  Sinasabihan niya ako na ang Wattpad daw is pang bagets lang.  Hindi daw siya relate.  Pero nang dahil sa Ang Alalay kong Astig, hindi na ako nakahawak ng smartphone ko one fine Saturday dahil inangkin na niya.  At ngayon ay Wattpader din siya.  That's the power of a good work.

Sa mga potential readers, ano pang hinihintay niyo?  Plunge into the world of Alexandra Michaela Preciousa Valdemor and Blake Monteverde  and get ready for a fun and enjoyable ride.  Unlike most of my recent reads na medyo masakit sa dibdib, ito babawiin lahat ng sakit diyan at ililipat sa tiyan mo.  Konting ingat lang.   Siguraduhing nakalock ang pinto sa kuwarto at may unan kang katabi na puwede mong makagat para hindi ka mapagkamalang nababaliw na humahalakhak mag-isa.

Sweetmagnolia, thank you so much for writing this.  I'm on the sequel and it's as great as this one, so far.  Ibinalik mo ako sa panahong tinatakas ko sa tatay ko ang mga nirenta kong Tagalog pocketbooks.  Sa mga pocketbooks talaga nagsimula ang aking kahiligan sa pagbabasa at binalik mo ang pagkagiliw ko sa kanila.  Iba talaga ang giddiness na nararamdaman ko when I read them.  It always feels like the first time =)