I had absolutely no clue what the ‘first principle’ was when I started reading this Modern Girl novel, and of course I expected it to be spelled out in the story: let the future take care of itself. Let nature take its course. Sounds terribly new age and indifferent. And somehow The First Principle kept that mindset from start to finish.

I have to admit that this was my first time to read a Rose Tan novel, and her disclaimer on the first page—that it’s her first time to write anything like it, and that she hoped her readers would ‘get’ it—was enough to keep my interest. The writing was superbly witty, and it was clear how the writer had more than sufficient control of the language. There were more than enough nuances and humor that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at many of the parts. But then it was also obvious how Ms. Tan was trying to sound more ‘pop’ (to fit the chick lit genre) and less serious, kind of like how someone used to wearing heels was forced to slip into flip-flops. Still, that’s just me, and I’m sure readers would think I’m reading too much into things.

First off, the main character Bam-Bam was written as the stereotypical chick lit girl—concerned with clothes and boyfriends—with above-average looks. I thought she was made too normal, though; the one time she showed anything out of the ordinary was when she clearly went out of her already cuckoo mind by approaching a total stranger—male—in a restaurant in Boracay and went on and on about the sordid details of her life while eating sisig, drinking beer from the bottle, and even plucking her tinga without pretense. The whole thing was hilarious, but eventually this whimsical side petered out in the rest of the story when she became Bella-esque (of Meyer’s Twilight) in her indecision on which guy to pick. But during this noted sequence, Bam-Bam’s character became as engaging as Confession of a Shopaholic’s Becky Bloomwood, whose craziness was at once charming and exasperating. The thing is, like many chick lit novels, Bam-Bam appeared lackluster beside her best friend Ton-Ton—a girl so memorable from her looks (“madalas mapagkamalang bading”) to her job (owns an ukay-ukay shop) to her entertaining exchanges with her girl Friday (with a name like Darna, how can you expect anything else). Bam-Bam and Ton-Ton actually fought over a boy, but in the end how the author chose to resolve their conflict yet leave readers hanging as to which boy Bam-Bam chose emphasized the importance of friendship over all else.

I honestly found Bam-Bam shallow and ordinary, while I thought Ton-Ton was shallow but interesting and believable. Of course, the writing was able to overshadow all these points, since Ms. Tan must have had a ball imagining each exchange, especially between the best friends. Bam-Bam’s mom was also another character worth reading, since she was hardly perfect and represented many practical and empowered women in real life.

I’m looking forward to reading another novel by Rose Tan, and maybe this time I will choose one that is more along the lines of what she is famous for. That said, I would still recommend The First Principle to chick lit and romance readers, if only for the refreshing wit and humor borne out of actual experience and a playful mind.

To date, this is Summit Books’ latest offering, written by the same author of No Boyfriend Since Birth (which I will review sometime), also from the same publishing company. Incidentally, NBSB was made into a TV show a while ago (I have the DVD copy) starring Alessandra de Rossi. Honestly, I thought the show was pure crap—it was an epic fail in attempting to capture even the essence of the main character. I’ll probably rant more about it in my NBSB review.

Girl Meets World—let’s call it GMW—follows the standard story of girl meeting the love of her life while chasing after another guy. Kind of like realizing you’re in love with your best friend late enough in the game that you come off as either dense, slow to react, or simply running out of choices. Except here the ‘best friend’ is just a friend the girl meets on random occasions and places (yes, one meets someone today on the elevator and finds him the next day in the same hotel in Bangkok), and the original object of desire simply showed up in your office one day, became your chat buddy, which makes it logical for you to decide that he is The One. So you start running after him in three different Asian locations. Sounds a bit like Amazing Race Asia, in one long continuous leg.

OK, I’m being a bit cynical but I’ll stop there. The novel is quite fun—despite my reservations about logic and motivation—and it does paint a romantic yet realistic picture of Bangkok, Bali, and Vietnam. Mia, the long-suffering career girl who has been unlucky in love suddenly meets Leo, who is based in Bangkok but for incredible reasons had to fly to Bali and Vietnam. As Mia spends precious time and money chasing Leo’s shadow, she meets Nick, a guy she only previously saw in her office elevator. Of course, as Leo became more inaccessible, Nick became more present—ending with everything tied up nicely with Mia realizing she only liked the idea of Leo, but fell in love with the realness of Nick. Though I didn’t really believe these characters too much, I thought Mia’s best friend Joanna was completely credible and interesting. She convinced Mia to go on vacation, follow her heart, and showed the kind of over-the-top concern only a best friend can.

GMW is a relaxing read, with the author’s thoughtful quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Add to that the immense improvement of Summit Books’ quality, from cover design to paper used, and you’ve got something worth more than the P150 you’ll pay for.

This is the first local title I read, and the label "Modern Girl" by known Filipino romance novel publisher Precious Pages made it clear that the objective is to explore the chick lit market in the country, or maybe even abroad. Though I will admit that I was surprised at the acceptable use of Taglish in the novel, I had no idea that the author had her own cult following--particularly for her work in Filipino-language romance stories.

The title, I think, is too long and too obscure. The cover is laughable, seeing as how the artist decided to depict the protagonist and her purpose of finding the right man as a literal ticking clock. Aside from those two things, I am happy to say that I actually enjoyed reading this piece. Could it be because I set my expectations low? Probably, but most likely not. See, the protagonist, from the very beginning, had a trait not commonly used in chick lit formula: she was not desperate for a boyfriend. Sure, she wanted one--wanted to love and be loved--but firmly decided to keep her values and preferences above all else.

Twenty-seven-year-old Daye is a relatively successful entrepreneur yet is plagued by her well-meaning friends' concern over her single status and her extra fifteen pounds. Despite it, Daye managed to do things her way, which meant dating a lineup of men until she found her kind of guy. However, said guy turned out to be typical asshole, the kind that knocks on her door for sex every other week and hangs with the boys the rest of the time. Then there is the ex-boyfriend who 'realized' he wants to get back with Daye after cheating on her with one of her best friends. At these points, many chick lit stories would take the safer path of either (1) having the protagonist meet a new guy who would be totally unlike the other two, or (2) make the ex or the sex guy turn over a new leaf and realize the errors of their ways in a grand, angels-coming-down-from-heaven magical number. MBRL does neither of these things; in fact, the author was brave enough to make Daye just casually flip her hair over her shoulder and walk away toward the future. OK, there's a mention of a new guy, but it's never presented as the only answer to the problem, or that he would change Daye's life. New guy appears to be just that--someone new who could disappear in a second unless Daye decides to keep him.

I think chick lit is better served this way, with no qualms about keeping to the formula. It should always empower women, picture them as strong and intelligent, and capable of chucking out the window any storyline given her that doesn't meet her standards.

So I wasn't expecting much when I started reading this aptly-numbered 143-paged book; I figured it would be a story I've read before, plus the cheesy line accompanying the title, "Where love will find you", didn't help. But when I started reading, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, this new offering from Summit Books is actually a series of interrelated stories involving--to a small of great extent--a small coffee shop where love began, failed, or was found. It's certainly tricky to keep this point authentic and consistent, yet the writer managed to keep things believable and never over-reaching. The prose was simple but clear and vivid, and certain lines even jumped out in their charming (albeit a bit too dramatic) quality. The characters were credible, however standard in their chick lit involvement, but likeable nonetheless. Most importantly, the women in the stories were empowered, knew how to make their own choices, and never hinged their future solely on love.

A great read, with actual substance and style to boot.