Book Review: Ready for the World

 

 

About The Book Series

 

Ready For The World - Driver’s Education:

All Brandon Delacruz is asking out of his young life is popularity, riches, and the girl of his dreams. But what he does have are good grades, a ten-speed bicycle, and his two lifelong friends, Josh and Ally, at his side. And together, they’ll navigate their way through the rigors of high school life.

But unlike high school, real life doesn’t come with study guides. Brandon realizes that the girl he’s always dreamed about has been there all along. And as he untangles his feelings for Ally, something tragic happens to her family that changes everything. Now, Brandon will spend the rest of the year balancing his romantic feelings for Ally and his life-long friendship with her while also dealing with tough teachers, classes, and toughest of all, meeting the Filipino parental standards.

Brandon will learn that the world moves pretty fast, whether he’s ready or not.

Ready For The World – Superstar:

Brandon Delacruz is destined to write the next great novel. At least, that’s what he hopes what’s in those stacks of notebooks around him. And why shouldn’t he be full of confidence? He’s doing great in school and after a long hard road, he finally has the girl of his dreams, his best friend, Ally. 

But before the year can even start, Brandon’s life is turned upside down. Nothing is what he thought and things don’t happen the way he hoped. And as he sifts through his feelings and tries to make sense of everything, he meets Rachel, a confident and self-assured girl that doesn’t suffer fools lightly.

Ally has been the love of Brandon’s life, but things between them have become complicated without explanation. While he and Rachel are seemingly a perfect fit. Which girl will he choose? And more importantly, which girl will choose him?

Purchase Links

Ready For The World: Driver’s Education 

Amazon India | Amazon USA

 

Ready For The World: Superstar

 

Amazon India | Amazon USA

 

Book Review

 

 Usually when I do a review of a book, I include a little quick summary about the book, but there is already one in the previous paragraph so go check it out if you haven't yet. When I first saw the book, I was really excited because I just love a good love story and a coming-of-age novel is just what I needed during quarantine. This is such a feel-good book, except when Brandon's love life depresses you. But love isn't just roses, hearts and butterflies - love also includes heartbreak, rage and loss. This book is so relatable to me and I definitely would have enjoyed it so much more (and related so much more) when I was teenager, even though this book is set in 1986. The author has this amazing ability to pull you in: when Brandon is head over heels, you feel it; when Brandon is heartbroken and depressed, you feel it. It's just so easy to connect with the protagonist and this is something which not all authors can do. The book pulls you into the story and you feel like you're a background character. You cannot put the book down even when it is 2 AM and you know you have classes the next day. I felt like with the second book the story became a little plot-less. It felt like the author didn't really know what is going to happen. Despite this, the author manages to make you excited about Brandon's love life. The fact that the author also brought the writer narrative into Superstar made me so happy. As a writer, I just love reading stories about writers. I don't want to give away too much spoilers, so if you are interested in the book (/books), go check out the Amazon links above and go check out Charmeljun Gallardo's, the author of these books, guest post on his writing process

 

  

About the Author

Charmeljun Gallardo is a former Radiologist and author. His first book is Ready for the World young adult book series. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a Creative Writing degree in 1996. He is a writer, photography enthusiast, sports fan, movie geek, stroke survivor, and an adventurous foodie. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife and son. 

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