Reviewer’s Note: This contains spoilers. Also, please wear an open mind while reading this review.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the words/paragraphs that are taken from the novel “Diary ng Panget.” They are only used as references in this review.
Reference: HaveYouSeenThisGirl, 2013. Diary ng Panget. Psicom Publishing, Inc. Quezon City, Philippines
Strengths
EYA
- Typical na outcast pero lapitin ng boys. The difference is, she is not the cliché damsel-in-distress heroine. Also, her attitude reflects the common thoughts of Filipina teen-agers.
PHYSICAL LOOK
- May tatlong rason kung bakit maaaring makakuha ng atensyon ang physical look ng DNP: a) the reader is from wattpad and s/he is a fan of DNP/Denny; b) the title—I showed the book to non-wattpad readers and their reaction? “Ay! Anong meron sa title? Bakit naman ganun?” Apparently, the title is a potential for piquing a reader’s interest; and c) the one who saw the book is a manga lover because it so happened that DNP’s cover is manga-type. Even my Korean students thought that DNP is a manga.
PROLOGUE
- Catchy at humorous ang prologue. Personally, it’s the reason why I read DNP. Hindi ito ang typical prologue na mababasa natin sa mga nobela (it’s even the reason why I really searched for the “Become a Fan” button of wattpad two years ago.
LANGUAGE
- Isa sa mga ikinatutuwa kong bagay tungkol sa DNP ang light atmosphere dahil na rin sa language na ginamit dito. Magaan lang basahin at hindi ‘trying hard’ magpalalim ng Tagalog. Madali rin maka-relate ang mga kabataan dahil sa natural na ‘tone’ ng pananalita ni Eya.
HUMOR
- Both online and book version have this. It’s one good thing, sa drama ba naman ng Pilipinas ngayon, hindi pa ba natin gugustuhing magbasa ng isang kakatwang kwento? “Laughter is the best medicine,” sabi nga nila.
Areas of Improvement
A. COVER
- Kung strength ng DNP ang cover nito, isa rin ito sa mga dapat ma-improve. Hindi nag-ko-compliment ang cover sa description ng mga bida.
Pang-high school ang uniform ng babae at lalaki sa cover ng story samantalang sa intro ng story, ang sabi e graduating na sa college si Eya. I just can’t imagine college students (inside a sosy school) wearing school uniforms that are meant for high schoolers. I hope you’re getting my point.
B. DIARY ENTRIES
- The title does not compliment the content of the story. Ang sabi kasi ng title, “Diary ng Panget.” It only suggests that the story must be about the diary of Eya. However, with (barely) five short diary entries, I can’t say that the story revolved around the diary of Eya. It revolved more about the actual ‘life’ of Eya and the diary entries were only like her comments about what happened to her life.
