Review: Refrain (Saat Cinta Selalu Pulang)

Tidak ada persahabatan yang sempurna di dunia ini. Yang ada hanya orang-orang yang berusaha sebisa mungkin untuk mempertahankannya.

Ini bisa jadi sebuah kisah cinta biasa. Tentang sahabat sejak kecil, yang kemudian jatuh cinta kepada sahabatnya sendiri. Sayangnya, di setiap cerita harus ada yang terluka.

Ini barangkali hanya sebuah kisah cinta sederhana. Tentang tiga sahabat yang merasa saling memiliki meskipun diam-diam saling melukai.

Ini kisah tentang harapan yang hampir hilang. Sebuah kisah tentang cinta yang nyaris sempurna, kecuali rasa sakit karena persahabatan itu sendiri.

Text above is a blurp from a book I’ve just read. I’m gonna make a review about it. The title is Refrain. A book from Winna Efendi that published by Gagas Media. The story is about friendship. FYI: this book is belong to my sister’s friend. If you wanna borrow it just contact her. LOL.

Yup, the first time I saw the cover, my thought immediately said: catchy. A blue envelope and contained texts “It’s always been you.” Very sweet! I started guessing what type of story it was. Then I read the texts behind the cover which was made me curious. I’ve launched the book right away.

The cover of : Refrain

It was all about friendship. Nata, a boy, and Niki, a girl, has friendship since five. They were in high school now which was their friendship has long last. That day, a girl has moved from New York. Her name was Annalise. A daughter of a famous role model, Vidia Rossa. She has moved from school to school and country to country that made her very used to it. At last she and NIki was chairmate. She was very geek of book, different from her mother. She likes books very much instead modeling. Her height was very height, about 180cm which made her not really comfortable to looks down everytime she had to talk with friends that shorter than her.

Annalise, Niki, and Nata started to make a friend. Although Anna a lil bit scared of making friend because she knew the fact that she can’t make a friend of anyone due to her moving home. But at last she could find a ‘friendship’ in two of those guys.

But the trouble is inside them. We all could see from the start that Anna had a hard feeling to Nata. Anna liked Nata’s personality which was very cool but care and a bit protective especially for his best girl-friend, Niki. She felt it, she knew that Nata had a feeling to Niki which made her more carefully to close to him. Anna who very like photograph often captured them or just Nata with his unsmiled faces. She decided to be his secret admirer because she thought it must be much better because two of them, Niki and Nata has meant a lot to her. They become a family more than friends because they had filled the empty space of her that was left by her mother.

Another side, Nata thought her girl friend, Niki (which used to boyish) has changed a lot since they became high school students. She likes dress and make up more girlish. She became a cheerleader team in their high school. He hate it but he can’t do anything to make it right. She could probably grow up. At last Niki, who really wanted to know how fall in love feels, started to make relationship with captain of Basketball team from another school named Oliver. It made Nata jealous and realized his feeling had more than friend to Niki. The day when Niki and Oliver became a couple, Niki told him that he was right. Years ago, they had a pinkie promise to tell each other if one of them fall in love. Nata said the one who fall in love first must be Niki. And that day, Niki confirmed it. But in his heart, Nata deny it. He knew exactly who’s falling in love first. That was him that falling love to Niki.

Valentine’s day coming. Nata decided to use a service which sent messenger from secrets admirer. He made a message to Niki but accidently Anna saw it. She convinced him to say the truth to Niki. If he didn’t, make sure he will regret it. She let him to consider it. But another fact unfold. Niki accidently saw a box of Nata’s pictures of Anna. It made Anna had to tell Nata the truth. She said sorry for encourage him to tell his feeling to Niki but herself hide it from Nata. But both Anna and Nata had decided to be just friends forever. If she had to choose between Nata or friendship, she knows exactly what her choice, friendship. The accident didn’t made their friendship awkward instead more strength. Now, just wait for Nata to tell Niki about his feeling.

Niki was very impatient waiting for Nata to come. She was in his room trying to find interesting things while waiting him. She picked out a book of Nata. It’s like short feeling of him and contained many of his poems and lyrics. At last she found out the truth. Most of the texts were directed to her. She realized that Nata had a feeling to him. Nata came right after it. Nothing they could tell except Niki’s expression of surprised. She almost walked out when Nata hurriedly hold her and told what he really wanted to all this time “I love you”. Just after it, even without turned back, Niki ran home and crying.

We could tell Niki avoided meet Nata. Even when Anna trying to talk with her, she deny to close with Nata for awhile. They became awkward and clumsy. Inside her deep heart, Niki was very miss him but he can’t do anything except hold her feeling back. She wanted to be her when they together but it’s hard. She knew they couldn’t be as they used to. Everything was changed. She can’t freely touch, hug, or lean on him. And she a lil bit jealous when she saw Nata brought Anna to their trampoline in their secret garden. It made her realized that she had done something wrong.

What about her relationship with Oliver? Do they will get back together? What’s the ending? Wonder, huh? Just read it.

Personally, I think this book is good overall. A simple story which could stir your emotion in some scenes. The friendship of them had a strength soul to make you think ‘is this a real friendship?’ I like when Niki thought people right.  A friendship between guy and girl is no longer last. There must be a feeling between them. I think that’s pretty makes sense. And I impressed to what Klaudia, Niki sister told her, “There’s no perfect friendship. There is just people who try what they could do to hold it.” Actually there were much touchy quote but I can’t remember all of them.

The lack of this book is way of writing. The writer isn’t good enough to decided what way of writing is it. Sometimes it’s modern but sometimes it’s not. As teenagers, they should using modern type of speaking when they dialog. Like “Gue-Elo” instead “Aku-kamu”. It’s just lame in some side of the story. Yup, as a teenager there’s a tickle feeling to read unmodern sentence like that in a daily conversation. And I think there’s more waste scenes that actually unneeded but it’s like the writer forced to fit it in just to load the pages. Yeah, it’s just my perception though. But overall it amused me. the characters has different personality but could come as one. I like Niki who energetic, hyperactive and cheerful. Nata who cool, protective, unsmiled but friendly and care, and Anna who looks unfriendly but very sensitive and understanding which were completing each other.

I agree with the writer. Friendship is above everything. Better not to date him/her than end up with broke up, awkward and avoid each other at last. This story taught me much and yeah, it’s happy ending. 

I think that’s enough for this post. For more info about the author please visit Winna Efendi’s Blog. Oh, I forgot I have two exams and deadline AHEAD! So poor me. Yeah, I guess that’s me, lame. Thanks for reading, keep visiting. Peace, love and gahooolll! Byee :*