What do you think?
Rate this book
Undercover Tai Tai
Amanda Tay thinks she is losing her mind or starring in a surreal film by Stanley Kubrick. You would be too if you've been knocked unconscious on your first date in 27 years only to awaken in a beautifully appointed apartment that looks like a page from Tatler Magazine. Last time she checked, the film student-turned-book researcher was renting a tiny room in a flat, so what was she doing sprawled on a king-sized bed with 600-thread count bed sheets and a ponkan-sized bump on her head?
The Undercover Tai Tai is a hilarious journey of a young woman who, while pretending to be someone else, makes connections with her past and discovers parts of herself that she never thought existed.
The Undercover Tai Tai is a hilarious journey of a young woman who, while pretending to be someone else, makes connections with her past and discovers parts of herself that she never thought existed.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Maya O. Calica
4 books26 followersHello, my name is Maya O. Calica, a freelance writer/editor/storyteller based in Auckland, New Zealand. Given my job description, my “office” changes daily: from the pink rose-fringed studio next to our garage, the local library, to just about every coffee shop that has free Wi-Fi and serves a fantastic flat white.
Just a few things about me…
• I love magazines
I’ve worked on five magazines across two cities (my hometown of Manila and Singapore), and have been privileged to have refined my skills with the best in the industry. During my stint with Cosmopolitan Philippines, I learned about the biz from my talented editor, Myrza Sison — an education that prepared me for a career in editing teen titles Candy and Seventeen Philippines, working as a lifestyle and beauty ed for the fashion magazine Female (Singapore) under editor Susanah Cheok, and being at the helm of Smile, Cebu Pacific’s exciting inflight magazine.
• I’m also a published author.
I still get a bit shy telling this to new friends. But it is the truth. My first book, The Breakup Diaries (Summit Books), is a chick lit novel published in 2003 (it has since been made into a five-episode TV special for ABC 5′s Love Books) and republished last year. My second book, Undercover Taitai (Marshall Cavendish) came out in late 2008, and is about a reluctant book editor-turned-undercover agent (with a Chihuahua as a sidekick). My latest book, Good Night, Lala (Adarna House) is written by my late mother, Corazon O. Calica, and edited and illustrated with sewn illustrations by me.
• Being my own boss has its perks.
I have the time and freedom to try new things now that I am a freelancer. Since I moved to Auckland, I’ve fallen in love with sewing, crafting and illustrating, tried my hand at gardening, pursued cooking (I enjoy trying new recipes for my husband and stepdaughters), and even teach Sunday school to kids at my church. I sail with my husband, and have also taken up driving. And of course, there is the joy of traveling — whether to a nearby winery or jetting off to cities like Tokyo, Singapore, and the many provinces of my country, the Philippines.
Just a few things about me…
• I love magazines
I’ve worked on five magazines across two cities (my hometown of Manila and Singapore), and have been privileged to have refined my skills with the best in the industry. During my stint with Cosmopolitan Philippines, I learned about the biz from my talented editor, Myrza Sison — an education that prepared me for a career in editing teen titles Candy and Seventeen Philippines, working as a lifestyle and beauty ed for the fashion magazine Female (Singapore) under editor Susanah Cheok, and being at the helm of Smile, Cebu Pacific’s exciting inflight magazine.
• I’m also a published author.
I still get a bit shy telling this to new friends. But it is the truth. My first book, The Breakup Diaries (Summit Books), is a chick lit novel published in 2003 (it has since been made into a five-episode TV special for ABC 5′s Love Books) and republished last year. My second book, Undercover Taitai (Marshall Cavendish) came out in late 2008, and is about a reluctant book editor-turned-undercover agent (with a Chihuahua as a sidekick). My latest book, Good Night, Lala (Adarna House) is written by my late mother, Corazon O. Calica, and edited and illustrated with sewn illustrations by me.
• Being my own boss has its perks.
I have the time and freedom to try new things now that I am a freelancer. Since I moved to Auckland, I’ve fallen in love with sewing, crafting and illustrating, tried my hand at gardening, pursued cooking (I enjoy trying new recipes for my husband and stepdaughters), and even teach Sunday school to kids at my church. I sail with my husband, and have also taken up driving. And of course, there is the joy of traveling — whether to a nearby winery or jetting off to cities like Tokyo, Singapore, and the many provinces of my country, the Philippines.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 1, 2010
Originally posted here.
I was expecting to love this one but sadly, that didn't happen. I guess mostly because I was expecting something along the lines of The Breakup Diaries , a believable story of a young girl searching for love. Instead, I got an action-adventure type of story that required suspension of disbelief right from the start. Don't get me wrong, Undercover Tai Tai is a lot of fun, it just didn't work out for me. Amanda Tay is used to not being noticed by anybody. She's been in Singapore for a couple of months and she doesn't really have any friends. Even her flatmates can't remember her name right. Everything changes when she gets drafted to work as an undercover agent to discover the whereabouts of a missing tai tai. Tai tais are the elite socialites of Singapore - Amanda's mission is to pretend to be one of them to infiltrate their circle.
While I'm thrilled that Filipino authors are getting international deals, I wasn't that enamored of this one. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters and I felt like the story wasn't really plausible. The events were so sudden and there wasn't enough build-up to make them realistic. I think the author was going for something that would read like a screenplay of a movie. Feel free to give it a try though because some of you might like it more that I did. Read this if you're interested in the premise and you want something lighthearted. Some other chick lit books by Filipino authors that I enjoyed more than this are Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra and Amazing Grace by Tara FT Sering.
I was expecting to love this one but sadly, that didn't happen. I guess mostly because I was expecting something along the lines of The Breakup Diaries , a believable story of a young girl searching for love. Instead, I got an action-adventure type of story that required suspension of disbelief right from the start. Don't get me wrong, Undercover Tai Tai is a lot of fun, it just didn't work out for me. Amanda Tay is used to not being noticed by anybody. She's been in Singapore for a couple of months and she doesn't really have any friends. Even her flatmates can't remember her name right. Everything changes when she gets drafted to work as an undercover agent to discover the whereabouts of a missing tai tai. Tai tais are the elite socialites of Singapore - Amanda's mission is to pretend to be one of them to infiltrate their circle.
While I'm thrilled that Filipino authors are getting international deals, I wasn't that enamored of this one. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters and I felt like the story wasn't really plausible. The events were so sudden and there wasn't enough build-up to make them realistic. I think the author was going for something that would read like a screenplay of a movie. Feel free to give it a try though because some of you might like it more that I did. Read this if you're interested in the premise and you want something lighthearted. Some other chick lit books by Filipino authors that I enjoyed more than this are Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra and Amazing Grace by Tara FT Sering.
December 4, 2010
Original post at One More Page
Undercover Tai Tai is my first Maya O. Calica book, and I bought a copy as a thank you to her for giving us a pep talk for National Novel Writing Month. I have been wanting to read another one of the Asian chick lit novels republished by Anvil in the Philippines after I read Amazing Grace , so I thought it was just timely to get this, too.
Amanda Tay is a small, quiet girl who hates her job and her roommates, does capioera and dreams of something exciting to happen in her life. Her prayers get answered when she accidentally knocks CID Agent Brian out, and soon she finds herself as a new undercover agent mingling with Singapore's rich and famous socialites to find out what really happened to tai tai Jasmine Kwong.
Undercover Tai Tai is a fun and surprising novel. Surprising, because I was expecting to read one of those typical chick lit stories where the heroine goes through one mishap after another to find herself, but instead I found something a little deviant of the usual chick lit formula. I like watching undercover movies and shows, so this book was a real treat for me because it appealed to the adventurous part of me that liked espionage. It's fun, because even if the plot is highly unbelievable and requires suspension of disbelief, I thought it was well written and the mystery part of the story was kept well under wraps up until the end. The cast of characters added to the fun of it all, too. I am particularly fond of Agent Omni, who works on Amanda's gadgets and doubles as her personal stylist as she goes undercover. Oh and let's not forget Alexis, the crime fighting chihuahua. Gotta love it when there's a dog involved in the story. ;)
Like I said, it's a fun novel, and it was a good and quick in-between read. While I don't hold it in the same regard as the other chick lit novels I liked this year, I thought it was still pretty good. If you're looking for a usual chick lit novel you may want to skip this, but if you're in for something a little bit different, then I suggest you pick this up and enjoy the ride. I am pretty sure Maya wrote this as her NaNoWriMo novel because Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo's founder, is cited in the acknowledgments, and that explains all the craziness that happened in the story and, of course, the crime-fighting dog. :)
Undercover Tai Tai is my first Maya O. Calica book, and I bought a copy as a thank you to her for giving us a pep talk for National Novel Writing Month. I have been wanting to read another one of the Asian chick lit novels republished by Anvil in the Philippines after I read Amazing Grace , so I thought it was just timely to get this, too.
Amanda Tay is a small, quiet girl who hates her job and her roommates, does capioera and dreams of something exciting to happen in her life. Her prayers get answered when she accidentally knocks CID Agent Brian out, and soon she finds herself as a new undercover agent mingling with Singapore's rich and famous socialites to find out what really happened to tai tai Jasmine Kwong.
Undercover Tai Tai is a fun and surprising novel. Surprising, because I was expecting to read one of those typical chick lit stories where the heroine goes through one mishap after another to find herself, but instead I found something a little deviant of the usual chick lit formula. I like watching undercover movies and shows, so this book was a real treat for me because it appealed to the adventurous part of me that liked espionage. It's fun, because even if the plot is highly unbelievable and requires suspension of disbelief, I thought it was well written and the mystery part of the story was kept well under wraps up until the end. The cast of characters added to the fun of it all, too. I am particularly fond of Agent Omni, who works on Amanda's gadgets and doubles as her personal stylist as she goes undercover. Oh and let's not forget Alexis, the crime fighting chihuahua. Gotta love it when there's a dog involved in the story. ;)
Like I said, it's a fun novel, and it was a good and quick in-between read. While I don't hold it in the same regard as the other chick lit novels I liked this year, I thought it was still pretty good. If you're looking for a usual chick lit novel you may want to skip this, but if you're in for something a little bit different, then I suggest you pick this up and enjoy the ride. I am pretty sure Maya wrote this as her NaNoWriMo novel because Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo's founder, is cited in the acknowledgments, and that explains all the craziness that happened in the story and, of course, the crime-fighting dog. :)
May 6, 2018
Quote: “He of the cold and unreachable demeanour suddenly showed her a side she didn’t know existed. Until now”
I was wrong when I’ve no high expectation when I first pick up this book. It’s a very underrated book based in Singapore, by a Filipino author. Chick lit storyline was my very first impression, but nope, it’s a cocktail of crime-mystery-comedy story. I love this for the 4🌟.
I was wrong when I’ve no high expectation when I first pick up this book. It’s a very underrated book based in Singapore, by a Filipino author. Chick lit storyline was my very first impression, but nope, it’s a cocktail of crime-mystery-comedy story. I love this for the 4🌟.
January 5, 2013
Flew through this book. It was kind of mindless, but fun, I have to say. I really liked that it was set in Singapore and it is the first piece of chick lit I've read that has a real South-East Asian feel. Yes, of course, undercover agents don't go around calling each other “Agent A" or “Agent O" on a regular basis (especially when in public), but overlook the finer spy details and this book really does have its moments. The author writes pretty well too and at last there's some good vocabulary in a chic lit novel!
April 1, 2013
Pretentious. Wannabe.
Too much Brand-dropping. The writer has to learn from Jackie Collins.
Poor characters and settings and, everything. It was as if the writer tried so hard to impress, to convince the readers that she has knowledge of high society, she ended up sounding like a maid boasting about her mistress.
Half-baked plot.
No wonder the book cost me less than a plate of good 'nasi lemak'.
Too much Brand-dropping. The writer has to learn from Jackie Collins.
Poor characters and settings and, everything. It was as if the writer tried so hard to impress, to convince the readers that she has knowledge of high society, she ended up sounding like a maid boasting about her mistress.
Half-baked plot.
No wonder the book cost me less than a plate of good 'nasi lemak'.
October 9, 2011
Review at Mama Kucing Meow: Undercover Tai Tai by Maya O Calica
Love the funny moments. Just too bad its not very logical
Love the funny moments. Just too bad its not very logical
January 27, 2016
Funny, like the author. She is my mentor, and always my beauty and wise person (and longest lashes) inspiration. Former style and beauty editor of Female magazine, she showers with swag, and she sounds more fabulous in person. But her heart shines out in her work as well.
December 23, 2012
Somehow, I laughed at certain parts.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews