Not a Love Story:

Thirteen Reasons Why Book Review

By: Julia Cory

Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is not a happy book where everyone loves everyone.  This book is a realistic fiction which could also be qualified as an adrenaline fiction novel.  It’s about a girl named Hannah Baker who decides, after thinking about it for a long time, to take her life.  But, she is not going to go without letting the people who made her do this to herself know the reasons.  She picks out 13 people who have made her make this life choice and makes 7 tapes front and back; each side is dedicated to a different person. 

“The same shoebox that sat on my porch less than twenty-four hours ago; rewrapped in a

brown paper bag, sealed with clear packing tape, exactly as I had received it. But now addressed

with a new name. The next name on Hannah Baker’s list. “Baker’s dozen,” I mumble. This I feel

disgusted for even noticing it.” (Asher 1).

Everyone must listen to every tape and then it is there job to pass the tapes on to the next person on the tape.  Chances are the people on the tapes have no idea what they had done to this girl until they listen to her reasoning.  Some are far worse than others.  This novel takes place after Hannah has already committed suicide and follows a boy named Clay Jensen who received the tapes; therefore he is one of the reasons.  He cannot for the life of him figure out why he is on her list because he had the biggest crush on her for years and she barely even noticed him, aside from one night at a party, but that was it.  It switches off between his thoughts and Hannah’s voice on the tapes.  This makes for an interesting story line because while you read the part that is Hannah talking you don’t know what Clay is thinking until he cuts in with his thoughts.  

“Ready for this, everyone? Our sweet little Miss Crimsen told this guy, and whoever else was standing within earshot, that I’ve got a few surprises buried in my dresser drawers.”

“My breath stops like I’ve been sucker punched in the stomach. She made that up! Courtney completely made that up.”

                “And out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tyler Down start walking away.” (Asher 114).

This book is a book that you have to read all at once because it is too hard to put down once you’ve started. 

                Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that will make you look at the way you live and the affect you may have on others.  It is the kind of book that will make you re-evaluate your life and will make you want to be more kind to others.  Jay Asher does a good job of reiterating the long lost saying of ‘treat others the way you want to be treated.’  Asher also hits on the terrifying, but prevalent subject of teen suicide.  If anything, it shows teens, who read this novel, how they can do their part to prevent their piers from making the same choice Hannah did.  The only thing Asher did not show in this book is Hannah’s parent’s side to this.  They touch on the fact that they didn’t pay much attention to her, but readers would have liked to see their reaction to her choice to end her life.  Thirteen Reasons Why is a game of dominos… one domino falls and the rest just keep collapsing until all of them are down and the game is over. 

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars only because I wanted more.  There could have been more detail and the characters could have been more developed if Asher would have made the book a little bit longer.  I would have also liked to see the after effects.  Clay hears his part to her story and then the book is like over.  It still gives his reaction and it is a very powerful part in the novel, but in my opinion, Asher could have done more with it.  Thirteen Reasons Why is a game of dominos… one domino falls and the rest just keep collapsing until all of them are down and the game is over.  Overall, this book is outstanding though.  I love the plot and the writing style, it keeps you interested throughout the whole novel and the meaning behind it is one that every student should learn. 

'Readicide'

Based on the facts stated in Gallagher’s Readicide, I don’t think schools should teach literary fiction so exclusively. It really is making kids not like to read.  I know for example I hated reading until the end of junior year, which is crazy because I love it now.  I hated it because of the books we had to read in school, none of them thrilled me so I just assumed all books were like that.   And to this day I still don’t read the books we are supposed to read for school, instead I would rather read a book that I want to read so I am not wasting my time on a book that is not appealing to me.  The only exception in my opinion is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.  We read this senior year and it was actually a really good book but I know for a fact a lot of schools don’t have this book in their reading curriculum because it is very controversial.  I definitely think that genre fiction should get mixed in to the curriculum for high school reading especially freshman and sophomore year because that is when they are really beginning to read higher level books.  I don’t think anyone should tell someone what they have to read so I think the best effect would be to make all assignments a “choose your own” kind of deal.  Maybe have the teachers give the students a list to choose from that goes along with the topic they are going to be learning about.  If you think about it, every book has a meaning of some point.  You may have to look a little more for one in some books, but you will be able to find a lesson in any novel. I think this is so worth it though because loving to read is something that will be so helpful later in life and if it is acquired at an earlier age it will just be better in the long run. 

The Lucky One Trailer

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For the first book in this class I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which is the first book in a trilogy.  It reminded me a lot of the Harry Potter Series and the Twilight series just in the way that it has already made it to becoming a movie and there are as many fans for the book as there are for those really popular books.  When I was reading this book, I was really entertained by the fashion in the Capitol and during the games.  I am not sure why that caught my eye so much, probably because I do like clothes and they did emphasize on the interesting style in the Capitol (The Capitol is where the rich people live).  So the way I would promote this book and movie to people like myself or to people who may not read it otherwise because it is more of an action book is by creating a high end fashion show inspired by the clothes in the book.  The symbol for this book is the mockingjay pin which has already taken off and fans are wearing them now, but with my idea it will take it a step further. 

                The fashion show will be held in New York, where it is known for fashion.  It could be held in Paris which is the fashion capital of the world but, since the book is taken place in the future of the United States, it would make more sense and would go with the book better if it was held here.  Fashion designers are always looking for new inspiration and the fashion from the book has never been done before so I am sure someone will be looking to make a name for their self and create the looks I am going for.  When people walk into the show they are not going to be able to recognize the building because it will be completely transformed to the theme of the opening ceremony.   This is a big part of the book because it represents the start of the games.  Specifically the seating will look like the chariots that take out the members of the district competing. 

                “The look so beautiful, spray-painted silver, in tasteful tunics glittering with jewels” (69).

This seating arrangement will make it so the audience gets the same feeling as the members from the other districts did while watching Katniss and Peeta, which will be the closing design. 

                The announcer for the show will be dressed like and portray the role of Caesar Flickerman.  He is the man how has hosted the games forever and is well known for his humor, which will add a humorous affect to the show.  He will be wearing what he wore for the interview in the book.

“Same face under a coating of pure white makeup. Same hairstyle that he dyes a different color for each Hunger Games. Same ceremonial suit, midnight blue dotted with a thousand tiny electric bulbs that twinkle like the stars … This year, Caesar’s hair is powder blue and his eyelids and lips are coated in the same hue.” (124)

The show will start out with the models playing Katniss and Peeta wearing something like the outfits they were wearing for their interviews.  This will attract the audience’s eyes from the very beginning because that is what the outfits were meant to do in the book.  Then it will proceed to go through the show containing outfits inspired by the Capitol.  They will all be wearing tons of makeup, weird hairstyles with brightly odd colored hair.  Some of the models will have their skin dyed different colors. 

“The oddly dressed people with bizarre hair and painted faces who have never missed a meal.  All the colors seem artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, the yellows painful to the eyes.” (59)

They will all be wearing the mockingjay pins because Katniss started that trend in the Capitol after she won the games.  The clothes will be just as interesting as the makeup and the hair is.  The colors won’t match and there will be different things paired together that normally would not. 

                This idea will create a new fan base of people interested in fashion because they will read the book and watch the movie to focus in on the style. 

What Is A Book?

A book is a getaway.  I think this because every time I sit down to read I lose myself in the book.  I forget about my life and focus on the characters life. It’s a place where I can go to get away from my problems and put my imagination to the test. It’s a chance for me to be able to creative because I am not creative when it comes to art or music.  Reading a book is my form of a happy place I guess you could say.  I agree a lot with Nancy Jo Sales, her stand point on books vs. eBooks is exactly what I have in mind when I think about the differences.  There is just something about a real book that you don’t get with a kindle or a nook.  With a book you get the spell, the turning of the pages, the pictures (if there are any, and most importantly to me you get the accomplished feeling of closing the book one last time after you are finished reading it.  Also with an eBook you do have to be careful about breaking it, spilling on it, dropping it and things like that.  With a book all those things just add character.  I agree with Victor LaValle to an extent, the most important party of a book is the story which you are still getting in an eBook but, in my opinion, stories are so much better portrayed through a real book due to the format.  Yes books are more expensive in the long run but that is what libraries are for.  You can bring a book anywhere with you, in the pool/hot tub, to the beach without having to worry about getting sand in the keys, in the sauna, on the airplane without having to worry about it dying on a long flight, you get my point.  Plus you get the power to show off what you are reading to the public, I am proud of some of the things I read and like that fact.  I think I will always be a book person over an eBook person. 

Why I Read...

I think the main reason I read is because for the time I'm reading I can go into another world.  I don't have to worry about the problems around me because I am concentrated on the characters in the book. It kind of makes me feel like I am meeting new people and learning everything about them within 300-400 pages.  I like the feeling of knowing I can just sit down and get lost in a good book for a couple hours.  It mostly relaxes me.  I mainly enjoy reading books that I can relate to because I like to see the different ways someone reacts to a situation I may have been through.  Reading just mostly entertains me and never stops because by the time I'm ready to move on to something new I am done with the book and I can start reading a different book. I hated reading up until about sophomore year but then I guess I finally found the style of reading I like and now whenever I find a good book, I can't stop reading it.  For example, I am already done with the first novel we have to read for this class because I read The Hunger Games and it was so good that I was up until 3:30 A.M. finishing it on Wednesday night.