Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Thirteen Reasons Why follows Clay who is listening to outdated tapes from a suicide victim he went to school with. The girl Hannah who made these tapes sent the box to the first person who she wanted to listen and then committed suicide. I really wanted to like this book because so many reviews and people I spoke with did but I couldn’t help the fact that I couldn’t stand any of the characters. Clay for being too wussy to talk to Hannah, and Hannah for blaming everyone else for her problems. Things that shouldn’t have happened and that were not great in her life, but also things she set herself up for, even on purpose towards the end. The book never said how Hannah ended her life but there was a lot of speculation. A lot of girls deal with worse things than Hannah in high school and live productive normal lives, I guess I just expected if this girl was going to end her life and be dramatic by sending tapes to everyone on the list that something life changing might have happened. I am the first to love the books that deal with tough issues for teens. Wintergirls from Laurie Halse Anderson is one of my favorite reads of the year. She however makes the situation grave enough so that these are extreme cases. This book gives the air of “Oh so that was a tough year in school it sucked, kill yourself and do something really cool while you do that!” Hannah blames her counselor for not running after her, why did she leave if she truly wanted help? I found Hannah’s reasoning annoying and her reasons not good enough. This being said, the writing style is amazing and I love the different fonts for when Hannah is talking and Clay is talking or thinking. If you like Wintergirls or Speak then you may want to pick this up.
Pitch Black: Are you a lover, fighter or a biter?
Harper Teen Publishing has this really cool site Pitch Black for their paranormal YA books. Most of you have probably seen it before but it has been revamped and updated with more titles. You can take quizzes on your favorite novels and find out how easily a vamp can sink his teeth into you… for me I am an idiot loner who doesn’t pay attention… aka vamp bait!
So check it out and let me know if you are more clever than I am, or if you are vamp bait also!
Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman tugs at your heart strings in this latest YA novel. Mia is a self adjusted, happy teen who loves her parents her younger sibling, and her life in general. Which in it’s own is a pretty novel concept for recent YA literature. A talented cellist with a very bright future, everything in Mia’s life is absolutely perfect. You get an immediate sense of the character and she is an easy character to love and maybe even adore.
Mia gets an unexpected snow day from school, her parents decided to take an impromtu car drive as a family. A car crash later Mia has major life decisions to make. She is a spriting outside of her barely breathing body. Does she choose to stay earth bound and return to her beaten and bruised body and the people left who love her, or does she move on to a different plane and leave her weary body behind.
As I stated before I really love the characters in this book, the building and relationships fit and mesh well and it was refreshing to have a teen who actually isn’t embarrased of, or who just dislikes her parents. Her relationship with her boyfriend is healthy and she has a good sense of self esteem. The writing style of the book read straight through. No huge plot jumps. You really will not want to put this novel down.
Now I just want to touch on the “I am going to compare this book to Twilight” reviews. This book at no time or in no way reminded me of Twilight. There was an actual story line, a real plot,and even awesomely structured sentences. There was no character in any way resembling Edward or Bella, Mia is self adjusted and confident, Adam the boyfriend is a wreck worrying about his girlfriend to the point of doing illegal things to see her. Just so we are clear, this book is not a replacement for or related to Twilight in any manner.
If you enjoyed books such as The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray, Evermore by Alyson Noel, or Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher then you will really dig into this YA thriller.
Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
After reading Wintergirls(my review), by Laurie Halse Anderson I absolutely had to read more of her work. I chose Speak next because of its message. If it is one thing I learned from reading Wintergirls, it’s that Anderson can make you cringe at the same moment you hungrily page turn for more. Speak wasn’t as disturbing to me as the previous work I read by this author, but it definitely had its own sinister plot that is relevant to what our teenagers go through today. I know some teachers are using this work in their curriculum and I have to commend those who do, especially in middle grades.
The story follows Melinda Sordino through her transition from middle to high school. The summer in between Melinda is at a party, has a drink or two like everyone else and is taken advantage of. She calls the police in a panic, and when her peers find this out they completely ostracize her and haze her daily. Melinda never found a time to tell everyone what really happened to her and over time loses her ability to speak about that night, and to speak a lot in general.
This story takes us through the horror that is teen date rape, especially in the very young scenario. We learn how Melinda tortures herself and learns to feel through art, and begins to heal. The emotions in this store ring true and you feel as if you are reading and actual memoir more than a fiction story. Anderson has the ability to create a world that is so disturbingly delicious that you can’t turn away from the issue she is writing about even though you may want to. I recommend this book to young adults, and adults alike. If we learn to understand the issues that plague society then ignorance cannot prevail and some of these girls can be saved.
Review: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
Jessica Day George has once again taken a beloved and not so over told fairy tale and fleshed out the details to give us a full feature story with all the great elements needed to make one wish to read the tale. Lass (or Pika) is unloved by her mother and is refused a name. Everyone in the village knows an unnamed child is bound to be claimed at some point by the trolls, so Pika’s father tries to appease the beasts by laying out the families precious food and sweets for the troll’s as a way to keep his Pika.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow takes through Pika’s young life and tells us the secret story of the Ice Castle and the Polar Bear Prince who inhabits it.
Lass is given the chance to go live in a castle with the bear for a set amount of time, her family will be well taken care of and things will be much easier on the. The Mother who never cared for her sends her off with the bear as her father is left to worry about his Lass.
Now the twists and turns of the book start, this tale is fairy tale standard, dark turns and sunny happy outcomes are marred by the morals of the story. If you love a good fairy tale and one longer and more fleshed out than most you will enjoy this book immensely as I have.
