Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher

Published: October 18th 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Series: -
Source: Borrowed from library
Amazon |
Book Depository

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch.

Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them.

If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
In the beginning we beet Clay. Clay seems like a sweet guy who had a crush on Hannah, a girl who killed herself. But before her suicide she recorded 13 tapes; tapes, that will tell you why she killed herself.

Really love the sound of it, right? I did, so I just couldn't wait to read it! I had just read Hate List and Speak and was expecting something as amazing!

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't worth the hype. I was waiting for something huge, a great book dealing with difficult subject with some suspence. But that really wasn't what I got.

First of all, there's two POVs; Clays, and Hannah reading her tapes. It was really confusing! It seems like a great idea, but these two were mixed so completely it was hard to know who's POV I was reading. So sometimes it took me two pages before I realized I was reading Hannah's POV, not Clays! And had to read it all over again. That was quite annoying. But otherwise the writing was okay.

What can I say about the characters.. Well, Clay really is a sweet boy, who had a crush on Hannah. And that was actually his only mistake. Having a crush on her, I mean.
Because of that, he becomes one of Hannah's victims. You might think that since he's on the tapes, he must have done something horrible to Hannah, right? Well, not exactly. So I just feel bad for the poor boy! But at least Clay's character was believable and likable.

But Hannah.. Oh, Hannah. I was waiting this tortured soul, a depressed teenager who had horrible life and that's why she ended it. But.. Yeah, it just didn't work!
I know, this book was suppose to be about how everyone should think about their actions because they might effect other people. But I didn't learn that kind of lesson from the book. All I learned was that Hannah really is a b*tch!
First she kills herself because she feels like it. But that wasn't enough! She records tapes where she blames other people for her own actions. Well, at least she acts like a stupid teenager! So guess that part is actually believable.
She's one of those weak characters who just likes to blame other people all the time. And now she haunts them from the grave! How wrong is that. Yeah, there was like two people who actually deserved to receive the tapes and who actually did something wrong. All the others were stuff like "omg, he said my ass is the best looking evö, i so wanna die now!". WTH?
Sure, everyone's different, but if that is your biggest problem..
And who is she to blame anyone else, when she did nothing when she should've? Like witnessing a rape and doing nothing. She's just acting all passive bystander, who can do nothing. And that is why I hate her so much. Because I don't like people who act like victim all the time. They complain and then.. do nothing. Hello, ever heard of something like "the police"??

When I read the book, tape by tape, I was waiting for some huge revelation. I mean, since she killed herself, there must be a reason. Something had to be the last straw that finally made her decide "today I'm going to kill myself". If that's something you'd like to read about, don't read this book. Seriously. Because you wait and you wait, but you'll never get the huge revelation.
Also, if you're one of those readers who like to cry because the book is so emotional, again, avoid this book. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't shed a tear. And believe me, I tried!
There was this one scene where Hannah was all devastated and crying and you know it's suppose to be all emotional and you're suppose to be crying, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't cry. Because it wasn't actually that sad scene, it was just silly girl making a fuss.

So, this really sounded like a great book, but really.. wasn't. I expected something awesome and meaningful, but it really wasn't believable. I did like Clay, so that's why I gave two cupcakes instead of just one.

Chit•Chat with Leah (The Pretty Good Gatsby)

Welcome to my new feature called


Chit•Chat!


What is Chit•Chat?

Well, it's me interviewing some fellow bloggers! :)

If you'd like to know more or like to participate,
JUST CLICK HERE!

It's time for my second victim -- I mean, guest! Welcome, Leah!

Click here to visit her blog!

Tell us who you are!

I'm Leah! I'm a soon-to-be 24 year-old living in the heart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bookseller by day, caped crusader by night~

How long have you been blogging? When and why did you decide to start blogging?

I've been blogging since 2001 (oh, hello livejournal!), but it wasn't until last August that I decided to focus solely on book reviews.
All throughout high school I was the editor of the school paper and continued in college. While other staff members would write articles about the up-coming basketball/football game, I chose to include music reviews.

After high school I wrote reviews for a website but, sadly, that came to an end a few years later when the site was bought by a larger company.
I put things on hold after that and it wasn't until I took a job as a bookseller that I decided to get back into it.

Favorite and least favorite things about blogging?

My least favorite is definitely the competitive feeling. I don't want blogging to feel like a contest. We’re here to share our love of reading, not boast about the number of books you can read in a week.

My favorite aspect is being able to interact with super cool authors and discuss books with bloggers who love them just as much as I do.

Who is your favorite and least favorite literary villain and protagonist, and why?

He wasn’t exactly the main character, but Atticus Finch is, hands down, the greatest literary character of all time. OF ALL TIME.

My Favorite Villain Award goes to The Crooked Man from The Book of Lost Things/any and every incarnation/reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin. He’s such a wonderfully creepy character and I think he’s great.

As far as least favorites go… I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flak for this, but Jane Eyre. I just couldn’t, guys. I was assigned the book in school when I was 11 and I couldn’t get through it. Friends that read it once we got a little older absolutely love it and SO many people I know practically worship that book. I’ve been debating whether or not to give it another shot.
I’m a huge fan of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series and in one of the books, the main character actually goes into the novel. Since then I’ve been a teensy bit interesting in revisiting the original work.

Least favorite villain? Oh man. Does a real person count? One of my biggest interests is Tsarist Russia, particularly the fall of the Romanovs and one cannot discuss that era without mentioning Rasputin. If a book is set during 1917 or deals with the Romanovs in any way, I NEED to read it.

Vampire, werewolf, or something else?

Hippogriff!

If you could be any book heroine, who would you be and why?

There are SO many I love, but the first one that came to mind was Enola Holmes. She’s Sherlock’s 14 year-old sister. ..does anything else need to be said? She’s awesome. Sherlock’s awesome. It’s an entire family of awesome.

What movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit? Spill!

HA! I’m not embarrassed, but my all-time favorite movie ever is The Road to El Dorado. Love, love, love it. I actually wore out THREE VHS tapes before finally getting it on DVD. I celebrate the anniversary of its release every year and watching it with me is awful: I recite the lines.

I guess I’m a bit of a masochist. I LOVE bad movies and my boyfriend and I host Bad Movie Nights. Some of my favorite awful movies are Rubber (a killer tire named Robert!), The Room, and Triassic Attack.

Your favorite book of all times and why?

Tuesday by David Weisner. There aren’t any words, but the book is breathtakingly beautiful.
A lot of my other favorites come from my childhood: The BFG, Redwall, anything by Diana Wynne Jones. Even now I love going back and revisiting these books. They’re just as wonderful as when I first read them.

Tell us 5 random, (non-bookish, if you wish) things about yourself!

• I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 1 ½! My nerdly tendencies started early.
• In 2008, I played Quidditch on an amateur team and we wound up going head-to-head against a pro team! Unfortunately, we lost, but we made it the farthest out of all the amateur teams (third place) and wound up in the city’s paper.
• I have a secret crush on ebola. And deadly viruses in general.
• Instead of getting sprinkles on my ice cream cones, I put Nerds on top. Yum!
• My boyfriend and I just got our first house! I spent all of last month moving in and now we’re finally settled.

Your favorite...

• .. place?
  Gettysburg. One of my majors in college dealt with history and the Civil War. It’s always been a passion of mine and my grandfather is to credit for that. Stepping onto the battlefields is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’d love to be a reenactor someday.


• .. author?
  Where to begin. Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore, Michael Chabon, Brian Jacques, Roald Dahl, Steve Berry. I could list them all day.
  My ultimate favorite is Edgar Allan Poe. For my 21st birthday I visited his house and graves (yes, plural! He actually has two gravesites) and it was incredible. I actually own an original copy of one of his works!


• .. smell?
  Freshly cut grass. MMM.


• .. color?
  Grey! I’m also such a girly girl and adore pinks and purples.


• .. movie?
  The Road to El Dorado!


• .. quote?
  Tons. I have entire notebooks dedicated solely to favorite quotes. There’s a line from Dante’s Divine Comedy that has had a special place in my heart for years:
  
  "It was early morning still, the fair sun rising with the stars attending it as when Divine Love set those beautiful lights into motion at creation's dawn."

If you'd like to say something to my followers, go ahead! :)

Be gentle!

Thank you so much Leah, love your answers! :)

And congratulations on your new home, we're still trying to find our first one, but hopefully we'll be soon in a same situation! :) Aaaand I'll definitely have to check out The Book of Lost Things, since I'm so in love with Rumpelstiltskin. Especially with the one from Once Upon a Time ;)

Again, thanks for stopping by! And if you, my dear reader, would like to be interviewed, email me zaturna [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com!

Waiting on Wednesday #27

Hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Enshadowed (Nevermore #2) by Kelly Creagh

Expected publication August 28th 2012


Varen Nethers is trapped in a perilous dream world -- a treacherous and desolate realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

Isobel Lanley, plagued by strange visions and haunted by the nightmares of Varen's creation, is the only one who can save him.

Isobel knows that her only hope lies within a Baltimore cemetery.

There, in the early morning hours of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a mysterious stranger known as the "Poe Toaster" will make his annual homage at the legendary poet's grave.

Only the Poe Toaster holds the key to the way between worlds.

But even greater dangers lie ahead for Isobel. An ancient evil, draped in veils of white, is watching, challenging her for Varen's affections.

When Isobel finally finds Varen, he is no longer the quiet and brooding boy who once captivated her, but a dark force, powerful and malevolent.

The Keeper by Jessica Crawford Vernold

The Keeper
by Jessica Crawford Vernold

Published: February 3rd 2011
Publisher: Jessica Crawford Vernold
Format: Ebook
Pages: 294
Series: -
Source: From the author for review
Amazon |
Book Depository

The Keeper is young adult paranormal romance set in old Rye Wilderness in Manatee County Florida.

Sixteen year old Kaylee Carmichael has had a rough year with the loss of her best friend in a horrible accident. Things don’t get any easier when her family relocates to southern Florida on an old plantation. She doesn’t make friends easily but she doesn’t need them; she has her horses,her family and her memories of Cassie. But when strange things start happening in the house and on the land and everyone (herself included) thinks she’s losing her mind, a friend may be exactly what she needs.

That’s what she finds in Zeke.

Zeke is golden and beautiful and everything Kaylee isn’t yet somehow he seems to be sent just for her; maybe even heaven sent.

As the two delve into the mysteries of the plantation and explore the paranormal, Kaylee can’t help falling for him, but Zeke is hiding a dark secret that could change everything. And things only get more complicated when another strange boy comes into the picture and takes a special interest in Kaylee.

What does he seem to know about her that she doesn’t?

One thing is clear, something evil is awry and Kaylee finds herself right in the middle of it. Even so, all she can think of is how she feels about Zeke. Could a boy so perfect love her back?

She doesn’t think so and she has no plans of finding out. When Zeke finally finds out the truth how will he react and how will he tell her what he’s been hiding?

Most importantly, can the two get to the bottom of the evil that has taken hold of the plantation and protect Kaylee and her family from danger or will this love story have a tragic ending?

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
As said, Kaylee's year has been really rough, since she's lost her best friend in a car accident she feels responsible for.
So her family packs their bags and moves to Florida. Into a creepy old house. Yay.
Everything's still quite crappy, but then she meets Zeke. Who isn't exactly what he looks like.
And after that, along comes Nick! They are absolute opposites, Zeke full of light and goodness, Nick the devilish bad boy. No surprise, we'll have some intriguing moments with lovetriangle and all the mysterious going around..

As said, Kaylee's year has been really rough, since she's lost her best friend in a car accident she feels responsible for. So her family packs their bags and moves to Florida. In a creepy old house. Yay. Everything's still quite crappy, but then she meets Zeke. Who isn't exactly what he looks like. And then along comes Nick! They are absolute opposites, Zeke full of light and goodness, Nick the devilish bad boy. No surprise, we'll have some intriguing moments with lovetriangle and all the mysteries going around!

First I was little confused, when the story mostly concentrated on horses. Basically nothing really happened before their move to Florida. But luckily things really starts going after that.
Kaylee goes to new school, where she meets Zeke. Blond guy who looks like he just dropped down from heaven. Just *swoon*! He's full of light and goodness and you just have to love him!
Which Kaylee does, nearly at first sight. I know, not a fan of "love-at-first-sight", but it didn't bother me.
Probably because I fell in love with Zeke too ;)

But since their relationship doesn't really get forward, Kaylee gets tempted when a dark and handsome guy named Nick walks up to her door. Another swoon!
He's the total opposite from Zeke. Just as Zeke is full of light and blond and stuff, Nick is full of darkness with dark appearance. He's all devil and physical and you just want to rip his clothes off.

Soon scary stuff starts happen. I mean scary. I had some trouble reading in occasions. Cause I'm such a wuss.
After these events we'll find out the truth behind everything. Just a hint, there might be some angels and demons involved..
And we'll also find out what or who really is The Keeper!

I absolutely loved this book! After the slow beginning things really sped up and when Zeke and Nick came to the picture, I couldn't get my hands away from this book!
I was quite happy with the ending, though there was some unfinished business. Which made me wonder.. When will the second book come out, or will there ever be one? Because I sure hope so!

Thank you so much Jessica for sharing your story! :) Hopefully we get to hear more about Kaylee!

TBR Intervention #1

Since I tend to be quite unorganized with my TBR- pile, I thought this kind of intervention was just the thing for me!

Hosted by Books4Juliet, Whatever You Can Still Betray & Refracted Light!


TBR Intervention

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it.

Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).

2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer).

Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week (or two weeks).

1. THE BOOKS I COMMITTED TO READ:

Well, since it's a new challenge, I haven't committed to anything this week ;)

2. THE BOOK I COMMIT TO READ THIS WEEK:

Okay, I haven't own this for six months, I've just borrowed it.. a couple times. And still haven't read it. I really suck.

But since Insurgent is out, this is perfect time to read this!

Plus, in my tbr- pile this is the book with highest rating, so I guess that's a great reason to check it out! :)

Goodreads

The Time Will Come #22

Hosted by Books for Company!

Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum


In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life - and memories - behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art.

Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile.

As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant - an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray.

Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

Waiting on Wednesday #26

Hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) by Josephine Angelini

Expected publication May 29th 2012


Helen needs to get through hell in two ways:

by night they reflected the underworld, even worse torments her day that Lucas and they may possibly love.

In the underworld, Helen meets Orion.

The more time they spend together, the closer they come to.

Then something totally unexpected happens, the forces calculated for holding Lucas and Orion:

The four houses are combined and Scion, a new Trojan war seems inevitable!

Blind Date, Checkmate by Veronica Blade

Blind Date, Checkmate
by Veronica Blade

Published: December 24th 2011
Publisher: Crush Publishing Ink
Format: Ebook
Pages: 105
Series: -
Source: For review from author
Amazon

Should a woman who’s unable to forget her first love give “happily ever after” one more try?

Shelby Winters’ one great love went sour. If she can’t feel that way about a guy again, why bother?

When Shelby’s best friend sets her up on a blind date with Logan, the guy who broke her heart, he pursues her relentlessly, forcing her to make a choice:

give her heart what it’s always desired and risk total devastation or shut Logan out and lose her only shot at happiness.

To Shelby, it’s a lose-lose situation.

Or is it?

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Earlier I read Veronica's Something Witchy This Way Comes and A Bite's Tale: A Furry Fable and since this is my third book from her, guess you could say I'm officially a fan!

Like with her other books, Veronica manages to write some effortless dialogues, and guess you could say that really is her specialty. The story is full of action and full of romance (though no dirty scenes, so younger audience can read this too) and it just keeps you hooked.

Since this is a novella, it is quite short. That was probably the reason why I occasionally felt like things were moving too fast and there was just a little too much action.
I'm the biggest fan of an emotional rollercoaster, but because of the length, there had to be emotions flying around nonstop. So I wouldn't have mind if there hadn't been that many up and downs so fast, but it still didn't stop me from reading, and enjoying, this! It took me two hours and I was finished, since I couldn't stop reading!

Shelby and Logan were enjoyable and interesting characters, even though Logan was quite The Hunk and occasionally liked himself a little too much ;) And Shelby's so called BFF just bugged me soooo much, I just wanted to kick her butt!
Though, of course, things might have gone differently if she hadn't been forcing these two together, but still. She was just kind of annoying.

The romance was so sweet and cute, and there really wasn't anything besides kissing, so even though this isn't exactly YA book, things stay decent.

Overall, this really was a fun and cute read! Maybe just a little too quick, since in the end you just wanted more to read! Give it a go, you won't be disappointed!

Again, my thanks to Veronica, you didn't let me down! :)

Musing Mondays #22

By Should Be Reading!

This week's musing asks…

Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere?

I actually take this to some extremes; I usually stop reading in the middle of a chapter and usually in the middle of some exciting moment.

I have no idea why I do this, guess I'm just so excited that I actually have to take a break of it all or something.

I know this is somewhat masochistic habit, but then again, if I stop reading during some boring scene, it may take days or weeks to get back to that book. At least this way it's guaranteed I'll be reading that book ASAP!

The Time Will Come #21

Hosted by Books for Company!

Starcrossed (Starcrossed #1) by Josephine Angelini


Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school.

Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy.

Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate.

She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history.

Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other.

Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?