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Book Talk

Book Review

While reading 13 Reasons why certain things caught my eye; first, the way the story is told through audio tapes and through internal thoughts. There are very little conversations in this book which is what makes the book. Jay Asher could’ve chosen to write this book like any other type of book but he chose a unique and different way. Your body receives chills down your spine at the end of every audio tape because Hannah (the girl who’s voice is on the audio tapes) calls out the next person, “I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why.” Jay Asher does a great job at wanting to catch the reader’s attention from the very first line of the book. He makes them want to know who else is responsible for the death of Hannah Baker.

The second thing that caught my attention was the emotions the characters brought to your attention. You could feel the pain Clay felt while listening to these audio tapes. As a reader you were able to hear his voice becoming weaker and softer through his internal thoughts, you could tell he wanted to do more and speak out but since he didn’t he felt responsible for Hannah’s death.

“My breathing begins to slow. The tension in my muscles starts to relax. Then, a click in the headphones. A slow breath of air. I open my eyes to bright moonlight. And Hannah, with warmth. Thank you.”

This is a quote from the end of the book when Clay is about to press end on the very last tape that Hannah had made. Before the tapes, Clay was questioning why Hannah killed herself, why she didn’t reach out to anyone, he loved her. After Clay received the tapes he was never going to let hope pass him by. Hannah taught Clay a lesson he will never forget, even though he wasn’t one of the reasons why Hannah killed herself, Clay will forever treat people differently and not let someone he wants to meet walk right past him without him saying “hi”. Through the tapes Hannah begins to become darker as she gets down to the very reason of why she killed herself. Hannah is the type of character that everyone knows in real life. There isn’t one teenager in this world that hasn’t had a friend say that they wanted to end their life. But, Hannah is the one person that did end their life. The signs were there, just like they were with Joe. Everything affects everything.

Lastly, the weak plot caught my attention. Jay Asher made this book very relatable for teenagers and by doing so he made the book very typical. It was an amazing read, but the book lacked passion and depth. Jay did an amazing job at telling the story of Hannah Baker. But, I believe he hasn’t first hand witnessed someone without a shred of hope, at their breaking point, at the end of the rope. But, if there's one thing Jay did do is write a book that teenagers will make their children read because of the message that the book is giving. This book is a bible to those who have experienced thoughts of taking their own life or seen someone take their life. I'll leave you with a quote from the book; “You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.” 

Post 9

Heroes and Villains:
In the book Room Jack is a five year old boy and he is the hero in the book. Jack is a modern hero because he has been psychologically abused by only seeing the inside of Room which is his home. Jack has never seen the outside world because when his mom was 19 she was taken by Old Nick (who is the villain in Room) who Impregnated her. Jack only knows Room, he has never talked to anyone besides his mom, he thinks there is no outisde world outside of Room. Jack fits all archetypes of a Modern Hero because he going on a moral and psychological quest to save him and his mom.  Jack reminds me of Clay from 13 Reasons Why because he is so kind and caring. Clay would do anything to bring Hannah back and Jack played dead so that he could escape and get the police to help him and his mom escape room.

In Room the villain is Old Nick. He is this old, horrible person who kidnapped Jacks mom at the age of 19. Old Nick abuses Jack's mom mentally and physically and constantly rapes her. The scene that shows you how much of a monster he truly is, is when Jacks mom raised her voice and screamed "Don't you dare look at him!", he then casually left room and turned off the power to room which made room frezzing, the water became muddy and made the food rot. Old Nick is seeking pride because he has been laied off and now the only thing that he has control of is Jack and his mom. I would compare Old Nick too The Joker because he loves to make people go insane, he loves to be in total control over ever situation.

 

 

Post 7

Post 8

•          How true does a book have to be in your mind to be considered non-fiction?   Why?

I believe that a book must be 90-100% true for it to be considered non-fiction. There's no way anyone can remember a line they heard from someone word for word, so authors have to improv those types of situations. A book needs a plot line and a story for it too sell and if it doesn't have something of that nature it won't sell.

-Are half-truths okay if it’s still a good story? Does it matter if Frey or other memoirists bent the truth to tell their stories? 

Yes, I believe that half truths are okay. An author needs to sell books and maybe telling the whole truth won't sell because it's dull and boring. It is not okay for Frey because, he made up big parts of the book. I think when you alter the facts of a crash and say that you were there when you really weren't is that person crying out for attention. I think it's sad when someone has to lie about big parts of their lives. Be happy with your dull, boring lives, others wish they had a boring life.

-Is David Shields right?  Do we need lines between genres—do we need to label something fiction or non-fiction?  Why does it matter

I personally don't think it matters. Many "true" stories have fiction involved in them. Example; The Strangers a movie that was made in 2007 was considered to be a true story. The Strangers involved a newly wedded couple being murdered in their cabin in the woods. Wrong, the actual story behind that movie is the director of the movie was staring out his window and saw a group of 5 kids going up to peoples doors and knocking trying to tell people about their church... I don't think those kids killed anyone if you ask me. A "ture story" sells, a fiction story only sells when you have a big name.