Review of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher

Review of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

(Contemporary Realistic Fiction Category)

           1. Asher, Jay. (2007). Thirteen reasons why. New York: Penguin Young Readers Group.

2. Plot Summary: Clay Jenson receives a mysterious package on doorstep with his name on it. After opening it, he discovers seven cassette tapes, thirteen recordings in all. Clay must first find a device to play the almost obsolete tapes in order to begin solving the mystery. As he begins listening to the tapes, he realizes they are from Hannah Baker, a classmate of his, and his crush, who had just committed suicide only two weeks earlier. The tapes reveal Hannah’s thirteen reasons why she decided to take her own life through stories that involve all of the people on the tapes. Clay, who is the fourth person to receive the tapes, has no idea who else is on Hannah’s list, and he must continue to listen if he wants to hear how he played a part in Hannah’s decision to end her life.

3. Critical Analysis: Author Jay Asher does a flawless job of interweaving all of the characters’ together. It plays out almost like a game of Six Degrees of Separation. Each one of Hannah’s tapes and stories build on each other, revealing how she deems each person responsible for her tragic decision to take her own life. As a reader, I found myself going through the same emotions as Clay – frustration, desperation, pity, remorse, anger…leaving me with what I suspect to be the impression that Asher had intended. This is definitely a novel that will stay with its readers long after the final words are devoured.

The narration goes back and forth between Hannah on the thirteen tapes, (which Clay dubs as “a Baker’s dozen), and Clay, alone with his thoughts as he listens to them. There is a small amount of interaction that Clay has with other characters that Asher has written in, allowing the reader to come up for a bit of fresh air. The novel, while mostly heavy in content and thought, is written in a series of flashbacks narrated by Hannah, so there is some sweet, tender and comic relief within her life stories. The overall themes dive in to bullying, silent suffering, and crying for help when no one seems to be listening. The stories Hannah tells of her mistreatments in life are gut wrenching and painful to hear, but if they weren’t, the novel would not have been as effective. The use of the cassette tapes in a novel that is set in today’s ever-changing world was an interesting choice. Asher expressed that he wanted to use an older piece of technology and make the characters acknowledge it because if he had have chosen a more modern type of media for Hannah’s voice, it would have changed by the time the novel was published, decreasing the relevancy of the story as time goes on.

A website dedicated to the realistic novel, www.thriteenreasonswhy.com, contains multiple reviews by teens regarding how this book saved their lives and gave them new perspective. That should be one of the goals of realistic fiction – to give new meaning to and outlooks on subjects that arise in everyday life, even if they are not ones people want to think about. One teen, Dianna, writes, “When a book actually affects the way you breathe, you know it is powerful. When a book changes the way you look at life, you know it is spectacular. Thirteen Reasons Why is that book.” Maya states, “This book changed the way I look at the world…at the people around me. … It teaches the reader to be careful about what they do and how they act. It can also help those in a similar situation, or those who know someone suffering.” As an adult reader, I can say without a doubt, that I gained insight in to the world of bullying and how things that may seem miniscule to many are not to others.

By using narration given by two characters, the author is able to relay two different perspectives, helping the reader to see that both Clay and Hannah are both victims in different ways. The reader will be left wondering who is the antagonist and who is the protagonist. Most of the other characters in the story, expect for Tony, Clay’s classmate who has a cassette tape player that Clay uses, are all developed and described through Hannah’s retellings and Clay’s personal thoughts. So, the perspective is a bit one-sided. As readers, we never get to hear the other “instigators’” thoughts and feelings on Hannah’s perception of their bullying; however, the story would not have the same emotions and meanings if Asher had have written the other characters’ sides of the story.

The use of the constant questions within the narration of Hannah’s tapes are very effective because the culminating question is “Why?”. This novel does not make teen suicide look pretty or glamorous, but it views and describes it for what it is – tragic and a sad reality. Teens and adults will be impressed with Asher’s ability to describe Hannah’s decision in a realistic, respectful way. In a review by Kirkus, the novel is described best as “Well-reasoned, articulate and succinct, with a refreshing morality and a true sense of the value of self-worth.” That is exactly what readers can expect from reading Thirteen Reasons Why.

References

Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher. (2007). Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jay-asher/thirteen-reasons-why.

Thirteen reasons why. The Penguin Group. Retrieved from http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/

Review of WHERE THINGS COME BACK

(Image from Amazon.com)

Printz Award Winner Category

1.       1.Whaley, J. C. (2011). Where things come back. New York:     Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

2. Plot Summary: Cullen Witter is in the summer before his senior year of high school in the small town of Lily, Arkansas, and his world is turned upside down, beginning with his cousin’s death by overdose and continues when his fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, unexpectedly disappears. Cullen is very close to his brother, who is sweet and sensitive in contrast to Cullen’s slightly brooding, sarcastic personality; nonetheless, the brothers are close and greatly respect each other. So, Cullen takes the realization of his brother’s disappearance hard.

In the midst of the family dealing with their heartache and search for Gabriel, the town of Lily becomes consumed and obsessed with the supposed reappearance of the Lazarus woodpecker that was last seen in the 1940s. Cullen is faced with the uncertainty and excitement of new romances, unsure thoughts of his future, and keeping his best friend close to him during a chaotic, upsetting time. Meanwhile, there is a young missionary, Benton, in the depths of Africa trying to make sense of his purpose in life, and eventually his story crashes into the Witter family’s reality, creating an unforgettable story within a story.

3. Critical Analysis: Author Ellen Hopkins sums up what this novel is in two short sentences on the novel’s front cover. “Every now and then a book rises to the top. This one soars.” (True that.) This poignant young adult novel will have readers guessing how all of the characters’ stories fit together almost until the very end of the narrative. I, at first, felt that the novel would be depressing, but I was wrong. John Corey Whaley is able to use imaginative diction and character development in order to create tones of what the back cover of the book describes as “melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, and above all, hope.” The humor included in this book is placed in appropriate intervals. Just when the reader is feeling a bit saddened by the content, the author pulls you out of that state by creating laughter through comic relief.

The characters’ interactions with other one another were natural and realistic, and Cullen’s imaginative mind will put the reader into his skin, as in the words of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, helping the reader to identify with each character. “The characters’ reactions are palpable as their grief deepens and yet they continue to hope for Gabriel’s return. Cullen is an eloquent, thoughtful narrator….the ending is worth the wait” (School Library Journal, July 2011). The poignancy that Whaley is able to create through his simple realizations of the characters is beautifully done. The syntax will be short and simple, and then a flowing, melodic sentence will appear, creating a sense of understanding in the reader. The melody and rhythm of the sentence structure that the author is able to accomplish is fitting because there are many references to songs, and although most of them will be unfamiliar to music fans, the song lyric references are perfect for the novel’s subjects and themes. They all include allusions to angels, life after death, and religion, all of which are explored within the pages of the novel.

A 2011 Publishers Weekly Starred Review states, “In this darkly humorous debut, Whaley weaves two stories into a taut and well-constructed thriller….Vulnerability balances Cullen’s arch sarcasm, and the maelstrom of media attention lavished on the woodpecker offers an element of the absurd, especially when juxtaposed against the mystery of Gabriel’s disappearance. The portentous tone and flat affect of Whaley’s writing is well-suited to the story’s religious themes and symbolism.” The last statement is very accurate. The way that the author was able to interweave all of these elements and devices effectively, particularly the religious allusions and symbolism, will instill a lasting impression on the reader long after he or she has put the book away. The fact that the book won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence and the William C. Morris Debut Award from the American Library Association is no surprise.

The nonlinear plot of flashbacks and flash-forwards will keep the reader guessing as to what is occurring within the present time. I found myself looking back when I came to the end of the book and began to realize what might be happening and loving the fact that I had to keep guessing. It is a novel designed to have the reader thinking about life’s unexpected twists and turns and the fact that things have a way of working out. One of my favorite lines from the novel is, “I can’t seem to be a pessimist long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good.” This comes from the main character, Cullen, and pretty much sums up the one of the major themes of the book – that sometimes, when least expected, things that were once lost often come back.

Some things to be aware of: This novel does have some sexual content; however, those scenes are not described, just pretty bluntly implied. The book is most likely be suited for 8^th or 9^th grade and up due to this particular comment and some (not much) explicative language. This story is one that will be enjoyed by adults as well, and both males and females will find things they can appreciate, understand, and identify with as they read.

As an English teacher, I can think of multiple ways to use excerpts of this novel in class and teach students things such as style, diction, syntax, symbolism, allusion, and any other literary device since the author writes includes them all in a seemingly flawless way, which is what I want my students to see examples of. I found myself marking many pages and cannot wait to utilize the passages I discovered! As a reader and lover of literature, this novel held my full attention, and it was one of the rare books that I finished in a total of two sessions. At only 228 pages and being full of engaging situations and language, readers are sure to not put this page-turner down!

References

Where things come back: A review. (2011). School Library Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com.

Where things come back. (2011). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com.

Review of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

(Image from Amazon.com)

1. Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Challenged Book Category

2. Summary: Laurie Halse Anderson’s brutally honest and chilling novel, Speak, describes the story of Melinda, a high school freshman, who is raped at a party but does not speak out much later until a new “friend” confronts Melinda about her ongoing silence and her attacker tries to hurt her again. Melinda also deals with the woes of high school while trying to make sense of her traumatic situation – the coming and going of friends, feeling unloved and ignored, and learning to deal with teenage emotions and feelings. She is faced with the challenge of telling why she called the police at a summer party or staying silent. While quiet, Melinda endures the shunning of classmates and ex-best friends, and this is all at the beginning of her first year of high school. She loves art, and with the help of her caring art teacher, Melinda learns to speak out and up about what happened to her the night of a summer party before her life was turned upside down.

3. Critical Analysis: On a personal note: I am a Laurie Halse Anderson fan. I have read many of her novels, and Speak has been sitting on my classroom shelves for years – yet I have never read it. I have to admit; I was a bit afraid to read about such a dark subject, and I like dark subjects. I think I thought it was going to hit a bit close to home for me or for some people I know. I loved this book. I am so glad I can now say I have read it. Students have borrowed this title from me frequently, and now I know why.

Halse Anderson writes Melinda’s story from the first-person point of view, and this is effective in getting her deeply personal and emotional story across to the reader. Many parts are written like diary entries. The author uses very vivid imagery and much symbolism to accomplish the description of the main character’s pain and how deep it goes. Publishers Weekly claims, “Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager.” The story combines humorous wit with heart-breaking metaphors, which are both effective in giving the story a deep meaning but not allowing it to get too heavy at the wrong times.

A few of the awards this challenged book has won are the Printz Honor Book (2000), National Book Award Finalist (1999), ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults, and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, (to name just a few).

The author’s style is enticing right from the first page. The novel is divided into the four marking periods of the high school academic year, and Anderson’s simple, somewhat choppy sentences in the first chapter about the beginning of high school gain readers’ attention because it is relatable. It sounds like a first-person account of school, as it should. Intermittent, single sentence paragraphs such as, “I am an Outcast” are powerful and effective. The author has a true perspective of a teenager’s feelings. Anderson also adds in lists of things that Melinda, the main character, thinks of as the school year goes on such as, “The First Ten Lies They Tell You in High School,” (my favorite because they are so true), and “Guys to Stay Away From,” which will hold the reader’s interest because they are a break from the standard paragraph in a novel. Melinda use of sarcastic nicknames for her teachers versus their real names such as “Mr. Neck” and “Hair Woman” continue to add to the authenticity of Melinda’s teenage voice.

On most websites, such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Speak is recommended for ages 12/13 and up. It contains content that would be helpful for students nearing high school age or in high school, but please be aware that the content is deep and about a girl’s struggle with balancing daily life after rape. In November of 1999, CNN reviewed the book and wrote, “If you’ve been through years of therapy trying to suppress torturous memories of your isolated, clique-less, academically unsuccessful high school years, and have beaten back memories of attending prom stag, awakening to the sound of the cool kids egging your house, and being tripped in the hallways by snot-nosed upstarts a year behind you don’t read “Speak.”…..For the more sensitive among you who suffered the kind of off-handed cruelty that is a hallmark of the teen years, it may be too much.” This novel should be read with that statement in mind; however, even if a person is or was popular in high school, this book can make someone see the world from someone else’s perspective. It is simply powerful and will more than likely affect all who read it.

Some reviews out there have stated that the symbolism can get deep and a bit obscure, but I think that is the point. The emotions and feelings that Melinda goes through are so far-reaching and painful that Anderson’s use of symbolism and word choice envelop the reader in imagery and make him or her really think about the subjects and themes at hand. The symbolism and descriptive diction allow the reader to be truly affected up until the very last page of this powerful, coming-of-age, realistic story.

References

Matson, N. (1999, November 29). Review: Book recalls the tumult of the teen years. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/books/reviews/9911/speak/.

Children's Book Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. (1999, October 10). Retrieved from             http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0

Review of THE CONTENDER by Robert Lipsyte

(Image from Amazon.com)

1. Lipsyte, R. (1967). The Contender. New York: Harper & Row.

2. (The Classics Category) Plot Summary: Alfred Brooks, a bright African American boy growing up in 1960s Harlem, New York, feels as though his life is heading nowhere. He has been a grocery store stock boy for as long as he can remember and has dropped out of school due to life circumstances. Living with his aunt and nieces in a run-down part of the city, Alfred struggles to make ends meet and to find his calling in life. His best friend James falls into the darkness of drug and alcohol addiction, and Alfred is faced with the struggles that come with trying to save a friend while trying to save himself.

Alfred decides he would like to become a boxer, partially because he is tired of being bullied by Major and Hollis who attempt to drag him into their dark worlds, along with James. He meets Mr. Donatelli who not only becomes his trainer but also a father figure and mentor who helps Alfred figure out the true meaning of what it takes to be not only a champion but a contender in both the sport of boxing and in life.

3. Critical Analysis: The Contender is the predecessor to The Brave and The Chief. The latter two books continue the story of Alfred Brooks and what he chooses to do with his life after boxing. The continuation of his story gives readers a sense of closure and of hope for the struggling coming of age story in The Contender. The novel has won such awards and honors as “ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults,” “Library of Congress Children’s Books,” “ALA Notable Children’s Book,” and the “New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age.” Lipsyte also won the Margaret E. Edwards award for lasting contribution to young adult literature in 2001. ALA Booklist states it is, “A novel filled with hardships and hope.”  The School Library Journal writes, “An exciting premise, short chapters, and plenty of action make this a good choice for reluctant readers.” I agree that the book’s chapters are short and fast-paced allowing teen readers’ attention to be held. Even though the book discusses the sport of boxing, the book’s themes reveal the world of teen struggles – relationships, (both friendships and the opposite sex), how to fit in the adult world, family struggles, inner-struggles of doubt and confidence, and the list goes on. Robert Lipsyte truly delves into the mind and heart of a teen, and even though the novel was published in 1967, teenagers in 2014 will still relate.

This book is suited best for ages 12 (7^th grade) and up. The subjects of drugs and other “young adult/adult” topics may not be suitable for anyone younger than the junior high years. The language is simple enough for middle school aged students to read, and the book would also be a great addition to a struggling readers’ or special education high school class. The topics and struggles in the novel, such as peer pressure, friendships, and socio-economic status in society, should bring about some interesting and deep conversations in the classroom. The rich history of the novel – 1960s Harlem, the rights of black Americans, sports during this time period – will help aid a teacher or librarian in planning meaningful activities during a novel study. At 227 pages, this novel is fairly short but will hold readers’ attention due to the action packed subject matter. Even the slowed down portions of the novel are interesting and thoughtful because the novel is written from the third person limited viewpoint, allowing the reader to hear the thoughts of Alfred the whole time. I did wonder at times why Lipsyte decided to write in that point of view versus the first person point of view.

I found that the character Alfred Brooks is very believable and relatable. Even if a reader has not gone through some of the challenges that Alfred goes through in the work of fiction, he or she will still be able to relate to his thoughts and feelings of inadequacy and the need to be more all the while struggling with trying to hold on to a friendship Alfred believes is worth fighting for even if his friend may not believe that at many times throughout the story. Alfred’s Aunt Pearl and trainer, Mr. Donatelli, both play an integral part in Alfred’s character development and his decisions throughout the novel. These characters break the typical stereotype that a teen without biological parents struggles till the end. The relationship between Alfred and James is also believable in the sense that friendships that begun in boyhood can go through ups and downs and can still survive but not remain unchanged. The other characters in the novel, such as Spoon, Henry, and Mr. Epstein are symbols of encouragement, perseverance, and hope for Alfred just like many of the “characters” in every day people’s lives.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. Of course, my English teacher mind was constantly thinking about how I could use this in my struggling reading class at the high school where I teach! However, if I were to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 just based on pleasure reading, I would rate it at around an 8. I would recommend it to anyone who asked. I found the figurative language and imagery in most places, especially when describing Alfred’s observation of people and events, to be simple but visually appealing. I could picture everything and everyone in my mind clearly. I felt myself empathizing with characters, and that is something I crave in a book. I wouldn’t say I found myself not being able to put the book down, but that is probably because I am an adult reader and found portions of the book to be not as relatable to me as they would be to a teen. However, from a reading teacher’s perspective, this book would be a great addition to any English classroom for teen readers as well as many history classes.