Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher

book: Thirteen Reasons Why
written by: Jay Asher
series?: no series
genres: young adult, drama, romance
pages: 288
publication date: October 18th, 2007
publisher: Razorbill


first thoughts:
After reading 'The Future of us' and loved Jay Asher's way of writing, I knew for sure that everyone was right about his talent for writing, so when I stumbled upon a copy of 13 reasons why in my library I picked it up, and read it in one breath. Or at least, I would have, if that were possible... :)

the book: 
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.

review:

Oh. My. Gosh. This book is so good!

The main character in this book, Clay, is so greatly developed. His emotions are realistic, he seems like a great guy, and he actually appears to be human and have a heart thumping in his chest. He is a great friend to everyone that gives him a chance to be a friend, he's the good guy. He's the one you can always call, and who will never let anyone hurt you. So what would happen to this good guy that cares about you after you commit suicide? Will he be lost without her? Or will he just move on with his life?

Then there is the other character, Hannah. She's dead, but I just kept on forgetting that. On her tapes she seemed so much alive it was almost terrifying. And all the things that happened to her just kept on making me cry, get angry, and even smile at some points.How could all of that happen to someone?!

The story is told by Hannah and Clay. It's Clay who listens to Hannah's memories. The combination of her memories and the way they made Clay feel was just so wonderfu! I have never read a book that was written in this way that was so good!

The book is about suicide, a subject way more books should be written about, because there are still way too many teens that decide to end their lives. And, here, in the Netherlands, there rests a stigma on the subject suicide, I have no idea how it's in the other parts of the world, but here there is. And books like this could change that! 

The writing style of Jay Asher is terrific. That's what actually made me want to read this book in the first place, his writing style. And, for a debut novel, I think his way of writing is even astonishing. I get that authors change and improve their writing styles after a little time, but his shouldn't change at all!

A book that touched me, a lot, and that will be one of my favourites forever! A recommender for every teen, a realistic and heartbreaking tragedy filled up with a lot of humor.

rating:

5 stars

xo Mar

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

book: The Future of Us
written by: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
genres: young adult, high school life
pages: 356
own / library / borrowed
release date: November 21st, 2011
series? nope
publisher: Razorbill publishers


note: When I saw that this book was about facebook I had to read it. Then I saw who wrote it, and I wanted to read it even more. Then I looked up some reviews. Everyone keeps on telling that they read it because of Jay Asher. Am I the only one that hasn't read 13 reasons why?! I actually read it because of a) facebook, and b) Carolyn Mackler, who has written some hilarious books!

the book: 
It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.


By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

my review:

You know what I did after reading this book? Start up my laptop, go online on facebook and hope that I would see the facebook page of myself in 15 years. That happened to Josh and Emma, and I would love it for happening to me...

The plot of this book is genius. I mean, who doesn't love facebook *ok, there probably are lots of ppl who hate it, but whatever* It was very interesting to see how they looked at their facebook pages for the first time, not quite understanding what they were looking at. And it was even funnier when they understood what they were seeing. All the time Emma was like - omg why on earth would I say this to the whole world?! It made me think about my facebook page. Why do I share all that crap with everyone in the world...

But then there were the characters. I did not love them, mainly because they were very shallow. Emma loved a boy, not because she knew him, but because of his looks. Then there was Josh, who shared the same problem, only that he was in love with his best friend, Emma. Then he looked on facebook, saw his future wife, and fell in love with her. Just because he tought he was supposed to, which technically is impossible. I mean, I wouldn't love someone just because I was supposed to do so. Besides of the stupid love interests in this book, the characters didn't bother me a lot. I didn't love them, neither did I hate them. 

The pace of this book was slow. Annoyingly slow...It was pretty predictable, and on the beginning of the book I started guessing the end. I got it completely right, which is very bad considering the predictability of a book...There didn't happen a lot. Just the usual high school drama's that aren't actual drama's xD

This book showed me that everything we do in the present affects our future, and that even the little things can completely change your life. One phonecall and you're married to a different person and living on another continent. And that's one of the true things about life!

A quick and funny read full of facebook and the usual drama, that isn't annoying like so many others in its category. 

rating: 

3.5 stars

xo Mar