Thriteen Reasons Why

Th1rteen R3asons Why (Thirteen Reasons)
By: Jay Asher


Two reviews of the this book will help explain what I want to get across about how I feel about Reasons.
"Every once in a while you come across a book that you can't get out of your mind. Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why is one of those books" --Ellen Hopkins, author

"Thirteen Reasons Why is a mystery, eulogy, and ceremony. I know, in the years to come, I will often return to this book." --Sherman Alexie, author

While this is yet another book that I have no personal connection to, this book so deeply discusses a topic that I don't think is often enough discussed. I think it is brushed over because it is too dark and sad to even what to give a real definition to. Suicide.

Whenever the topic of suicide comes up (which is thankfully not often) the conversation ends with some version of "they were selfish", "they will never be reunited with their physical body", "they were sick but they gave up". It really bothered me because I couldn't understand how people saw it as such a black and white situation. I have never had anyone close to me commit suicide, but I'm intelligent enough to know that it doesn't make sense to believe that one person just wakes up one day and decides to take their own life without explanation.
This book carefully but cleverly looks at all the reasons and experiences in the character Hannah's life. There usually isn't just one reason that brings a person to this unbearably sad decision.

This book was wonderfully written. It was captivating, it was sad, and it was smart. It didn't make light of such a sensitive topic, it looked at a rash decision in away that forces people to also think before they judge those that took themselves away.

I will not lie to you and say that it was an easy read, but I personally could not put it down. I was drawn in from the first page.
It will make you sad and it will be hard to read, but I highly recommend it.
Thumbs up.

Jumping Off Swings

Jumping Off Swings

By: Jo Knowles


Swings is about a girl who gets pregnant in high school and the story is her path to acceptance and her choice. To explain why I loved this book, I am going to draw from the author of the book herself (talking about a girl from her high school): "When she came back to school after having the baby, no one said a word about why she'd been away. Her ex-boyfriend acted as if nothing had happened. i used to watch him in the halls and wonder if he'd been changed at all. One night she told me it was her baby's birthday, but she hadn't seen him since his birth. I could see the pain in her eyes. I couldn't stop thinking about the silence surrounding what happened, but how it must have changed so many people's lives. I wanted to explore how one pregnancy can affect many people in vastly different and profound ways."

I don't exactly know why I was so affected by this book. I am not personally a mother, which obviously means I am not a TEENAGE mother either. Yet I have a surprising amount of friends who are. Swings is a story that I have no specific relations to but I do have one friend who got pregnant about a year out of high school and she made a difficult decision--actually each decision surrounding teenage mothers is difficult--but she made the decision to keep her son. She has tried her hardest to make her life better so that she can make her son's life better. She did not get a dead-end job and disappear or give up hope for a stronger life. She just recently received her bachelor's degree. I am so proud of her.

But that is not the point. The point is this story. This story shows that while the pregnancy physically affects one person, it emotionally affects many others. The friendships that are strengthened throughout the pregnancy is incredible. In my friends' lives, there were some who were lucky and kept their true friends, but there were some who didn't. Some had the fathers stick around, yet many did not.

I loved this book because while I have NO personal connection/relation to this story, I felt every sadness the main character, Ellie, felt. I felt every hurtful word or rumor. Getting a reader to so strongly feel the words and scenarios an author is trying to get across is a difficult job, but Knowles was so successful. She develops these characters with such sensitivity and with love that I knew she genuinely wanted to tell a story not out of judgement but out of compassion. I don't think that Knowles is saying to readers (especially young girls!) that if a young girl has good friends around, getting pregnant in high school is okay, but I think that she is saying that if by some unfortunate turn of events a young girl does get pregnant that all hope is not lost. Ellie's story turned out alright. Her friends got a happy ending. Everyone is going to be okay.

I wish that I could more eloquently explain the enjoyment I got from this book. Instead, I am just going to strongly recommend this book to you. Please read. Please enjoy.
Two thumbs way up.

The Hollow

The Hollow

By Jessica Verday

The Hollow takes place in Sleepy Hollow and it plays a lot on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The main character, Abbey (!) is quite fond of the Legend and is proud of her city because of the fame the Legend has brought. The story follows Abbey and her path to gain back her happiness due to a death close to her. Along the way, Abbey meets someone who might be able to help her get that happiness. Then throughout it all, she learns that the Legend of Sleepy Hollow might not be a legend after all, but fact.

This book I had high hopes for because it's main characters name is Abbey, and you can never go wrong with a story about a girl named Abbey right? Well the character's name was the highlight of the book. The Hollow is a 500+ page book and it got truly interesting around page 400. Not what is expected from a book so long. It was the kind of book that throughout it I kept asking myself "why am I still reading?? I'm bored!" Also not a good sign. However, I did keep reading because when it comes to books, I'm not one who can easily stop reading. I have a need to know how it ends. When this book finally ended (!!), it was then that I discovered it is part one of a series. A series I will not be reading.
Unfortunately, there is another flaw with this book. Even with the knowledge that it is a series, there were so many plot lines that I wasn't quite sure which to follow or if it had ended with a sort of non-ending. I know that if Verday truly wants to keep a series going, she can't end all plots, but as a reader of some great (and decent) series, I know that there is a better way to do it. Harry Potter for one. In each of the books there is a smaller issue that is at hand, but it is resolved at the end and the bigger issue continues with more information to continue on with.
Even the dreadful but somehow intoxicating Twilight series has a small issue that ends but continues to the bigger conflict. Hollow just ended.
Verday isn't necessarily a bad writer, but I will say that she is not the greatest story teller. I wish her luck, but I will not be reading the next book in the series.
Thumbs down and not recommended.

Suite Scarlett

Suite Scarlett
By: Maureen Johnson

Take a 15 year old girl, NYC, a washed-up actress, a cute boy and the summer. Can you imagine the adventures that could happen? In Suite Scarlett you have the chance to find out and get taken on the ride with the 15 yr-old main character Scarlett.

This book was an easy read but it was enjoyable. It isn't going to be sparking any deep discussions or any new life theories, but it was a fun book with enough twists to the plot that kept me intrigued. It was actually quite funny at times and surprisingly clever in some moments. So if you are looking for a book to read while relaxing or while on vacation this is a good one for that. It is aimed at young adults but it isn't too young for adults to read.
One thumbs up.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By: Stephen Chbosky


This book was fantastic. It is about a boy named Charlie and his first year of high school. It was written in kind of a letter or diary format which was a nice change from other novels. The book felt more personal, like Charlie was telling me specifically his story.
I enjoyed Wallflower so much for so many reasons. I felt like this book had a Catcher in the Rye feel in the sense that it is kind of dry and monotone, yet it kept me interested because of the situations and the narrations of them. Charlie was just so vulnerable and lovable that you couldn't help but fall for him a little bit. The friendships he formed, the experiences he had (some maybe a little too mature for him) and the downfall and strong return were beautiful. This was in a small way was how I felt about high school--on the outside looking in. I strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone because it is honest, it is believable and it is comforting. Chbosky wrote a book about high school that almost everyone on some level can relate to and that many have actually lived.
Two thumbs very high up.

"When I look at you, I see forgiveness, I see the truth. You love me for who I am"

First off, sorry for the ridiculously long time in between posts. I have a very busy life okay! well, i have a very tired life...
Second, Happy Mother's Day!! Not just to my own incredible mother, but to my sisters, aunts, cousins and friends. I would do a list like my other sibs, but my mother knows EXACTLY why I think she is incredible to me because I tell her daily.
Thirdly (is that a word?), my little brother has continually made a good point about my blog: i don't blog enough. okay. at all. so, i'm going to change that by giving myself a theme that I'm pretty sure only amelia, mom and dad will appreciate. although, i think everyone will be blessed intellectually because of it. are you dying to know what it is yet or should i yammer on a little more? yammer you say? will do.
subway is crazy, but actually kinda fun this time around. It is hard time consuming work, but i really am enjoying myself surprisingly. school this semester has been difficult, but so far 2 of 3 classes have been graded (one A, one B :D). I will be taking one class in the summer--the dreaded but unfortunately needed math. and even more dreadful, it isn't even the math class i need to graduate. it isn't even the math class before the math class i need to graduate. boo. but since math and i do not get along, i think it is better that i start a little lower. (at least this is what i tell myself to not feel so dumb)
okay, onto my new blog theme. BOOK REVIEWS!
aren't you all giddy with excitement??? I know dad is excited for the written version of my book reviews instead of verbal because well, as you all know, i tend to ramble and repeat my rambles. So basically the reasoning is simple. I went to Philadelphia in November (remember that?) and i got a ridiculous and fabulous amount of books. I have just barely been able to get a real jump on reading them. So now I am recommending or discouraging books for you all. yay!
starting tomorrow-ish. :)
okay, i'm done. Good night!