"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Phenomenal!  Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why follows the story of Clay,  a teenage boy that has just discovered thirteen self recorded audio tapes on his front porch.  The tapes contain the confessions of Hannah, a classmates of Clay's that has recently killed herself.  Each tape has the story of someone in Hannah's life and why they were a part of her decision to commit suicide.  The tapes are being sent from person to person until each of the thirteen have listened to them.  The readers go along with Clay and Hannah on one night, and on one incredible journey that will change Clay forever.

Though Clay is the main character, Hannah is the main narrator.  The majority of the book is made up of Hannah's recordings intermixed with the  Clay's reality as he follows her instructions to go from one location in town to another.  This book is extremely powerful.  Readers cannot help but relate to Hannah's plight as she describes some of the torments she lived with day in and day out.  It also has a difficult outcome.  You go into the book knowing that the final outcome will not change- Hannah will never make an actual appearance in the story.  I rarely cry over books, but I came close with this one.  A heart breaking book with jaw dropping moments, but a book that should none-the-less by on your reading list if it isn't already.

Visit Jay's Blog, Facebook, and Twitter!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"The Future of Us" By Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

I waited anxiously to get a copy of The Future of Us by Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why) and Carolyn Mackler (The Earth, My Butt, And Other Big Round Things). As a self-proclaimed facebook addict, what’s better than a book about facebook?


It is 1996 and Emma has received her first computer. Her best friend and next door neighbor, Josh gives her a CD-ROM for America Online (who else remembers getting these CDs in the mail, at the supermarket, and everywhere else imaginable?) and when she logs onto the internet for the first time she is greeted by her very own facebook page-from 15 years later! As Emma explores the site she discovers what her future holds- careers, children, husbands... She soon realizes that her actions in present day affect her future facebook page. Her job, location and marital status are continuously changing. Even worse, sometimes her future self is friends with Josh, but sometimes she isn’t. At first he doesn’t believe that the site is real, but even Josh gets caught up in the world of facebook and sets out to date the girl that is listed as his wife. Both Emma and Josh are about to learn a lot about themselves and how even minor decisions now can have an extreme effect on their futures.

I powered through this book and absolutely loved it. If you haven’t heard about this book yet, you are seriously missing out. It was phenomenal. Fans of Sarah Mlynowski’s Gimme a Call will likely enjoy this book too. I realize it may be a little late, but if there are any readers left on your Christmas list, this is the book to get them!





Visit Jay's Blog, Facebook, and Twitter!


Visit Carolyn's Website, Blog, and Twitter!
The Future of Us on Facebook!

Happy Reading!
-Melly