Summer Recommendations: Th1rteen R3asons Why

Passage Pages 7-8:
Hello, boys and girls. Hannah Baker here. Live and in stereo.
I don’t believe it.

No return engagements. No encore. And this time, absolutely no requests.

No, I can’t believe it. Hannah Baker killed herself.
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.
What? No!
I’m not saying which tape bring you into the story. But fear not, if you received this lovely little box, your name will pop up...I promise.
Now, why would the dead girl lie?
Hey! That sounds like a joke. Why would a dead girl lie?
Answer: Because she can’t stand up.
Is this some kind of twisted suicide note?
Go ahead. Laugh.
Oh well. I thought it was funny.
Before Hannah died, she recorded a bunch of tapes. Why?
The rules are pretty simple. There are only two. Rule number one: You listen. Number Two: You pass it on. Hopefully, neither one will be easy for you.


A death is always devastating, but what if you were the reason behind that death?

Clay Jensen lives a normal teenage life, Hannah Baker commited suicide and no one knows why. When you put these two stories together what do you get? A box filled with tapes in Clay’s front door. Hannah isn’t coming back, and she’s here to explain her story. Mostly why her story ended. As Clay listens, he will find out his school’s deepest and darkest secrets, he will know everything and he will know why. Read and find out the devastating story of Hannah Baker.

This book is beautifully tragic; it’s a page turner and it carries an amazing message. Also, I loved the fact that it was a two person narrative. I could see the story through Hannah’s tapes and I could see Clay’s reaction and it was truly amazing how Asher managed to do that. This was a great book; one of my favorites. I recommend it to anyone who just wants a good read.

Praise For Thirteen Reasons Why:

“Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher’s first novel, is eerie, beautiful and devastating.” -Chicago Tribune

“A stealthy hit with staying power...thriller like pacing.” -New York Times

“Heavy but compelling... Asher’s novel asks us to look at how petty cruelty can deal crushing blows.” -Miami Herald

“It is a brilliant debut that will leave readers feeling a sense of remorse for Hannah, guilt for Clay, and hope for the lasting lesson of the story.” -Bookazine

What Readers Are Saying About Thirteen Reasons Why:

“THIRTEEN REASONS WHY WAS A BOOK THAT I COULDNT PUT DOWN AFTER JUST READING THE FIRST PAGE, HELD ME IN PERFECT SUSPENSE AND ALLOWED ME TO LOOK AT MYSELF. THANK U JAY ASHER” — KIRSTY

“The truth is that this book saved my life. It gave me the hope I needed to get where I am today. Thank you so much. For everything.” —ANONYMOUS

If you like Thirteen Reasons Why you might also want to take a look at:

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

the perks of being a wallflower

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends.

2. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heart wrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

If I stay 

The Begining of Something New NF SSN

 By Cristina Fernandez
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/09/orangutans-at-miami-zoo-use-ipads-to-communicate/

                They love to draw and play games, younger ones love technology but the elderly um…not so much. Can you guess what it is? No. Okay, I’ll give you a few more clues. They’re furry, orange and they live in Miami. Still can’t guess? Fine, I’ll tell you. It is the orangutan. In Miami's Jungle Island zoo, the orangutans act just like real people. They even use iPads and other forms of technology as humans do. Because the apes have learned a lot about the body, trainers can understand what is wrong much more quickly.  Also, although the trainers have to hold the iPads, the orangutan is showing the trainer that they know what is it and what it means which makes their intelligence one-hundred times more amazing.

              I think that if trainers keep developing these animals skills, they will be just like us. However, there would be still so many questions to answer:

·    -What would they do if they were like humans?

·    -Would they be like us or revel against human kind?

- Would the communication even help us at all?

There are so many questions, and you never know what could happen but with time and research anything could be possible. Even these orangutans could learn to communicate with the human race and the world could change forever.

A Corner of the Universe: Childlike Hattie SSN

In the novel A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin, the main character, Hattie Owen, is very immature although she isn’t a little kid anymore. During the first day of summer, Hattie’s parents told her that her grandparents would be coming to the house. However, instead of staying home with her family, she leaves the house attempting to avoid them. When her father tells her that “Nana” is coming over she immediately thinks: “I feel like getting out of the house. I look at my watch. Ten o’ clock. That is a fine time for my daily walk into town. Plus on the way I hate to stop at Betsy’s to say good-bye to her. If I take long enough with both of these activities maybe I’ll miss lunch altogether” (Page 10-11). I think that the fact that Hattie is running away from her own family shows how childish she is. These small actions that Hattie takes reveal snippets of her personality which grow to create a greater picture as you untangle the story line. I have just recently started to read this book, but I loved every bit of it. I recommend all of you guys to check it out :)

✰ A Fight Against Society ✰

Non-Fiction Super Smart Note on "A Journey Toward Acceptance and Love" by Greg Chapman

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/6/

You see a teenage girl throwing up in the bathroom, a little boy sitting alone wiping his tears away in a corner by the playground, and a college student cutting himself hoping to ease his pain…What has happened? Society. That girl in the bathroom has been bullied since 4^th grade about her weight and now she is faced with extreme eating disorders. The little boy sitting by himself is alone in this world because his mother just died and the man at college is being labeled as “girly”, “stupid”, “pathetic” every day of his life. Although you might have not had this experience, things like this happen every single day around the globe because humans just can’t stop judging each other. This was Greg Chapman’s story. Since he was little he grew up believing that being Christian was the right thing, being a white American made him one of the “better” people,  that there couldn’t be mixing between different races, etc . All of these stereotypes filling his head with ideas almost destroyed him. As he grew older and realized that he was attracted to males, he started to believe God hated him (since the Bible says it is a sin).  But as time went by he started to realize that it shouldn’t matter what others thought of him as long as he loved himself, and now he is proud of himself, successful and a real inspiration. Many people think that our society today won’t change and that there will always be the judging or teasing because we’re human and we are taught to act that way. However, I believe that our society could change any day as long as we take the initiative to do it. We don’t need to insult other people to survive, or to make ourselves feel better because in reality it never helps. Would it make you feel better if you pushed someone over the edge and made them do something crazy? No, I don’t think so. So why even bother? Also, I think that the people that are being bullied should stay strong because you only have one life and it does get better. Because of present day’s society, many people are emotionally damaged and can be hit by depression but I think that with love and hope our world could become a much more peaceful and friendly place for everyone. 

Why did he do it? : The Motive Behind Peeta Mellark's Actions SSN

Suzanne Collins’ futuristic novel The Hunger Games is a story about a girl named Katniss who volunteers for Panem’s –a country in the North American Region- annual Hunger Games which is a competition where two children –one boy and one girl- from each Twelve District are chosen to fight to the death. When her sister, Primrose Everdeen, is called out she immediately decides to take her place in order to protect her, and there is where she meets Peeta Mellark; the shy baker’s son. As Katniss gets to know him and spend time she looks at the friendly boy as more of a threat; at first he seemed friendly and nice but as the days came closer to the time for the arena Katniss knew he wasn’t trust worthy. She was completely right. As soon as the games started Peeta formed alliances with strong and skilled tributes from the wealthier Districts, and they would try to hunt down Katniss. However, as Katniss was about to get killed the author writes, ‘I’m helpless as the first hunter crashes through the trees, spear lifted, poised to throw. The shock on Peeta’s face makes no sense to me. I wait for the blow. Instead his arm drops to his side. “What are you still doing here?” he hisses at me. I stare uncomprehendingly as a trickle of water drips off a sting under his ear. His whole body starts sparkling as if he’s been dipped in dew. “Are you mad?” He’s prodding me with the shaft of the spear now. “Get up! Get up!” I rise, but he’s still pushing at me. What? What’s going on? He shoves me away from him hard. “Run!” he screams. “Run!” Behind him, Cate slashes his way through the brush. He’s sparkling wet, too, and badly stung under one eye. I catch the gleam of sunlight t on his sword and do as Peeta says…Sick and disoriented, I’m able to form only one thought: Peeta Mellark just saved my life.” (193-194) This quote shows how Katniss wasn’t as right as she thought she was. As I began reading The Hunger Games I came to the conclusion that Peeta was the “fake” and “bad guy” type, but as I came to this page my thoughts on the character took a complete turn. I went from despising him to admiring him for how he risked his own life to save Katniss’s life. However, Peeta must have had a reason to help her out in that way, because, of course, the Hunger Games is a fight-to-the-death competition. Why would he do it? Why would he risk getting killed by Cato just to protect Katniss? I came to the conclusion that it was because of love. I think that Peeta has always had feelings for Katniss ever since he met her, even when they were just little he saved her from starving to death. I predict that Peeta loves Katniss so much that he would risk his own life for her and that even though he tries to hide it he really cares for her. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is honestly an amazing and I think everyone should give it a try because it will keep you on the edge of your chair and you won’t be able to put it down. 

13 Little Blue Envelopes Super Smart Note :)

In the novel “13 Little Blue Envelopes” by Maureen Johnson the main character, Virginia Blackstone or Ginny is ordered to travel all around the by her “dead aunt”.In 13 little envelopes Aunt Peg a set of instructions to complete a certain task that she gives Ginny. Throughout her experiences with these tasks and interaction with the other people that she meets we learn about her personality and why se reacts to certain situations. The first thing that Aunt Peg orders her to do is to buy a plane ticked to fly to England and that someone will guide her from there. When she got to the country a man named Richard welcomed her into her home, and after she had a little talk with him she went to sleep. The next day when she woke up she “looked around the room.” The though, “It was strange to be walking here- not only in a different country (different country…everyone and entire ocean away…she was not going to panic)” (37). This passage shows how Ginny is not care-free and easy going but she’s the kind of person who worries a lot and is easily scared. She is older so she should be mature but the way she is dramatic gives the reader a sence of immaturity in her character. When Johnson portrayes her as such an immature character it gives away her personality and In my opinion she has not experienced any life difficulties which makes her so juvenile. Ginny's way of over-reacting will make the book more interesting because it affects interactions with others, and the way she feels. It will drag and hold the reader in the story and make it a better reading experience.

This I Believe: How To Survive Life's Tests

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100338235

              

 Kendra Jones is a professor at Wallace Community College. She is well known as being the though, mean and cold blooded. Most students see her as just another teacher who loves to “push students harder than they want to be pushed”, but behind all of this toughness is a woman with a very difficult life experience; an unbelievable but true story.

                Life experiences made Kendra the way she is; her father taught her to be strong and brave. A family of three; little Kendra was the only child also “the son” her dad “never had” she was the one “he took to the gym, the one who could run faster than the boys, the one who played all day with a broken collarbone” they spent much time together that built a strong bond. Being with her dad all this time made her tougher. The power to not give up also made her get through many complicated situation like almost getting raped, the brave Kendra writes “left an imprint of my phone on his face. I memorized details of his face and clothing. Determined to keep other women from being violated, I identified him, testified against him and made sure he went to jail.” She also saw her loving father die from harsh cancer.  This memorable character has been through so much that you should never judge a person by what they seem to be. You never know until you have been in their shoes, no one knows what they could be going through.

                In my opinion this woman was very brave by telling her great story and I think it could teach many a very valuable lesson. After reading this I thought about my life and compared it to hers and realized that I should start valuing things more and not taking all the things I have for granted. The other lesson Kendra Jones taught me was that you should never give up, there might be some hard times but I know I will get through them. No matter which way you look at her story you will learn something because Mrs. Jones is truly a woman hero.