I have found this book review the hardest one to write to date. I feel like people are deeply divided on whether this is a good book or not. It is after all, one of the most banned books from school libraries in the past decade.
The story is set following the suicide of a high school student Hannah Baker. The book follows the story of Clay, who was Hannah's friend and crush. The only time we hear from Hannah is through the tapes she made, detailing the 13 reasons she believed caused her to commit suicide. Since the story is told by someone who loved Hannah, and is deeply hurt by her death, we get to see the impact of suicide on ones loved ones.
I liked the author's writing style. The book uses italics to signify Hannah's voice through the tapes, and this is sometimes interrupted by Clay's narration. This makes the plot of the novel really clear, and you’re not scrambling to divide Hannah and Clay's stories. The format of the chapters follows the format of the tapes.
It's really easy to lock up books that make you uncomfortable. I believe that’s what makes it such an important one to read. This book talks about realities that many people like to bury. It gives representation to people who relate to characters like Hannah, or Jessica, and those who have faced suicidal thoughts or sexual assault. It may not be a perfect depiction of suicide, and many believe that it glorifies the act, but reading the book, I felt Hannah become villainised for committing suicide. Maybe it causes certain characters to feel remorse, but that doesn't change the public view of Hannah. I would not recommend this book to everyone, and I would definitely not encourage anyone younger than 15 to read it, but at the end of the day, it gives you a new perspective that one may not otherwise consider.
One needs to separate the book from the TV show, and I feel like a lot of the hate that comes towards this book is actually redirected from the tv show, although I have not seen it so I am not sure why.
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The book 'The Bletchley Riddle' is a fascinating and thrilling story about cracking codes in World War ll. Nineteen year old Jakob Novis has got a job in Bletchley Park as a codebreaker to decipher the Nazis most complex code ever- the Enigma Cipher. In the meanwhile, his precocious fourteen year old sister Lizzie (Elizabeth) Novis is convinced that their mother who suddenly disappeared long ago is not dead and sets out on a perilous journey to find her. Both brother and sister are strong minds on their own, but are reunited with their love for riddles. I loved this book because it is not only engaging, as I set about doing math equations myself to solve codes!!! But also provides the reader with a perfect balance about facts from World War ll and thrilling mystery fiction. I highly recommend this book for anyone aged 11-13 years or has a deep interest in mysteries, puzzles and the Holocaust.
The Branches division of Scholastic is one of the best publishers for early reader chapter books. A lot of the books I have reviewed for early readers have been from this publisher, like Dragon Masters and The Last Firehawk. This is a new series by them called Disaster Squad. It follows the Jackson family, comprising of a doctor and a journalist, and their two children. The Disaster Squad helps people and animals living through natural disasters. In the first book, they are helping victims of the California Wildfires. The book introduces a lot of important issues to children as part of the story, such as campfire safety, deterioration in air quality and droughts. While it is a little unrealistic that parents allow their children to run into the face of a natural disaster, and I found myself judging their parenting a bit, the fact that this series has children facing these disasters makes it easier for readers to identify with the characters and makes the book more engaging. I feel that this series is a good way to expose young readers to the natural disasters and start conversations on why they occur and ways to live more sustainably to prevent them in the future.
This book is the newest release from the series “The Day the Crayons Quit” and this series never disappoints. In this book, Duncan finds that all his crayons have left. They have found new purposes and made new friends. The red crayon joins a group of firefighters, the white crayon replaces a missing queen on his chessboard, and the pink crayon becomes a baker. This book is really cute, and is written in the same style as the previous ones, where each colour writes a handwritten letter to Duncan. I really liked the theme of the crayons moving on. This is a perfect read aloud story for young children.