graphic design is my passion

1 - Th1rteen R3asons Why

Asher, Jay. "Th1rteen R3asons Why", New York : Razorbill, 2008.

“Asher's ability to convey the anguish of someone who was left behind is truly remarkable.” —Book Page

This first person novel tells the story of  high school student Clay Jensen, who receives a box of 7 cassette tapes, with 13 sides to listen to,  narrated by the girl he had a crush on, who had taken her own life, Hannah Baker. Through out the book, the story alternates between Hannah telling her story of why she committed suicide, and how the people included/mentioned on the tapes contributed, and Clay following along with the tapes and dealing with his overwhelming grief. 

Hannah's Reasons

Excerpt from the book's "13 questions for Jay Asher"

Do you feel you were trying to put across a certain message with this book?

"... Basically, even though Hannah admits that the decision to take her life away was entirely her own, it's also important to be aware of how we treat others. even though someone appears to shrug off a sideways comment or to not be affected by a rumour, it's impossible to know everything going on in that person's life, and how we might be adding to his/her pain. People do have an impact on the lives of others; that's undeniable".

hamsome doggo

2 - Elsewhere

Zevin, Gabrielle. "Elsewhere", New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hall, the victim of a hit-and-run wakes up in Elsewhere, a place where death is a beginning and you age backwards. For 16 year old Lizzie its hard knowing she will never fall in love, get married or have children, and while she displays destructive behaviour in dealing with her grief and avoiding reality, she eventually forms new relationships with family members she never knew, rockstars-turned-fishermen, dogs now that she can speak canine, and people in denial just like her. The heavy yet somehow light theme of death is not exactly seen as an end to all things, but rather seen as rebirth and a chance for Lizzie to redeem herself, as well as other characters; an example is Curtis Stone, who was a depressed celebrity drug addict but upon coming to elsewhere chose the life of a fisherman and was shown to be much happier. 

spoopy loopy

3 - Before I Die

Downham, Jenny. "Before I Die", New York : David Fickling Books, 2007.

Tessa is a 16 year old that has been diagnosed as terminally ill with Leukemia, and decides to spend the time she has left " living instead of dying" (book) and creates a bucket list to finish before she dies. 
This title plays strongly into the theme of an impending sense of death, and while the Tessa has accepted the fact that she will die of Leukemia, she is still shown to act out negatively (as any teenager, or even adult would do) and with its first person narrative, those scenes are all the more powerful.

quality doge

4 - Black Heart Blue

Reid, Louisa. "Black Heart Blue", New York : Puffin, 2012.

This story follows the lives of 16 year old twin sisters Hepzibah, the beautiful and outgoing sister, and Rebecca the disfigured and silent half, as they transition from homeschooling to going to high school, much to the displeasure of their strict, fundamentalist Christian parents.
The split-narrative writing style with Rebecca narrating the present and Hepzibah narrating the past, tells of how the girls struggle for freedom, and the aftermath of Rebecca dealing with the death of her sister.
The story deals with issues such as rape, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, love and death.

if you smell what The Rock is cookin'

5 - The Fault in our Stars

Green, John. "The Fault In Our Stars", New York : Dutton Childrens Books, 2012.

A story of yet another terminally ill girl, Hazel Grace Lancaster is sent by her mother to a support group and there she meets Augustus Waters, a boy she slowly falls in love with. Together they go on a journey to visit the author of Hazel's favorite book, who lives in Amsterdam.
Hazel has stage 4 Thyroid cancer and 'Gus' has Osteosarcoma, which he eventually dies of. While his health was deteriorating, Hazel and Gus's best friend, Isaac, read out eulogies that they had each written for him.
At Gus's funeral, she is overcome by grief and angry at him for dying, but decides to deliver a different eulogy than the one she wrote for him, in an effort to comfort his parents who were the ones suffering the most.

doggo borked 3 times and overdosed into maximum borkdrive

6 - All Rivers Flow to the Sea

McGhee, Alison. "All Rivers Flow To The Sea", Cambridge, Mass : Candlewick Press, 2005.

"All Rivers Flow To The Sea" tells the story of Rose Latham and her older sister Ivy Latham, who have always been close with each other. A car crash that Rose survives but leaves Ivy brain-dead throws the Latham family into turmoil, especially when the doctors recommended taking Ivy off life support. Rose's mother refuses to pull the plug on Ivy but never visits her at the hospital where she is kept, and becomes emotionally distant from Rose. Rose, who has never been alone before, doesn't know how to go on like she used to, and eventually seeks sexual comfort with the family neighbour. The second-person style of writing creates a distance between Rose and the readers, but eventually turns to first-person and creates a completely different 'mood' in the book.

personal space is a foreign concept

7 - The Land of 10,000 Madonnas

Hattemer, Kate. "The Land of 10,000 Madonnas", New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

After Jesse Serrano, who was born with a hole in his heart, dies before he can finish high school, his closest friends and cousins set off on a journey to grant Jesse's final wish, to find his birth mother who left when he was an infant. The five high school graduates head on to to Germany, but the lost and grieving teens argue and take a while to become comfortable with each other. The story has six different perspectives throughout the book (Jesse's is shown through flashbacks and his notebook).

calm slepy doggo Is paecful none troubles

8 - Looking for Alibrandi

Marchetta, Melina. "Looking For Alibrandi", New York : Orchard Books, 1999, c1992.

This book’s storyline focuses on an Ethnic-Australian teenager, Josephine Alibrandi, whose nationality is Italian, finding herself, but has the theme of dealing with the loss of her friend after they commit suicide; the writing is intense in describing her grief, how she handles it and how the other people around her are affected by both the initial tragedy of her friend, and by her own grief.

The theme of death is not particularly prevalent, however a large section of the book leads up to the suicide of John Barton.

bork 3 many, tiem for slep

9 - After The First Death

Cormier, Robert. "After The First Death", New York : Pantheon Books, 1979.

After The First Death is a story about a school bus hijacking, the driver a young girl named Kate, one of the terrorists guarding her a teenage boy, Miro, and Ben, the son of the military leader in charge of negotiations, as well as the man himself. Not to spoil a good story, but Ben's death comes later at his own hands when he commits suicide. During the chapters with Ben's father's perspective, where he spoke as if Ben were alive, it turns out that Ben had been dead all along and his father was recounting how he found his body as a mental hospital patient.
With the multiple perspectives of the story, a tightly woven story of how violence changes and ruins all lives touched by it.

halo pls wher is bork biscuit

10 - The Virgin Suicides

Eugenides, Jeffrey. "The Virgin Suicides", New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 1993.

The Virgin Suicides is a recollection of memories of young man who is infatuated with his neighbours, the five Lisbon sisters. The Lisbon sisters are shrouded in parental grief after the suicide of the youngest sister. The religious parents hold the girls almost captive in their home to try and 'protect' them. However the outcome is far worse when the remaining girls decide to take action against their parents, with horrific outcomes.

best buddy Jed