Showing posts with label Teenage Boys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teenage Boys. Show all posts

Thursday, 10 November 2016

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".

Monday, 7 November 2016

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.

Sunday, 6 November 2016

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.

Thursday, 3 November 2016

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.

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

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.

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

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.