Hard Times of Hannah Baker

"There are thirteen sides to every story."

Thirteen Reasons Why is a book about a teenage girl who committed suicide. It takes place after her death when a friend of hers finds an audio tape collection. Listening to the tapes, he finds out that she left them for specific people to hear after she died, in order to help them realize that their actions made her miserable, and to seek revenge on them by making them feel bad.

Reminiscing on her past, she explains why she made certain decisions, and what was going through her head at the time. There are two narrators to the story, one is Hannah Baker telling her story, while the other is Clay Jensen. Each thing Hannah discusses in the book is apart of the bigger picture, it is a snowballing attempt.

The tapes were intended to be passed between the thirteen people who greatly impacted her choice for suicide. The first tape is about her love for her first real boyfriend, and how he betrayed her. The small role he played in her life, changed the dynamics of her social life for the rest of high school. As a new student in high school, Hannah relied on a few girls when she started school, one of which was Jessica. Her first boyfriend, Alex, turned Jessica and Hannah against each other.

Basically, other people's actions caused Hannah to become miserable. While the actions may have seemed harmless at the time, in the greater spectrum, they all impacted Hannah's life tremendously. When Alex makes the school think that Hannah is promiscuous, when she is not, Hannah becomes heartbroken. After Jessica leaves a scar above Hannah's forehead the school became infatuated with hearing the tales of Hannah Baker.  A creepy boy named Tyler, fueled the fire by sneaking yp on her and sending nude photos of her to the entire school. This only made her reputation worse, and the rumors started by a seemingly innocent girl didn't help Hannah's situation.  The book goes on to reveal the true Hannah Baker, and the hardships she personally dealt with in high school.

While spilling out her thoughts and feelings into this tape, the boy who uncovered them gets to know the real Hannah Baker, even though she was dead. He begins to fall in love with her, although it is too late. It is quite tragic. This book is a heartbreaking, and eye opening. Although the book is fiction, it makes the reader think realize that what you say and do, effects more than just you, and in ways you may have never intended, or even thought of. I give this book a four out of five tapes, because it was very intriguing and well written.

Charles Kuralt's America

Charle's Kuralt's America is an autobiography. Charles was a well known journalist, he lived from 1934 to 1997. Charles worked with CBS for most of his life, and started there when he was 22. He said that he was in love with his job. He says that his job was what gave him a reason to live. This was because CBS gave him traveling, excitement, and eventually a bit of fame and fortune. After 37 years of working with CBS, Charles grew tired of being in an office. His regular Sunday morning program wasn't for him anymore, so he retired, and wanted to go on adventures before he died. 

This book is a collection of Charles travels through America. The first adventure he writes about it going to New Orleans. This is his first adventure sense leaving CBS. He relaxes, explores the city, and meets many new people. As a journalist, Charles is used to interviewing people. He talks to people to learn about their culture, and their families. While in New Orleans he learns about the African American culture in the South. 

After he travels to New Orleans, he goes to KeyWest. He went on boats and again explored the city. While he is there met many new people, and roamed the beautiful beaches to see what they had to offer. Later he traveled to Charleston, South Carolina. Here he went to museums and and learned a lot about the history of America. 

He goes on to talk of his travels to North Carolina, Alaska, Minnesota, Maine, Montana, Vermont, New Mexico, and New York City. Charles uses a descriptive diction and goes into details of what he encounters on his journeys. Not only does he talk about the geography of each place, but the people and the culture. 

This book captivated some of the best things about America, as well as the things that aren't as great. Reading this book was like traveling across the country with Charles. I had a personal connection to this book, because my Grandmother actually met Charles on one of his adventures. Charles had a special way of connecting with people, which you could tell from his book. Although the book was a little monotonous, I enjoyed this read, it has the power to open a readers mind to the different people and cultures throughout America.

I give this book four out of five fish, because Charles often talked about his love for fishing in the book.

Marley and Me

Marley and Me

Carly Lansche

Marley and Me is a story of a rambunctious young dog, who will never be forgotten. A young couple, John and Jenny, are ready to start their lives together. They decide the first addition to their small family should be a dog, because it is good practice for having children. They wanted a Labrador Retriever, and when they went to adopt the dog, one stood out. They took home Marley, the young puppy that stood out to all the rest.

After taking Marley home, the couple soon realized how crazy he was. It seemed as though his energy was endless, he tore up their house, drooled on their guests, broke through a screen door, and ate almost everything he could, including jewelry. John and Jenny tried everything to settle him down, but nothing would work. As crazy as he was, the couple loved the dog, he didn’t have bad intentions, he had a kind heart. 

Through John and Jenny’s  first pregnancy and miscarriage, Marley played an important  role in their hearts. Marley and Me is a heart warming story of the love between humans and dogs. It is written in first-person, and has a laid back, casual kind of diction. It makes you feel as though you are experiencing what the Grogan family experienced having Marley as their pet.  

Subject: The subject of this book is mainly about the love between a dog and a family. It is unique because the reader can connect to it, how you understand the love the family has for Marley, and how they love him while he is obnoxious all at once. 

Occasion: The setting of this story is modern times, in a classic American town. The reality of John and Jenny starting a family, and having a crazy dog effects the setting of the story, they have to move houses to accommodate their needs.

Audience:  In my opinion, I think that this piece was for anyone who has is kind hearted, and understands the love that takes place in this story. 

Purpose: I think that John Grorgan’s purpose for writing this story is almost a healing process. It is a reflection on the good, and the bad of being Marley’s owner, and about life itself. 

Style: The style of Marley and Me is personal, casual, and relatable. It is not written to mean anything but what it means. It is to the point, something I love when reading. 

Tone: The tone of the author really does just depend on what is happening at the time in the book, for instance when Marley is destroying something you can tell it annoyed him, but you can still tell that he adores Marley and his innocence.  When Marley becomes sick, you can tell in the tone of his writing how sad it makes him, and how it hurts him to see Marley like that.  

I give Marley and Me, four out of five Marley's.