Thirteen Reasons Why

I started reading this book a week ago. I had loaned it to a student from my private collection because she had asked for it by name. Once she'd read it and said she liked it, I figured I better read it, too. I'd had it on my amazon list for a while, even before the hardcover was out. I think it's in paperback now, or soon.

Anyway, it's the story of a girl who makes 13 sides of cassette tapes connecting 13 different people to her demise. She kills herself and sends the set of tapes to the first person to blame for her death. That person is supposed to listen to the tapes and send them to the second person, and so on.

It's narrated by the ninth (tenth?) person whose name is Clay (Clay??). He flirted with the girl while she was alive, but when he had his chance to tell her how he felt about her, she was already close to giving up and didn't let him in.

I've got about fifty pages left. It's a real page turner. It's an interesting set up. I'm just not sure if it's a good book overall. The writing is certainly above average. The characters are fairly well developed.

I think overall I would give it a thumbs up simply because it is so intriguing and because the set up allows for surprises.

Obvious Insight

I'm taking a class at the Loft called "Better Writing through Buffy the Vampire Slayer." It's appeal to me is obvious. What's cool is that my wife and two of my friends are taking it with me.

Last time we were discussing characterization and watched "Faith, Hope, and Trick" from Season 3 of Buffy. We were supposed to write down notes about the characters--how they are revealed, how their dialogue differentiates them, and other things.

So I wrote down some things about how much Willow talks and how that shows she likes to help everyone all the time, but she doesn't know how to shut up, and she comes across as too happy and perky.

Anyway, I got sidetracked, and I was thinking about Angel because at the end of the episode, Buffy goes to Angel's old place and leaves the claddagh ring. Angel's place has wall-sized windows, and it made me remember that on the show Angel he drives a convertible. Both details about his character explain that internally he is actually self-loathing and self-destructive.

I thought it was interesting. I think Joss Whedon explains characters much more deeply than most writers, whether on TV, in novels, or in the movies.