Passion and 13 Reasons Why

     I've read two books since Divergent. The first was Passion by Lauren Kate. It's the third book in her Fallen series (if I can call it that).

     I really like these books. Reviews are mixed (as they usually are) but I'm a fan. It's hard for me not to be since the books are basically a love story through time. Daze and Knights, and all the future books I have planned, can be summed up the same way. Although hers has Angels and Demons in it, mine doesn't. I liked how in Passion, Luce explored those past lives. You know I'm a sucker for history. What I didn't like was Luce constantly repeating herself. I got that note from a beta reader recently about how Jessica repeats herself, and I thought, nah- she doesn't. But now I'm going to really look for that as I'm editing. I feel like everything Jessica has to say and everything she thinks is important, especially in the moments they happen. But I really need to look for those things she's said before so readers don't roll their eyes as I did a few times during Passion.

     The second book I read, last night and this morning because I couldn't put it down, was 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I know many of you have probably read this book already. If you haven't- do it now! It's a powerful book. One that you keep thinking of. That you can't get off your mind. Probably because it's disturbing. It deals with hard issues. It reminded me of Laurie Halse Anderson's books- she also writes about tough issues. It was an amazing book in its way- one that doesn't exactly give you the warm fuzzies, but makes you think about yourself, and your interactions with others. Everything you do, everything you say, can have a profound impact on someone else in a good or bad way. And you probably won't even realize it. The lesson I learned from this book was to really think about how you treat others. Because you never know what they're going through. Or what one thing you say or do might cause.
     So, two very different books, but both good in their own way. Honestly, I think I prefer the love story of Passion to the twisted/heartbreaking story of 13 Reasons Why. It's just more my thing. But I applaud anyone who can write about that stuff because those stories need to be told and heard.
     P.S. I just read on Jay Asher's blog that 13 Reasons Why will be made into a movie with Selena Gomez starring as Hannah Baker. I'm excited and also somewhat scared to see that book as a movie. And I think Selena Gomez, as cute as she is, makes a weird choice to play Hannah.