It was the concept of this book that had me hooked. For it is true, Adam Strand tried to kill himself 39 times and was unsuccessful 39 times. He knows a lot about the subject and he has tried many different methods but somehow he has failed in all his attempts. Adam was ten when it started. It was a sound that started it. This sound originated within Adam, which pulled him from the car and made him leap, that first time. It is that same sound, that feeling that Adam gets that pulls him at each of his failed attempts. It’s not as if Adam is depressed or detached, Adam just doesn’t want all of the aspects of growing up. If Adam had a choice he would be an inanimate object, a nothing. He longs for the sound that urges him towards the freedom that he desires. This novel is not graphic as it describes some of Adams attempts but the author does an excellent job describing the characters and their actions. Adam is real and his friends are real as they share their lives with us at The Point the summer before senior year. As they gather by the river, alcohol is shared, stories will be told and you just never know what issues might evolve. The place is Iowa, my home state and I can relate to the slowest of the lazy summer and closest of the community as it seems everyone has an opinion of Adam. Adam throws out some interesting observations as he contemplates life and the people that live within it and it really got me thinking a few times.

This week I have quite a few books I need to devour. I borrowed a total of five books from my English teacher during spring recess (which was...almost two months ago...) and have not finished a single one yet! I'd like to get 4/5 or 5/5 books read and returned to her by the end of the school year. I decided I may drop one of them, but the other 4 are game. So this week I plan on reading 1 of the 5 books I've borrowed.

 

 

But let's not jump ahead of ourselves! First, I would like to finish up Hate List by Jennifer Brown. This is our May book club pick, so I need to get going with this one. I wrote a summary of this one in my Friday Reads post, so if you're curious, click here to check it out! Here's a once sentence summary if you don't feel like clicking: a girl's boyfriend shoot up their high school based on the list both of them made and she's left to deal with the consequences.

 

 

 

 

Next, I also plan on finishing up a book I have been neglecting. I'm only thirty pages in to The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway. This book, as you may be able to tell from the title, is about a man named Adam who tries, unsuccessfully, to commit s  uicide -- 39 times. He wakes up after each attempt confused as to how he's alive and frustrated that he can't seem to stay dead. I had previously put this book down, not because it was awful or anything, but because it wasn't exactly holding my interest. I shall try to change that this week. :)

 

 

 

 Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is a Revolutionary-War-era fictional book. It has to do with a girl named Isabel and her sister, Ruth, who are slaves and struggling to survive. There isn't much I can say about this book because I don't know much about it, but I thought it looked pretty good. (Plus it's one of the books I borrowed from my English teacher so I figured I'd finish it ASAP. ;D

 

 

 

 

 And the last book I plan on reading (rather, starting) this week is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This will be my first reread of the series. I will be joining ryanohrama and many other people in an event known as A Very Potter Summer (AVPS). We will be rereading the whole series and discussing each book, so feel free to join us all!

 

 

 

 

 

What will you be reading this week? Leave me a comment down below, I'd love to know! :)

 

Bis morgen!

 

The Good

1. The writing. This book's prose is very poetic. Adam's musings about life, death, and the people around him are enlightening and insightful. I love books like this that hold a mirror up to your own life and the people in it, forcing you to see things from an entirely different perspective.
2. The questions. Adam brings up many interesting questions that stick with you long after the book is finished. Is one life more valuable than another? How can we know that? Why do bad things happen to good, innocent people? What really happens when we die? Is suicide a selfish act? Is it really anyone's business, even if it is? Should we all feel an obligation to keep ourselves alive to appease others, even if we are miserable living? It is amazing the number of thought-provoking points Galloway brings up so effortlessly.
3. Adam's revelation. This book follows Adam through a journey of self-discovery, and the revelation he reaches at the end of the novel was very satisfying. I liked that not all questions are answered and the reader is left to wonder about many different things, including Adam's fate.

The Bad

1. The lack of detail. Adam describes his death experiences as "silence" and "peace" and "nothing". While I appreciate what Galloway was trying to illustrate, I would have liked more information, if not about the time when Adam is dead, at least about what happens when he is found. More specifically, I would have really liked some writing from the point of view of those who had to clean up Adam's disfigured, mangled body and carry it to safety. I think including these passages would have better illustrated the implications of Adam's actions and given the novel more depth.
2. The lack of zealots and scientists. At some point in the story Adam finally gets some media attention, but it was totally unbelievable to me that there would not be more attention paid to someone with his "skill set". If Adam were a real person, every molecule of his body would be poked, prodded, and researched, and religious zealots would surround his house, thinking he is the second coming or the next messiah.

Favorite Quote

"Everybody's got their own disease, I think, but not everyone's got their own cure. I thought I did, but I was wrong."

Overall Rating

4/5 - This book was so insightful and raised a number of really interesting questions. I enjoyed the poetic nature of the writing, but found the lack of media attention a little unbelievable.

Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-39-deaths-of-adam-strand-by-gregory.htmlI don't really know how to explain this book. The concept of the story is good and new but it left me empty.Adam has killed himself 39 times: "18 times by jumping (from bridge or building or other high place and once from the back of a truck), five by drowning, five by asphyxiation, four by poison/overdose, three by hanging, one by fire, one by gun, one by chain saw, and one by train" (page 9). Every time he comes back. He won't stay dead. Why did Adam want to die? Well, he is not unhappy, although he is kind of bored. Killing himself is something that called to him. He was drawn to it (like something you are born with), and he kept doing it.Interesting, right? Well, the problem is that Galloway doesn't explain what happens when Adam kills himself.For instance, Adam jumped off a bridge. He wakes up in the hospital. My questions are: does he has scars? Does he have water in his lungs? did he at least break a leg?On pages 76-77 Adam describes how he killed himself with a gun but he doesn't say what happened when he pulled the trigger. Did he get a hole through his chin? Did he bleed? Was he ushered to the hospital and given stitches? Did his brain splashed all over the walls and he grew a new brain? I ask because Adam says that after pulling the trigger his father found him and cleaned the mess. What mess? Does that mean that although he cannot die he can bleed?It is the same thing when he burned himself alive. He poured gas all over himself... again he didn't die. And once again Galloway doesn't mention if Adam got burned at all. Did he just set himself on fire and the fire didn't catch? Did at least his clothes get on fire? Did his hair burn? Or does Adam have Superman's skin?I didn't like the book because all these details were left unanswered.I didn't even want to know why he wouldn't die; but I did want to know what happened (exactly) every time Adam killed himself.

A dark and riveting tale, this book makes you think...I like dark books. Books that questions things that go on in the world and what it would be like to just know all the answers. Adam is in search of answers to questions he can not answer. He takes death as freedom from everything. I like that the plot is constant and takes the reader deep into Adam's mind.There are two ways you can see this book. One Adam is crazy or Adam is on to something. For me, it fell between. I can see why Adam questions things cause like me I like to "know." But then Adam sometimes took things too far and scared me. Still, I like that in the end Adam is able to find his answers. There are parts where I felt the book completely slow down and then I felt lost. Like I had to find my back into the book. Know what I mean. It went fast....then s...l...o...w...Overall, this book is good. It's edgy and very different from what is out in YA today. It's not a typical book that I would pick up myself but I'm glad that I read it. The 39 Deaths Of Adam Strand is an dark, edgy story is not forgetful.