A is for Asher, and a new Gaiman novel

I've finished more books to add to my lists!

The first is another novel by Neil Gaiman for my adult novels goal.  I finally got around to reading American Gods.  It took me a while to get into this book.  At first I had no idea what was going on, and I wasn't sure if I liked the characters.  However, after a little while I finally really got into it and ended up loving the novel!  It tells the story of Shadow, who upon leaving jail is employed by the mysterious Wednesday.  He finds himself in the center of a nation-wide conflict between the old gods brought over by immigrants to America, and the new gods that many worship such as the media and technology.  The whole novel is very smart, and a great story.  It kept me surprised.  I didn't figure out the final revelation of the book until right before it was revealed, at about the same time Shadow figures it out.  I love when a book can make me gasp with surprise right up until the end.  Overall I liked Anansi Boys better for its story and characters, but American Gods was really fantastic.

My most recent YA novel is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  I devoured this book because I was just dying to know what happened.  Clay goes home one day to find a set of 7 cassette tapes waiting for him.  They were recorded by Hannah, a girl from his school who killed herself two weeks previously.  She begins the tapes by saying that if you received the tapes, you are one of the reasons why she killed herself.  If that doesn't suck you in I don't know what will.  Clay spends the night listening to her story, walking all over town to various landmarks in her life.  While I sometimes got annoyed with her reasoning and tendency to blame, I think the character of Hannah was a strong narrator.  She takes the listener (and reader) on an interesting journey.  I strongly recommend this to anyone.