Book Project #1

Maya Hall

Bell 3

Thirteen Reasons Why

By: Jay Asher

Book 1 Project

1.     My idea is to have the restaurant called Monet’s Garden Café & Coffee House on Hannah Baker’s map actually built and the restaurant could be named after it.  On the inside of the restaurant inspiring or famous quotes from Hannah Baker could be written on the walls so when people walk in, memories from and about the book will come back to the people that are fans of the book.  I think the restaurant is a main part of the book because Hannah Baker has a lot of connections to it such as making new friends there that turn against her which is one of thirteen reasons why she commits suicide.  So I think having one of the reasons come to life will help fans experience the book from a whole different perspective. Also I think at the restaurant there could be an author signing every month to invite the fans in or people that have read his other books and the restaurant could invite them to read Thirteen Reasons Why.  Some examples of quotes I would like to put on the walls are, “No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.” Another example of a quote I would use is, “I hope you’re ready, because I’m about to tell you the story of my life.  More specifically, why my life ended.  And if you’re listening to these tapes you’re one of the reasons why.”

2.     This restaurant is important in the book because Hannah Baker was new to town and she met two new friends named Jessica and Alex there that made her more comfortable in the new school she was in.  Monet’s Garden Café & Coffee House was a safe haven for Hannah and her friends. Hannah was now so excited to have friends to help her get through school as she said on cassette 2, “How many nights had I fallen asleep terrified, thinking of that first day of school? Too many. And after Monet’s? None. Now, I was excited.” They would meet there and talk about their past friends or what friendships they were hoping to develop but this safe haven soon changed to a place where their friendship was broken.  Hannah was hoping that moving to this new town was going to allow her to escape the rumors as she said on cassette 2, “but I had hoped—silly me—that there would be no more rumors when my family moved here.  That I had left the rumors and gossip behind me . . . for good.”  Their friendship that saved Hannah from being lonely was now crumbling which turned out to be one of the reasons why she decided to end her own life.  As she mentioned at the end of cassette 2, “Jessica, my dear, I’d really love to know if you dragged yourself to my funeral. And if you did, did you notice your scar? And what about you—the rest of you—did you notice the scars you left behind? No. Probably not. Because most of them can’t be seen with the naked eye.”

3.     I think this idea will bring in fans because the idea of one of the scenes coming to life is like almost being a part of the movie version of the book because the restaurant brings the book to life.  Since the restaurant will have important quotes that ended Hannah’s life it will send memories through the people’s minds that have read the book.  I think this idea can encourage people to read the book that haven’t because it is just an ordinary looking restaurant but on the inside have very interesting and inspiring quotes from the book that will motivate people to read the book.  I think it will help different audiences get into the book because some of the quotes from the book are very general but very enticing. 

4.    http://www.keancoffee.com/Images/EmptyCoffeehouse.jpg