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Someone get a box of tissues. It may be needed.
"Thirteen Reasons Why" is the kind of book that is not easy to write a review for. It's a difficult one to put down, but on the contrary, its emotional plotline creates a mental barrier, making each word an obstacle. It's not for the immature, the weak, or the queasy.
When Clay Jensen finds a package on his doorstep, addressed to himself but with no return address, he has no idea what he's getting himself into.
Inside he finds cassette tapes, with only numbers telling him anything about what's on them. When he pops one into a cassette player, wondering why in the world he's recieved something so out of date, he stops, stunned, horrified, and sickeningly elated all at once.
Out of the speakers flowed a voice familiar to him, one he thought he'd never hear again. He would hear it in his mind, warped over time in his memories. Never like this. Out of the speakers flowed the voice of Hannah Baker, the girl he almost fell in love with. Out of the speakers flowed the voice a dead girl.
He finds himself obsessed with carrying out Hannah's final wishes. He finds himself not only carrying them out but trying to understand them, to the last bit of punctuation. He knows that because he has this collection, he's involved. But he couldn't be why she died, could he?
In one night, he listens to thirteen stories, each about a different person. Thirteen reasons why Hannah found that her suicide was not only justified, but her only answer.
Referring to the headline of this review, were these thirteen reasons worth it? The answer is no. They weren't, and everyone knew it. Even Hannah.
But caught in what is referred to multiple times as the snowball effect by Hannah herself, believes it was worth it. (I'll never look at a snowball the same way again.) But what justifies her crime?
Dually narrated by Clay as he listens, and the carefully chosen words on Hannah's tapes, the book gets confusing at times.
But it subtly, yet powerfully, teaches so many lessons. It teaches each reader to realize what s/he is doing with every action s/he carries out. It teaches the reader to see everyone in the world in a new light.
Empathizing simultaneously with a hurt, betrayed, yet breathing boy, and a hurt, betrayed, yet dead girl, the world will spin.
It's a book you'll keep on a special shelf, something you'll ponder. You'll finish this book, you'll close it, you'll stare at it. You'll put it aside, and you'll cry.
I found myself mourning the loss of this girl. I found myself mesmerized by her voice, so unique. I found that I'll never underestimate someone who shows the signs of suicide again.
Will you?
119 out of 123 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.1. It's wonderfully written
2. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time
3. You'll fall in love with the characters
4. You'll hate the antagonists of the book
5. At the end, you'll be cheering for Clay
6. At the end, you'll be crying for Hannah
7. It'll give you a greater understanding of teenage suicide
8. It's inspiring
9. It's unforgettable
10. At the end you'll be hungry for more
11. It's original and, well, quite awesome
12. You won't find books like this often
13. What are you doing reading reviews? Read the freakin' BOOK already!
99 out of 107 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book caught my interest from the first time I saw it. I finally picked it up when I saw it at the library. Within the first couple pages I was hooked. They way the author presented this story was so real. I could feel Clay's emotions as he listened to each of the tapes. I wanted to reach out to Hannah and tell her that everything was going to be okay. I've read reviews that state they felt Hannah was placing blame on those 13 people. I never felt like that through the entire story. I felt Hannah was trying to point out that a person's actions DO affect others. Rumors, lies, bullying, etc are all ways that can cut a person down. I think Hannah hoped that through the tapes, she could make someone (even just one) realize their behavior can change. I was so raw in emotion towards the end, I needed to step back from the book for awhile and reflect over it. You know the outcome of the story, but part of you hopes for that glimmer of help. Something for Hannah to reach out and hold on to. I hope this book becomes a must read for teens. I think it has a very real portrayal of suicide and that things that may drive a person to believe that it may be the only option.
61 out of 61 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.theReader278
Posted June 29, 2011
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I loved reading this wonderful book! It is a story that keeps you entertained for hours.
46 out of 49 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 10, 2009
The topic of death has always been quietly, eerily popular with teens. It doesn't really seem like a surprise, then, that 13 Reasons Why has become as reknown as it has. It has characters teens can relate to, mystery, suspense, heartbreak, and that chilling, lingering feeling of What Could I Have Done? What If?
But the book rubbed me the wrong way when I read it. Be it the wimpy protagonist or the subject of the book herself, the teenager who killed herself and send casettes to people she once knew.
The idea itself seemed like such a juvenile thing to do that I almost stopped reading in the first place. Leave it to a stuck up teenaged girl to kill herself - and then blame everyone else.
I just found myself thinking, wasn't it bad enough that she had taken her own life? Why would she want to spread her miserable ideas around and make everyone else feel just as worthless as she felt?
I'm not saying that the intended idea doesn't hit home - it does. The story is harrowing, the girl was tortured and posthumously berates all those around her. The message of loss and hitting rock bottom was felt.
But at the same time, Hannah recording 13 reasons why she killed herself instead of looking back at her own life and her own mistakes, it seemed to miss the target it wanted to hit.
40 out of 129 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I don't often write introductions to my reviews. In fact, the last time I can remember doing so was with the wonderful PUCKER by Melanie Gideon, which I read in 2006. However, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, the debut novel from author Jay Asher, is the type of book that begs an introduction. So if you'd like to skip down to the third paragraph for the "meat" of the story, I won't hold it against you -- but you'll be missing something important.
If you have the chance to only read one novel this year, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY should be that book. It's sad, amazing, heartbreaking, and hopeful, all at the same time. I dare you to read it and not become so immersed in the story that you lose track of time and your surroundings. You'll cry, several times, while reading this story. You'll have no choice but to think about your actions, and wonder what type of effect they have on other people. And, in the end, you might also find the need to say "thank you."
Now, on to the story...
When Clay Jensen finds a package on his front porch, he's excited. A package, for him? With no return address? What could it possibly be? What Clay finds is a shoebox full of cassette tapes, each marked as "Cassette 1: Side A," "Cassette 1: Side B," etc. Of course he rushes to the old radio/cassette player in his dad's garage to check out these mysterious tapes.
And soon wishes, wholeheartedly, that he'd never picked up that stupid package from his front porch.
What he hears when he inserts that first tape is the voice of Hannah Baker. Hannah, the girl he'd crushed on for longer than he could remember. The girl he went to school with. The girl he worked at the movie theater with. The girl who had changed, drastically, in the last several months. Hannah Baker, the girl who committed suicide.
Clay soon realizes that these tapes aren't just a suicide note, aren't, really, even a clear-cut rendition of why she did what she did. Instead, these are thirteen reasons -- thirteen people, to be exact -- who created a snowball-effect of events that led Hannah to believe that suicide was her only option. But why is Clay on that list? How could he possibly be one of the reasons that she killed herself?
As the day goes on, Clay becomes obsessed with listening to the tapes. And what he hears frightens him, disturbs him, and, in the end, leads him to realizations that he never would have expected. As Clay listens to the role that thirteen people, including himself, led in the ultimate death of Hannah Baker, his view of the world, and himself, changes drastically.
You will love this book, because you won't be able to help yourself. You will feel what Clay feels. You will, in a very strong way, experience the highs and lows of Hannah's life right along with her. And there is nothing, in my opinion, that could speak better for the authenticity of a book. Read THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. And then, if you're like me, you'll read it again. And, hopefully, none of us will ever forget it.
40 out of 42 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I think I was the rare person who did NOT love Thirteen Reasons Why. Unlike much of the excellent teen fiction that is being written, Thirteen Reasons Why rang false to me. The characters seemed hollow and like caricatures of real teenagers. The teens in the story acted like an adult's idea of how teenagers act. Worst of all, there is no sympathy to be found for the subject of the book, Hannah Baker, who killed herself and left behind tapes detailing why for those people who made her miserable. She came off perhaps worst of all the characters in the boo -- she seems petty and vindictive, having left tapes telling people that she killed herself because of them. We at least get to witness some of these characters experiencing remorse.
Perhaps the flattening of Hannah Baker's character is an affect of the fact that she is already dead when the book begins. We only know of her what she recorded on these tapes, but what is there isn't flattering. Hannah is the ultimate passive-aggressive, not really doing anything to help her cause. This book didn't make me feel anything but annoyance, and I would recommend many other teen titles before this one.
23 out of 63 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.JaneForman
Posted November 2, 2008
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher deserves a five star review. Asher did an excellent job putting a twist of realism into the novel. So real, it was almost eerie. Hannah Baker was an average high school student who unfortunately suffered through a horrible year. She describes it as a "snowball effect" which I found very interesting. Small tragedies started the snowball...then bigger ones resulting from the smaller...and even larger ones from the past. All of these occurences or "snowballs" soon became overwhelming and Hannah came to the decision of suicide. She left behind tapes that included the snowballs and the reasons behind her decision. As I read this book and "listened" to Hannah's tapes, I felt as if I was another name on her list, listening to her story. I was unable to put this book down, it was a thrilling emotional rollercoaster. As I read, I wanted to yell at Hannah and all of the other names on the list. I became connected with Hannah and even though I knew she was going to kill herself, I prayed and hoped that she wouldn't. Hoping maybe, just maybe she'd change her mind at the end. But no, if she wouldn't have committed suicide, this book would not have had the effect it did on me. The style which this book was written was very creative and intriguing. Jay Asher is a brilliant Author and I will deffinitley be checking out more of his work.
12 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 24, 2010
I could only hope that every person in this world would read this and learn from it. It IS everything that i try to express to my girls every day.. this world is NOT just about us, its about each and every person out there that we encounter daily as well and how we go about ourselves within our world!
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book deserves an award or something. Its so realistically told that it makes you feel like your actually living through the characters (of both Hannah and Clay). This book... im at a loss of words... i feel that no matter how i describe this book, I wont be able to fully descirde my feelings towards it. Everyone (id say bout 8th grade and +), read this, you wont regret it, its a beautiful story.
9 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.HarmonyJane
Posted July 14, 2010
On the outside, this book clearly looks interesting and intriguing. It tells the story of a young girl who commits suicide, and the thirteen reasons why she did it. Since suicide is in fact a reality in today's teens, I thought I would read this book to see just what exactly a victim of suicides thoughts might of been.
However, Hannah Baker is one of the winiest, wimpiest, and stupidest girls in fiction I have ever read. I myself am a teenager, and some of the reasons why Hannah killed herself are things I have watched other people and myself go through. Going through some of those things sucks, but it isn't worth killing yourself over. I hate this book with a passion, all because of one of the main characters, which is Hannah herself. Hannah killed herself over typical, trivial teenager reasons. Did Hannah have an awful life? No, she had two parents who loved her, but it never showed her opening up to them. She was not poor, she probably lived in a normal, middle class house, while millions around the world struggled to have a life even a little like hers. She was not ugly, of course, she wasn't beautiful either, but Hannah who was supposedly at least a moderately pretty girl had severe self esteem problems that were most definitely not needed. Did Hannah reach out for help many times and realize that there were people out there going through some of the things she was? No. Hannah was not raped, injured, or had anything horrible truly happen to her. She let everything bad happen and then decided she was not able to take the responsibility, therefore decided to blame others for it. She then decided to unnecessarily torture others for it with hours of long tapes that they are all being blackmailed to watch.
I may be harsh, but I just really hated this book. I don't think it was realistic. Maybe I could of been more sympathetic if she had family problems or something, but none of this was ever presented.
The only good thing about this book is that while reading a lot of reviews, I see that it changed a lot of people for the better. That's good, it is true that your actions do affect others in many ways. However, if you believe that Hannah's reasons for suicide were right and you can emphasize with her, then what should people who have it much worse than her do?
8 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 1, 2010
This book is horrible. When I first read the blurb, I thought, "What a witchy thing to do," and then my book club decided to read it. My reaction is the same after reading it. Hannah is the worst representation of a whiny, blame-it-all-on-everyone-else American teen. She should have watched "Slumdog Millionaire" and seen how many other young people of this world are treated and desperately struggle to stay alive. You are going to kill yourself because someone touched your butt? How about having your eyes burned out so you could make more money on the street for your pimp? And where are her parents in all of this? She lets the most important and influential people in her life off the hook with a simple paragraph about how they were busy fighting a Walmart-esque conglomerate, but condemns to hell a teacher with whom she spoke for five minutes and ran away from after he gave her valid options to contemplate? I think this book could even actually be dangerous because many of the reviews (by teens) seem to think that she actually had valid reasons for killing herself, whereas in reality her reasons were trivial. I kept waiting for something really bad to happen to her. You don't want boys to touch you? Go get a black belt and kick the crap out of the next one who tries. How's that for a reputation? She simply gave up, and blamed others for "not trying harder to reach her" after she rejected them. Is this what the author believes American teen girls are like? Wimpy, indolent, ineffectual blamers? I believe teen girls have to be fighters and militantly on their own side to get through this world. To waste 288 pages on this weak, vindictive, narcissistic character (who I believe the author flatters himself is a female Holden Caulfield) infuriates me.
8 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 9, 2009
I had to read this book for school and was hooked by the very beginning. The issue of suicide greatly affects teens. Thirteen Reasons Why helps people realize what you do and say to people affects them. Also, what you do not do or say does too.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 28, 2008
When I first saw this book, I thought it would be really good. But after the first 3 tapes, it just dragged on and on. She killed herself without even a good reason. She had lots of friends, her parents loved her, she had a boy who liked her. Yeah she was teased a little about being a slut, but alot of people are. It's such a ridiculous reason.
8 out of 30 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 13, 2010
When I saw this on the shelves, I noticed it right away. When I read the back cover, it sounded very interesting.
This book is definitely a reread. I would also recommend this book to my friends and family. I felt like I was there, listening to the tapes. I also felt I was in Hannah's shoes. I could feel her pain. This book didn't make me cry, but I did say "oh my god!" and "wow..." a lot.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 27, 2010
This book is one of the few books that have made me very mad when I finished reading. The girl, Hannah, is a whiny little teenager that didn't feel like talking to anyone about her problems, and decides to take it out on the people who have "wronged" her, even if it was as simple as spreading a rumor about her. I firmly believe that there is no reason for one to take their own life, and the 13 reasons why she did so were ridiculous and could have been helped if she had talked to someone, but she chose not to. I read this book in 9 hours, and I still wish I could regain those 9 hours of my life back.
4 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I'd heard a lot about the book before I decided I wanted to read it. I heard from friends that it was a great book but as usual it takes me a while to really listen to them. I was in english class and I noticed my english teacher had a couple copies of it in her room. So i figured I would read it. As I first started the book it was a really interesting plot. I think we all wonder if we know someone like Hannah. Someone who's dealt with so much in life that they are almost snapped. It's great to see how Hannah feels about things. I don't believe that Hannah is really blaming anyone. I just think she's saying how people can't really help her and that people did make her feel really overwhelmed and made her feel pain. I think she knows that it was the way she felt about life that caused her to end her life and not everyone else. With the emotions that Clay was obviously feeling, and how strong the tapes were and how emotional they were it really got me thinking. Thinking about life and about how I treat people. The book is an emotional ride and it kind of teaches you lessons on life and on people.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 31, 2010
Reading this book as an adult, everyone can look back and remember their experiences in high school and how they affected us. Jay Asher does a wonderful job in telling Hannah's emotional journey to her breaking point, when she just could not take any more. I believe this book should be required reading at the high school level to make students think before they say anything about their classmates. I would recommend this book to all ages, it is suspenseful, powerful and unforgettable.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Gabriele_Mastro
Posted September 27, 2009
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gabriele_mastro@yahoo.com
I am Gabriele Mastro, a student at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama.
In Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, a boy named Clay Jensen comes home from school to a package with his name on it. When Clay opens this mysterious package, there are thirteen tapes in it. He is surprised to hear Hannah Baker's voice on these tapes, because Hannah had recently committed suicide. Hannah leaves instructions to listen to these tapes of thirteen reasons why she committed suicide and then to pass them on to the next person responsible for her death. Clay spends the night listening to the tapes, and finds out why Hannah committed suicide. Clay faces the truth that he wishes he never had to face.
I really enjoyed Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. This novel was so suspenseful and made me want to keep turning the page. It deals with the serious issue of suicide, which I think can make some impact on the reader. It teaches to be more aware of how you treat others because you never know what others are going through in their life, and you would not want to add to their pain. It taught me that people do have an impact on others, whether you notice it or not. I would recommend this book to any girl.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 30, 2008
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This is an extremely insightful, well-written, and heart-wrenching book, which I'd highly recommend. I'd take away maybe half a star at most because the complete absolution of the viewpoint character, the only boy who remains utterly blameless, seems like a cop-out to me, as if he's on the list just to be the innocent one, so that the reader, looking through his eyes, can feel "innocent" as well, can feel some distance from the subject matter. It detracts from the lesson a little bit, for me. (Just a little.) But the emotions explored and the situations presented feel very true and real nonetheless. Some of the situations might be "R-rated," sometimes terrifyingly so, but really, if they were not, do you think this girl would have felt the need to commit suicide? And do we really think kids are not already going through this stuff every day?
(I especially admire that the author makes his readers aware of the nature of predators, using the character who collects sexual "conquests" like trophies, who dehumanizes his victims. Young ladies, if you find yourself with a young man who makes you feel as if you are not there, as if you are somehow less of a person than he is, listen to your gut feelings and get the heck out. Actually, young men, get the heck out too, it's not only girls who get victimized.) Read the book and learn something that could save your life.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.