Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - Book Review

Title ~ Thirteen Reasons Why
Series ~ Single Title
Author ~ Jay Asher
Release Date ~ October 18, 2007
Publisher ~ Razorbill
Source ~ Razorbill

GOODREADS SUMMARY

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen 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.

REVIEW

When I read Thirteen Reasons Why, I felt as if I had become Clay Jensen. It was like he had moved into my mind and heart. Clay listened to Hannah’s tapes with such intensity, quickly moving from one tape to the next. In a similar fashion, I read the entire book in one long evening, soaking in the words and feeling the emotions. When Clay called out to Hannah, it was as though I were right beside him calling out too. When he openly sobbed with despair, so did I. At that point, I was Clay.

At first, Clay is on a mission to understand why he is one of the reasons for Hannah taking her life. He is desperate to know. But, as he listens to Hannah’s voice, he realizes that he should stop worrying so much about himself and his image. Perhaps Clay’s own involvement is not the only thing that mattered to Hannah. Clay also learns that both actions and in-actions are involved. Sometimes it is not what you do, but what you do not do that matters. It’s a chilling message and one that I took to heart. Don’t be shy. Someone may be depending on you to speak up.

There is a beauty in the way Jay Asher presents Hannah’s story. The spoken words on her tapes overflow with a mix of emotions - despair, love, helplessness, sadness, hope, confusion, elation, anger, frustration, and fear. The beauty lies in the way Hannah brings these jumbled up feelings to life. Since she has already made a decision to kill herself, Hannah has nothing to lose. She doesn’t shy away from expressing her true feelings. Every fiber of her being is exposed and laid out without hesitation. As Hannah prepares for death, she finally lives and stands up for herself. That’s right, she LIVES.

The incidents leading up to Hannah’s suicide were shocking. I’m not saying that because they were all such awful things, but because many of them were actually small things. In fact, there were a few that would hardly even be on my radar as something to get upset about. They were the sort of thing that may hurt your feelings for the day, but then you brush them aside and forget about them the next day. Sort of a forgive and forget type of thing. But this is where I was wrong. Dead wrong.

For Hannah, these small (and large) incidents added up. They were all so intricately joined together, like a spider web of events, each one somehow linked to the others. Jay Asher’s genius comes in when Hannah reveals exactly how all these incidents and characters are related. Hannah has clearly been pondering all of this for some time. She has been living in a nightmare and she knows every single detail, every line and connection. Some of the lines are obvious and bold. Others are fuzzy and faint. But one thing is for sure, they are all very real for Hannah. Getting in her mind as she fleshed it all out was devastating.

Despite the depressing subject of suicide, I found hope in Thirteen Reasons Why. It shifted the way I look at things. It’s not just about being nice to people. I already know that. It’s more about being aware. This message was shining through on every tape. Sometimes it was just a flicker of light and other times it was a blazing sun. But it was always there. Being aware may have saved Hannah’s life. Simply being aware may have prevented all the missed opportunities from slipping away.  And trust me, there were so many opportunities to set things right.  But yet, they Just. Didn't. Happen.

Thirteen Reasons Why will stay with me. It will linger like a stray cat that comes by every so often to pay a visit. It will sneak up on me and gently nudge itself against me to remind me about being aware. Oh, and I will welcome these little reminders that what I say and do really does matter. Ultimately, it ALL matters.

Check out Reading Writing Breathing to see what HD took away from Thirteen Reasons Why.  He loved it so much and asked me to read it too.  As usual, we agree about most of it, but we both have our own unique spin.  CLICK HERE