Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

A suicide note was left, but not in the way anyone would have expected it. Thirteen stories were recorded onto tapes by Hannah Baker. These stories, as the tapes told, were each correlating to a person who had something to do with her death. Each one was to listen to the stories and then pass them on to the next person on the tapes. The last person is to keep them. They are never to be listened to by anyone other than the thirteen. If however, the tapes don’t make it around Hannah promises that someone will release all of the stories to the public. The story picks up with one of the people on the tapes beginning to listen to them. He is completely unaware of how he could have anything to do with this girls death, but he listens intently to each of the stories. Each person has had their own impact on this girl and each story adds to the humiliation and frustration. From people who made fun of her to her loves who betrayed her and even the guidance counselor. Each of these people had a chance to impact her in a positive or negative way, but each of these thirteen betrayed her, her trust and eventually were a part of her decision. Find out the stories behind each one of these in Thirteen Reasons Why.

 

This book was interesting because it gave a different aspect to suicide. How and why a person would do this is something that people typically get in a couple line long note. The author chooses to display this in a completely different way. It is also interesting to get to hear Clay’s reactions as he listens to the tapes. Getting to hear how someone who was on one of those tapes reacted was a chance to see these in a completely different light. It also gives insight into how each person can make an impact on the people they interact with, or choose not to interact with.