Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Published: October 18th, 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 288
Source: bought
Challenge: none
Other: NA
Buy the book: Bookdepository
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.
Even though this book didn't hit all the buttons for me, it managed to tell a story about a girl who committed suicide a couple of weeks before brilliantly.
When Clay finds the tapes Hannah recorded, he doesn't know what to expect. He was part of the reason she killed herself? He listens to the tapes and listens through all the messages she leaves for the other people who have to listen to the tapes. Hannah explains what drove her to the decision of ending her life, and Jay Asher manages to do this in a way that takes you on the trip with Clay. There's a map on the inside of the dust jacket of the hardcover, and it's like you're there with him while he tries to figure everything out.
While Thirteen Reasons Why is a great book, with an excellent story and good writing, I missed some connection to the story that would have made it a fantastic book for me. I teared up a couple of times, but I missed that extra push that would have made my tears fall.
I loved the idea for this book and I really like how Asher has written it into a compelling story. He managed to tell the story without it becoming cheesy or cliché, something I really appreciate. It is a great story and I'm sure a lot of people will like it even more than I did, but I don't think it lived up to the hype surrounding it. However, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary that deals with teenage problems, suicide or depression.
While it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be, Thirteen Reasons Why is definitely worth a read if you ask me!
I have yet to read this one. Everyone always talks about how amazing it is and I'm actually kind of glad that you weren't all out in love with it. Makes it seem like this book is a little bit more approachable, that maybe the expectations do not need to be so high when reading this one. I hope that makes sense lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review, I still want to read this one someday but I still have apprehensions when so many people love a book.
I'm glad this helps! I don't think it lives up to the hype, because I couldn't feel a connection with the characters as much.
DeleteAnd I totally know what you mean when a book gets a lot of attention, and everybody seems to love it. I always seem to be disappointed in those books, even though I still think they're great reads - the hype makes it appear like something phenomenal when it's not that for me.
Let me know what you think if you ever decide to read TRW! I'm curious to see what you think :)