REVIEW: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Young Adult

Hardcover

Razorbill

304 Pages

Author's Website | Facebook | Twitter

Summary from Amazon:

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

I just finished 13 Reasons Why, and I knew I had to review this book immediately, before I lost the feeling that closing its cover gave me. I know that this is not an ordinary book and I don't want to give it an ordinary review. Instead, I'll just be telling you my impressions, the feelings I'm experiencing, and the reasons why you should read it too.

I picked it up at 11am today, and it was 11pm when I finished it. Sometimes I set it down. To watch a t.v. show, to eat dinner, to rave about it on Facebook. But now I'm finished. And you would think that while this book has an interesting concept, it would be just any other book. But people are right when they say this book is special.

Jay's writing is simple, but that manages to hit you so much harder. I could hear Hannah, in a way nobody in her story could. Her voice was strong despite her feeling weak, and her story will stay with you long after you finish the book. I know it'll stay with me.

I actually didn't cry nearly as much as I thought I would while reading it--I guess that's because individually, each piece of the story wasn't overly intense. Yes, there were tough parts, but separate, they were bearable. Only now, at the end, as each one of these pieces has piled on top of each other, snow balled, has it hit me. Now, that I'm done, I feel the need to cry. For Hannah, and what happened to her, and for Clay and the hope he finds in the end. And I guess that's the point, isn't it? That there is never any one thing that really causes a person to do what Hannah did. It's all of the little things, piled on until you can't bare the weight anymore.

This is not a happy book. But it is a necessary book. It's a book that I think brings hope, in the end. And a book that will show you just how much the littlest things you do can affect another person's life.

I love this book. I want you to love this book. Please read it.

You can also listen to Hannah's cassettes for yourself. Just head on over to Jay's website. It's really interesting to hear the way that she would be reading the tapes. For some reason I heard her voice in my head as lighter, having finally come to a decision, and letting everything off her chest. A goodbye. So it was cool to see this different tone reciting the same words. Let me know what you think.