Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

I hope you're ready, because you're about to listen to the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why.

I had started reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher last year, but couldn't finish it. The idea of a young girl committing suicide gave me too much anguish, and I was forced to leave the book unfinished.

A few days ago I decided I could give this book another try, and picked up the audiobook instead. I was hooked, and remained breathless until the end. The narration is fast-paced, and keeps the reader glued to the page (or in my case, to the earplugs).

Thirteen Reasons Why begins with Clay Jensen finding a shoebox full with audio tapes on his porch. The tapes were recorded by Hannah Baker, Clay's classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. But before taking her life, Hannah recorded thirteen sides of audio tapes--one for each people she blames for her suicide. Now the tapes have to be passed along from person to person, otherwise they will be revealed in a very public manner.

Clay begins to listen, at first with puzzlement, then with anguish and desperation, to the voice of the girl he was in love with, and to whom she never confessed his true feelings. He listens to a series of mean acts committed by Hannah's schoolmates, which brought her to suicide. However, Hannah isn't without blame herself. She could have stopped a rape and a car accident, but did neither.

Is Thirteen Reasons Why a teen romance book? Yes, and no. It is both less and much more than that. It is more of a mystery book, in which the story behind Hannah's depseration and suicide is slowly revealed. But it is also a romance book, in that Clay was in love with Hannah, and regrets never telling her, because he was too afraid to be rejected.

The strong point of this book is the mixture of Hannah's voice in the tapes and Clay's thoughts and comments as he listens to them--almost as if Clay finally talked with Hannah, while he was unable to do so when she was still alive. Moreover, if you listen to this in audiobook form, you can listen to Hannah's tapes exactly as Clay does, which adds immediacy to the story.

At the end of the story, Clay has changed--now he knows which signs to look for, and can help other people if necessary. Therefore, the story ends on a hopeful note--with the hope that Hannah's story might have taught something to those who listened to it.

This is a book you won't forget soon--a book which will crawl under your skin.

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