TITLE: Thirteen Reasons Why
AUTHOR: Jay Asher
GENRE: Young adult literature, Fiction
PUBLISHED: 2007
RATING: ★★★☆☆
PURCHASE LINKS: iTunes, Amazon
MOBILISM LINK: Mobilism
DESCRIPTION: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on his porch. Inside, he discovers several cassettes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who had committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night roaming around his town with Hannah as his guide. He goes to places where she wants him to, and in the process discovers a part of himself too.
REVIEW: I don’t know why I decided to read this book. Perhaps I was intrigued by the fact that it was included in the list of books prohibited in school libraries. My initial reaction, after reading the book, was mixed. Certainly, Asher knows how to tell a tale, in fact, I’d go so far to say that he is an excellent raconteur. But I was confused whether I liked the book or not.
Clay Jensen is a typical high-school student. He avoids being at home and has romantic relationships. His heart is bruised when, seemingly spontaneously, his crush Hannah Baker—whom he knows from school but merely at a distance—commits suicide. But then, Clay receives a package in the mail with thirteen taped messages inside, plus a map with a number of places circled. There is no return address.
Clay plays the tapes and finds that they are from Hannah, telling Clay her story and why she decided to end her life. Hannah dedicates each of the 13 messages to a different person, and describes their role in her life. The tapes, sent before her death, ask for each person to listen to the tapes all the way through, and then to pass them on in such an order that all the designated people hear what Hannah has to say. She doesn’t want it to be public, but if the people who receive the tapes don’t follow her requests, she warns, someone with a second copy of tapes will be forced to share her message publicly.
This is the part I don’t like. Hannah Baker committed suicide; she is no longer in this world. I feel like I should be sympathizing with her plight, but this threatening, borderline cruel attitude is what I disliked. I accept that she wasn’t dealt with in the best card in life either, but this attitude alienates me from her a bit.
Hannah describes each person as one of the 13 reasons she ends her life and she addresses one message to each individual. All Hannah wants them to do is listen with their hearts. Clay follows Hannah’s message closely. He travels with Hannah’s map to each of the starred locations. He wants to obey her last requests and to hear her story because he wants to understand. But as he travels, he thinks about his own actions and how they hurt Hannah.
I like the way in which Asher has captured the voice of not only one, but two teenagers who are so different from each other. Some incidents reminded me of my own teenage years, which I think is a huge plus for the writer. The character of Clay, the protagonist, is a good-hearted one. He had a crush on Hannah, he never did anything wrong with her, he is even following her last wishes and much more. He is scared, but he does what Hannah says in the tapes anyway. He was definitely my favorite character of the book.
While he works to understand what happened to Hannah, he learns many life lessons. He learns to speak up, and he realizes that every action affects others in some way. This I think is the biggest message one gets from this book. No matter how small something may seem to you, it can affect others in a big way. So be careful about what you say or do.
Hannah’s messages explain how she wants the people in her life and the teens reading her story to become more aware of how we affect the lives of others every day. When I picked up Thirteen Reasons Why, I was a bit skeptical. I thought it would be depressing since it centers on a teen’s suicide. But the story tells about more than just that incident.
The book incorporates serious problems that many people today have to deal with, issues like rape, sexual abuse, stalking, bullying, peer pressure and so forth. I felt that these issues were dealt with tactfully, though not in an in-depth manner. I don’t want to spoil it for you by revealing the reasons. But I would advise you that if you, like me, feel sorry for Hannah but also criticize her for taking this drastic step, stop for a moment. Only the wearer knows where the show pinches. Try not to judge her, remember a time when you weren’t feeling so good yourself.
While Clay works to understand what happened to Hannah, he learns many life lessons. He learns to speak up, and he realizes that every action affects others in some way. This I think is the biggest message one gets from this book. No matter how small something may seem to you, it can affect others in a big way. So be careful about what you say or do.
Jay Asher’s work impressed me, his storyline not so much. The character development was solid, the tone suitable for a novel about teenagers but I guess what this book lacked in plot, it almost made up in impact. If you see someone going through tough times, ask them about it. You just might be able to help. This book had a surprisingly powerful effect on me. I think I will do this from now on.
One thing to be kept in mind is that the book is not an endorsement for suicide. Nowhere in the book does the narrator mention that it was the right decision. Overall, I still can’t decide whether I liked this book or not. I am going with a noncommittal 3 star rating. I liked one character, the other not so much. ’13 reasons why’ isn't a must-read, but a should-read.
