Publishing Company: RazorbillGenre: Young Adult—Contemporary
Pages: 288
Release Date: October 18, 2007 Goodreads
Thirteen Reasons Why wasn't an extremely emotional novel that I fell in love with like Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. I know, a very negative note to start my review on, but Thirteen Reasons Why was definitely a roller coaster that evoked so many different thoughts from you. The idea of set of tapes depicting why a girl killed herself circulating through a number of people was absolutely gripping and so original that I had to read it and see for myself if I loved it. I definitely really enjoyed it but it didn't make it to my "favorites" shelf.
When Clay first got these tapes, I was so ready to see what Clay did to get on the tapes, because he was made out to be a really great and nice character. However, that's all I ever knew about him. I felt so disconnected with the characters in Thirteen Reasons Why, mainly because it was mostly just the tapes talking and I never really got to know who Clay really was. I wanted to be able to understand his character, his personality, but I wasn't able to and he was a really flat character to me. I wanted to squeeze Clay like a wet dishrag and get any form of emotion from him. Any form of emotion.
However, I really did love Hannah's story. Hannah was sort of like the dominant narrator in Thirteen Reasons Why and you sort of understood why she went through with suicide. Suicide is such a serious subject and you can't joke around with it anymore, since so many people are going through with it. And you can't go through with something this serious without having a solid reason and I could tell all the pain and suffering that Hannah was going through and what finally pushed her over the edge. By the end of the novel, I knew why Hannah committed suicide and I knew how neglected and discarded she was feeling at times. Hannah was the most dynamic character, to me, in Thirteen Reasons Why, despite the fact that she wasn't directly in the story.
Every story that was discussed in Thirteen Reasons Why enchanted me. I really wanted to hear every reason why Hannah ended up committing suicide, and I even went onto the site, Hannah's Reasons, that was set up so you could hear the tapes yourself if you wanted to. You really wanted to go back and keep reading. You really wanted to hear all thirteen reasons why she died. I felt like Jay Asher had scooped me up, taken me on a whirlwind of Hannah's different emotions, and then threw me down onto the floor at the last page of the novel.
Although the characters fell a little flat for me, Thirteen Reasons Why was poignant and thought-provoking, and it made you look just a little closer at the people around you.
Pages: 288
Release Date: October 18, 2007 Goodreads
Summary 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. 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. —GoodreadsReview
Thirteen Reasons Why wasn't an extremely emotional novel that I fell in love with like Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. I know, a very negative note to start my review on, but Thirteen Reasons Why was definitely a roller coaster that evoked so many different thoughts from you. The idea of set of tapes depicting why a girl killed herself circulating through a number of people was absolutely gripping and so original that I had to read it and see for myself if I loved it. I definitely really enjoyed it but it didn't make it to my "favorites" shelf.
When Clay first got these tapes, I was so ready to see what Clay did to get on the tapes, because he was made out to be a really great and nice character. However, that's all I ever knew about him. I felt so disconnected with the characters in Thirteen Reasons Why, mainly because it was mostly just the tapes talking and I never really got to know who Clay really was. I wanted to be able to understand his character, his personality, but I wasn't able to and he was a really flat character to me. I wanted to squeeze Clay like a wet dishrag and get any form of emotion from him. Any form of emotion.
However, I really did love Hannah's story. Hannah was sort of like the dominant narrator in Thirteen Reasons Why and you sort of understood why she went through with suicide. Suicide is such a serious subject and you can't joke around with it anymore, since so many people are going through with it. And you can't go through with something this serious without having a solid reason and I could tell all the pain and suffering that Hannah was going through and what finally pushed her over the edge. By the end of the novel, I knew why Hannah committed suicide and I knew how neglected and discarded she was feeling at times. Hannah was the most dynamic character, to me, in Thirteen Reasons Why, despite the fact that she wasn't directly in the story.
Every story that was discussed in Thirteen Reasons Why enchanted me. I really wanted to hear every reason why Hannah ended up committing suicide, and I even went onto the site, Hannah's Reasons, that was set up so you could hear the tapes yourself if you wanted to. You really wanted to go back and keep reading. You really wanted to hear all thirteen reasons why she died. I felt like Jay Asher had scooped me up, taken me on a whirlwind of Hannah's different emotions, and then threw me down onto the floor at the last page of the novel.
Although the characters fell a little flat for me, Thirteen Reasons Why was poignant and thought-provoking, and it made you look just a little closer at the people around you.
Thirteen Reasons Why is one of my favorite YA books. I found it rather by chance, choosing to buy it purely based on the cover.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend that I lent it to, and she insists that it is the only book that she read in high school.
I never thought that way about the characters; perhaps because I suffered the same kind of detachment to the people around me -- but in retrospect, I can see it as a valid point.
It is also, I think, one of the first books I read that didn't have some kind of happy ending. At the end of the day, dead is dead is dead. (Of course, I later discovered John Green, and between Alaska and Agustus ... yeah. That's another can of worms).
Anyway, one of my absolute favorites. More people need to read this book. It's one of a handful that I absolutely swear by.
I know that this has to do with suicide and reasoning being on tapes, but Thirteen Reasons Why is seriously one of the best books I ever read. I found this one day while browsing the shleves at Barnes and Noble and I am so happy that I found this. Wow Jay Asher really doesn't hold anything back and that is exactly why I love this book so much.
ReplyDeleteI'm still planning to read this book. What a shame that you felt disconnected from Clay, but I'm fascinated by Hannah's story. Thanks for the review. I will keep this in mind.
ReplyDelete