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Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher ( Razorbill )
Release Date: 2007-10-18
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List Price: $16.99
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Product Description
Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 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.
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 My stomach was actually knotted while reading ( supremebeing7 )
I saw Jay Asher speak at UCLA's Festival of Books a few months back, and when he read part of the book it sounded so intriguing that I immediately put it on my list. Now that I've finally got around to reading it, I'm glad I stumbled into that session on Young Adult fiction those months ago.
This is the story of a girl who committed suicide, then recorded 13 sides of 7 cassette tapes, each devoted to someone who drove her to take her own life. The novel begins with the narrator receiving a mysterious box full of cassette tapes, popping one in the player, and finding out that Hannah Baker put him on her list. It's a little awkward in the beginning chapters, and even immature and unimportant, which wasn't really what I was expecting from the story of a girl who killed herself. However, it really picks up steam and tackles some pretty heavy issues in the second half. And it never takes the easy way out and cheapens the story by making concessions, which also surprised me from a YA novel. I look forward to reading more from Asher.
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 Amazing writing, deeply moving ( macky610 )
Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of Hannah Baker, suicide victim, and the series of events that drove her to her final, desperate act. The story is told in her own voice through a series of tapes left behind for Clay, her would-be love, a teenager baffled by Hannah's actions and searching for some sort of perspective on her death.
Through Hannah's story and Clay's reaction, we find just how the thoughtless things we do every day negatively impact those around us, and just how much the loss of a life can mean. Never condescending or dishonest about teen suicide, Asher focuses on the "snowball effect," where no single truly horrifying thing happens to Hannah but, taken altogether and over time, "small" things drive her completely over the edge.
Parents and teens will be able to appreciate Asher's fluid style. He flawlessly transitions between voices (Clay and Hannah) and stories as he weaves together a tight and tragic tale of teen hopelessness.
If you're looking for a book about peer pressure, the impact of rumors and bullying, or about suicide in order to open a dialog with your teen (or even just to understand what he or she might be going through), this fantastic (and dark) book is the one you want.
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A Compelling Read! ( sandra305 )
I couldn't put this book down! Using dual narratives to tell Hannah's story (why she committed suicide) and Clay's reaction to her reasons for committing suicide keeps the reader intimately and immediately involved throughout the novel. The importance of our words and actions becomes painfully clear as Hannah becomes submerged in a quagmire of rumor and betrayals which lead her to feel there is no other way out. This is a powerful read for all ages!
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Heartfelt and Original ( booksfromnewtonstreet )
At first, I just read the book jacket and was intrigued by the premise: A girl who had commited suicide left behind tapes of the thirteen things that drove her to such a sad end for those who had caused them.
Then, I started reading the novel and could just not put it down. Jay Asher has come up with such and interesting premise and has managed to be a talented enough writer to carry through with it. It was so heartfelt, dramatic, gut-wrenching and just all-around good. What's more, unlike many young adult books, the ending completely blew me away. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was fascinating and just so gosh-darn enthralling.
Seriously. Buy it and read it. You won't regret it.
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amazing
I just finished reading this book today. It was one of the best books that i've read in a long time. Clay Jensen is in highschool, he goes home one day and finds a package on his front step with no return address. He opens it to find a shoebox filled with 13 audiotapes. He starts to listen and finds out that they are from a classmate, Hannah Baker, who had committed suicide a couple weeks earlier. As he listens he finds out that she made a list of people and situations that she went through that led her to her suicide. As Clay listens he follows a map around the city that he found in his locker from hannah. He stays out all night long listening to the tapes. Wondering why he was on them. He later finds out. But you have to read the book to understand how good of a book it was. It was an amazing book. I hope that you like it as much as i did.
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