Thirteen Reasons Why in Penguin's Point of View Books

Sep 07, 2009 Mariana rated it it was amazing

13 tapes, 13 people, 13 reasons, and a suicide.
Hannah Baker tells us her heartbreaking and unbelievable story. The story of how 13 persons influenced in some way (and not the good kind) in her decision to kill herself.

With a suspenseful plot, mystery and a light touch of sarcasm, Jay Asher created a great book in which a series of events lead to a terrible incident. Is a book that keeps you hooked because you want to know what happened, why Hannah took such a severe decision?, why is Clay on the ...more

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Jan 19, 2010 Erin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Although this is a book about very dark material, I loved it. It was written so powerfully that I couldn't stop listening. I loaded it onto my iPod and took a run, and then I just kept going... Eventually walking, and sitting on park benches..... 6+ hours. That's how much this story moved me.

The characters are beautifully written. You ache for Hannah, to help her, to have one of the people those tapes are being sent to, to reach out and help her. But mostly I yearned for Clay. The boy who loved ...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Ivana rated it really liked it

It's not an easy task to write a review for a novel like 13 Reasons Why. It rocked my world-but that doesn't mean by far that I thought it was perfect, maybe not even awesome or amazing or whatnot. If you asked me yesterday when I finished the book, I would have told you it deserved no less than five stars. Today emotions settled down a bit and I was lowering the rating to 3 stars and eventually settled with 4.

The major problem-and I sincerely hope this was not the author's main idea because it It's not an easy task to write a review for a novel like 13 Reasons Why. It rocked my world-but that doesn't mean by far that I thought it was perfect, maybe not even awesome or amazing or whatnot. If you asked me yesterday when I finished the book, I would have told you it deserved no less than five stars. Today emotions settled down a bit and I was lowering the rating to 3 stars and eventually settled with 4.

The major problem-and I sincerely hope this was not the author's main idea because it was lost on me-was Hannah's reasoning for committing suicide. Sorry, maybe I'm apathetic, but to me Hannah's reasons are not good enough. (No reason is ever good enough to kill yourself. I hope that much is clear. If that's what the author wanted to prove, mission accomplished.) Hannah, for the most part, is self-destructive. By the end she was just groping for another reason to add to her list. Take the last two reasons and you'll see what I mean. And the previous reasons? Not nearly enough to get someone depressed, let alone kill herself. Again I say, maybe it's just me. I've seen suicides in my life. People don't go through their lives keeping a list with reasons to kill themselves. If it were so, most of us would have been dead long ago.
Another thing. You go out and send tapes to people to make others feel guilty for what you did? Sorry, darling, they ARE bitches and bastards, but you didn't need other people to be your enemies. You were your own worst enemy.

That being said (and by now you already think I'm a completely insensitive bitch), here's why this novel had such a huge impact on me.
Suicide is a touchy subject and you got to be a brave person to write about it. This novel is not about Hannah. It's about those who stay behind and go through hell trying to understand why you did it. How you read this book largely depends on your opinion on suicide, and I'm not sure that I can separate my feelings about the subject from my opinion of this book. I think suicide is selfish. But what do I know about what's going on in their heads? If it's the only way out of misery, can you seriously call them selfish? But where's the line of too much? And it goes in circles, and I don't want to turn this into an essay.

One thing this book excels in is emotion-anger and confuse. I'm angry at Hannah for what she did and how she did it. I hate it that I don't understand her reasons and by the end I was angry with Clay as well. He did nothing wrong, and it's just that. He did nothing. Just like the counselor. Asher makes you one of those who stay behind, wondering whether there's something you could do, hating yourself for not doing better.

If you haven't already, I urge you to read it. It's a compelling read, engaging and emotionally exhausting. You may love it or not, but it won't lave you indifferent. It's great material for debate and discussion and will have you thinking about it for a long time.
Could you ask more from a book?
You might also like: ...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Videoclimber(AKA)MTsLilSis rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, popular, suicide

I really wanted to love this one. I had been wanting to read it for a long time. I truly enjoyed the way the story was written. I found the tape aspect making the story more suspenseful. I did have a problem at times knowing who was talking (Clay or Hannah), at times I had to look back as it was hard to tell where one ended and one began. The story lagged for me badly in the middle. I found myself getting frustrated, and almost gave up. I kept on, and I am glad I did. I did enjoy the story and t ...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Kelly Austin rated it it was amazing

This is an amazing book! Suicide is an uncomfortable topic, and it was handled very well here. Loved the dual narration, and really felt for the two main characters. I couldn't put it down. Also a great lesson for everyone! Highly recommend! ...more

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