Thirteen Reasons Why in Penguin's Point of View Books

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?
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Sep 12, 2010 Kara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, all-time-favorites, read-in-2011, read-on-shelf, read-in-2013, ya-lit-class, ya-lit-1-12

Clay seems relatively normal. Normal until you find out his friend Hannah commits suicide. Normal that is until he gets a package on his front steps. Then, normal goes out the window. Hannah has left behind thirteen tapes with thirteen reasons why she committed suicide. As Clay listens to all the reasons, you learn the devastating effects of a few simple jokes or lies. More importantly, you start to see who Clay is and where he fits into Hannah's story.

How do you describe a book like this? The ...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Riv rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, movie, realistic, everyone-else-loved

Originally posted at: http://rivreads.blogspot.com

I wondered how Jay Asher was going to support the dual narratives and it was done very tastefully, with very little confusion.
I totally felt both Clay's and Hannah's emotions, though I had some problems.
Clay was incredible. He was "that good guy" who everyone likes. He was just..the perfect character for this. He was so genuine.
I didn't like Hannah, though. Whenever she went onto the next tape, the next reason, I was so hopeful that I would get i Originally posted at: http://rivreads.blogspot.com

I wondered how Jay Asher was going to support the dual narratives and it was done very tastefully, with very little confusion.
I totally felt both Clay's and Hannah's emotions, though I had some problems.
Clay was incredible. He was "that good guy" who everyone likes. He was just..the perfect character for this. He was so genuine.
I didn't like Hannah, though. Whenever she went onto the next tape, the next reason, I was so hopeful that I would get it. But I didn't, and the entire narration just screamed "angst". But a little bit...I got it. We're teenagers. Teens blow everything out of proportion, and I can...excuse...Hannah's behavior, I suppose. But she didn't make sense to me.
And then we got to the reason that Clay got these tapes and it felt like...like such a cop out.
Not to offend Jay Asher, but one thing about the book reminded me of--dare I say it?--Twilight. Twilight was incredibly addictive for no reason; I couldn't put it down, and I didn't even like it that much. I like 13 Reasons Why more, definitely, but not enough to read it at 2 am. But I was glued to the book until I realized how late it was and summoned all my willpower to stop.
The ending was incredible, though. My favorite part was that last page. It got me thinking, huh. Maybe that ball of angst did some good in the end and I'd love some sort of epilogue, to see if it's true, but that ending was so hopeful, and put this big smile on my face.
Sidepoint, no reflection on review: Curious, I decided to hear the audiobook. Right now, I'm listening to a free sample from Random House, and--honestly?--I recommend you pick up the book, even if you usually listen to audiobooks. Clay sounds like the guy who did voiceover for Hiccup, from How To Train Your Dragon (yup. just listened to a bit of the HtTYD trailer for a comparison, and it's uncanny). And Hannah sounds like a 30 year old chain smoker. No offense, but I recommend the paper book.

The book wasn't bad, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I highly recommend it, though. This is a book that needs to be read, thus why I reviewed it. Though I can hardly handle the fact that it's going to be movie-fied, and by Selena Gomez.

Rating: 3 stars. Mediocre book. ...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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Dec 19, 2013 Mallory added it · review of another edition

I don't even know what to rate this book.... It wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but it wasn't the best either. ...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Lacie Solt rated it it was amazing

This book was so good and compelling, I think everybody should read this book, especially if you are still in school but parents might also need to read it. It brings out a message that especially right now should be heard. Now, I realize how the smallest touch or one little remark can affect someone and it might result into something like that...It was so sad, I choked up and cried in a lot of it but it was so good!

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