Reasons why I don't like this book

[Josefine]

I don't really like this book. I actually gave my copy away for free because I know I wouldn't read it again.
First of all I thought the characters were boring. Most of them are portrayed as mean or at least portrayed as someone you are not supposed to like. (All the people that is in the tapes)
I also thought the book was too short to get to know the characters. You don't really get the full story of Clays life. It seems like he doesn't even have friends.
And one thing that I really didn't like about it was Hannah! She was really creepy and kind of mean. Why did she send those letters? Ok, I know why but it is still really creepy. And the way she jokes about it. Not to mention the reason why she was blamed Clay. He didn't do anything wrong.

So my question is: Why did or didn't you like it?

- Don't get mad if you disagree with me. I respect your opinion.
- English is not my first language. I'm sorry if I misspelled anything.

And I have something you should read if you like young adult books.
"Shattering glass" was a really good book. It is not that well known but you should read it. You can read about it here on goodreads.

[Scott]

Josefine Amalie wrote: "First of all I thought the characters were boring. Most of them are portrayed as mean or at least portrayed as someone you are not supposed to like. (All the people that is in the tapes)"

Naturally; these are all from the point of view of one troubled person. Hannah is not an omniscient narrator.

[Laurie]

The first thing I want to say is that for English not being your first language you are doing ok. In fact better than most people that only know English including myself (blaming my Pennsylvania Dutch background). As for the book, I agree with some of your points and disagree with others. I think the author intended to portray the characters as mean to get across the point that to many of today's youth treat people in this manner with no regard to how it makes the other person feel. I agree there should have been some more build up to get to know the characters better. I think I viewed this book a little different than a lot of people, because I read it shortly after one of the area high school students where my daughter attends commited suicide due to bullying. So it kind of hit home that this stuff really does happen. I will definately check out Shattering Glass. Not sure what genre of books you like but there is a fairly new author that has two series of books going on right now. The Insight Series and the See Series by Jamie Magee. Check her out she has a Facebook page as well. The two series actually intertwine with each other.

[Carol]

You know I absolutely loved this book. I agree that the character Clay wasn't expanded enough but this book really made me think about the way something that may seem simple and a normal "teen" life, may hurt someone and not realize. I actually didn't read the book but listen to the audio. It had different people doing the characters and the personalities really came through. I really felt for Hannah and you could hear her pain in the audio version. You might want to consider it; you might have a different feel after that. I have 2 teenage sons and I really hope that they are smart in tough teen situations. This book made me open my eyes more to how much hard they have it than when I was a teen.

[Brittany]

Josefine Amalie wrote: "I don't really like this book. I actually gave my copy away for free because I know I wouldn't read it again.
First of all I thought the characters were boring. Most of them are portrayed as mean o..."

I agree I just finished this book a few days ago and I really hated it. It was a chore to finish. I though Hannah was super whiny and her 'reasons' for killing herself really didnt click for me. I mean, are we suppose to believe that Hannah's personal mental illness had nothing to do with her decision and instead blame a bunch of high school kids for being high school kids. I really just wanted her to suck it up and move on and quite being so whiny. Just my thoughts.

[Lizzie]

I didn't like the book either, I feel a book in this genre is usually aimed at people who have felt a similar way, and so the book should be life affirming and inspiring, etc. However, with this book once I had finished I just felt anxious and unhappy - not my cup of tea.

[Nadine Rose]

I somehow doubt the point of the book was to make anyone happy. Unfortunately the trouble with society is that we expect the victim to "buck up" because horrible people are a part of life blah blah blah when instead we should be teaching our children and each other not to be awful people instead. I do agree that the book could possibly have been a bit stronger in carrying out its message, but the fact of the matter is that at that age everything feels a lot heavier than it does when you get older and teen suicide is not an uncommon reality. And why do teens commit suicide? Because people are essentially bullying assholes. So what do we do? We tell the people who want to commit suicide to grow a pair and snap out of it instead of rallying against the disgusting behaviour that causes a teenager to want to commit suicide in the first place.

[Siobhan]

Brittany wrote: "Josefine Amalie wrote: "I don't really like this book. I actually gave my copy away for free because I know I wouldn't read it again.
First of all I thought the characters were boring. Most of them..."

I think that was meant to be the point, to show that however big those problems seemed to Hannah, to everyone else they were typical issues and if she'd only talked or done something of real consequence then someone might have helped her. She wanted to believe that she was beyond help. Even her last talk with her teacher, the one where she wanted him to convince her to stay alive, she was still looking for him to make one wrong move. She wanted the motivation to do it, more than anything else, I think. The other point was, Clay could help others, and after listening to the tapes the first thing he does is zero in on someone who he thinks might be contemplating suicide, but is still within reach.

[Krista]

I did not like this book either. I found it grotesquely boring. I did not go into reading this book because I thought it was going to make me happy. I started reading it because there were such high praises for it from so many different people. Let me say I was thoroughly disappointed. In the beginning I thought I was going to like Clay, I really WANTED to like Clay but I couldn't. There was just something about him that was so skeevy and ridiculous. And Hannah. What is wrong with her? Other than the fact that she was depressed and basically alone, I get that, but the tapes and just all of the things she was saying just really turned me off to her. I thought she was whiny and took some of the things she talked about in her tapes far too seriously as well. I kept reading because I knew it had to get better, sadly it didn't for me. I thought the book was supposed to be deep and I found maybe one deep sentence in the book for me personally. I also found the book somewhat repetitive.

I am, however, extremely happy to have found some other people who were as disappointed in this book as I was. I am ecstatic I checked it out from the library instead of buying it.
You go Josefine for starting this discussion!

[Kelline Dyka]

You're not the only one. I didn't like this book also. I had high expectations about this book because my cousin (who is also a bookworm) recommended this book to me. For me, her reasons for committing suicide is shallow. there are parts where I was like "WTF?!! wait! what?". the flow of the story is boring. I managed to overcome it, for the sake of finishing the book.

[[deleted user]]

I had read this book because my friends and even a teacher of mine insisted that I read it. They told me it was a very good book and emotional in some parts. Then I finally got to read it and I thought it was a waste of time. Maybe the book was just not my type but I felt it came up short. I tried to understand why so many other people loved it but I didn't get it.

[Sophia]

I agree with everyone who didn't like the book. It was really shallow and I found it insulting to people with depression. It was hard to feel sympathetic towards Hannah because she seemed petty and pathetic. I was really disappointed by the book.

[Scott]

Sophia wrote: "I agree with everyone who didn't like the book. It was really shallow and I found it insulting to people with depression."

As someone who has suffered from depression I found the book respectful, sympathetic and understanding.

[Madeleine]

I have not read this book in a while, but I think one thing nagging at me while I read was the dead girl. Yes, Hannah was my problem. I'm sure she was very much emotionally devastated, but the self-indulgence of her final act was so over dramatic. She made those tapes to humiliate and guilt people who had hurt her. 13 people are going on with the rest of their lives with verbal confirmation from this girl that she killed herself because of them. Imagine that guilt. These are teenagers. Yes they're vicious, but you know what? no one is their best self at high school. And these kids are going to be crippled from maturing into adults. They probably won't move on from this. That is incredibly selfish of her. Let alone suicide is a tragic and also selfish act. She couldn't wait for it to get better? Nope. High school is the only chance she has. It better be great. Everyone better be nice. Or else.

[Molotov]

I didn't like this book either. It wasn't the characters or anything that bothered me, it was the message it sent, and the horrible thing that Hannah did to all of those people she said drove her to the point of suicide. The message of the book is to treat other people well because you never know how bad their life is, or how you're seemingly small action could affect them in a bad way, but the way the story is told, through those tapes that Hannah has sent around to the people on the list, completely undermines the entire message of the story by having her, the person we're supposed to feel sympathy for, do something cruel and spiteful to the people who she sees as wronging her (Bryce excluded for being a complete monster who really did knowingly harm her and others).

Telling someone that they are one of the reasons you chose to kill yourself can have an enormous effect on their lives. That's not just stealing someone's letter, or spreading nasty rumors about them. It's something that is cruel and spiteful, and so much worse than what almost everyone on her list did (excluding Bryce). Had I been one of the reasons on that list I probably would have been driven to suicide myself. There was a time in high school where I was very close to that, and frequently considered it, and those tapes would have easily driven me over the edge.

Also, I feel like this book romanticizes suicide in a way. Not only does Hannah's story get told to everyone, having the exact effect she wanted, but she gets attention, and the love of the guy she's been crushing on, and she "gets back" at the people who she sees as wronging her. Those are the kinds of fantasies that some suicidal people have. The whole idea of "once I'm gone they'll respect, love and miss me". I know that message is unintentional, but it's still reenforcing a very dangerous idea.

[Siobhan]

I actually got the feeling while reading it that the only one who would be affected was Clay. The others might feel shitty that their secrets were out to people they have no control over, but look at Marcus, he threw stones through Tyler's window for being a peeping Tom and felt self-righteous but he was the one trying to grope her in public. He had no accountability but wanted to blame someone else. Who's to say everyone else on those tapes didn't act exactly like Marcus?

I thought it was moot anyway, by including a teacher at the end, she was going to have these tapes go pretty public anyway. But I think the whole idea of the tapes was meant to be a twist on the story. It's one thing Hannah talking about her reasons, but for her to tell the story as is, it would be pretty derivative. Therefore, the tapes add a twist, a reaction (in the form of Clay) and another, deeper level.