Must Read for High School Students!!!

[Taylor]

This book is a must read for teens and parents of teens because it shows the power of rumors and how all the little things that people don’t think matter, how much they can matter to someone. It also teaches a lesson to teens that you need to think about the consequences of their actions. Clay Jensen is the main character who is mysterious at first, but once he listens to the tapes, especially the story about him, he realizes just how much he liked Hannah and how much he wished he would have given her a chance. Hannah Baker is the girl who committed suicide and she is characterized throughout the whole book and you can see how much she changes. Both main characters are extremely dynamic and change a lot throughout the book. Hannah Baker kills herself and no one really understands why. Then one by one, 13 people find out why. These 13 people have something to do with why she killed herself. She records these tapes with her story on it and mails them to the first person. All she asks is that these people listen to their story and mail them to the person who has the next story. The book was written in a conversational tone. You are reading it as if you are Clay Jensen, the narrator listening to the tapes. So you hear what Hannah is saying on the tapes and you hear what Clay is thinking about the tapes while he listens. Hannah’s words are italicized so it is not too complicated to figure out how is talking/thinking when. There were a few times I had to go back and reread parts because I had it backwards, but that was due to me reading too fast to see what happened. The book was well written and not hard to understand. There was minimal higher level vocabulary. In 13 Reasons Why, the main theme is of respect and reputation. Hannah reputation is destroyed because no one respects her after on boy disrespected her. Many rumors are spread about her, just like many people in middle and high school. People who read this book can relate to Hannah and Clay because who hasn't had a rumor spread about them, whether it is awful or something stupid, it still hurts. This book hits an emotional level in most people. This book is a must read for teenagers and teen parents. Suicide has become a prominent threat to teens and young adults over things like problems in this book. This book shows that there is hope because there is probably at least one person who cares about you, you just have to try to find them. If you like novels like Looking for Alaska you would probably enjoy this book.

[[deleted user]]

I couldn't have said it better and couldn't agree with you more. As soon as I finished reading it I had my two teenage girls read it as well. I also mentioned the book to teachers I know. This book does a beautiful job at showing exactly how some small thoughtless acts (and large ones)can totally change the course of someones life.

[Hana]

So true. A lot of people are always like, " No, children shouldn't read this because it's too intense," and that kind of bullshit. Then who did Jay Asher write this book for??? THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR TEENS.
You did an awesome job of reviewing this book. I totally agree with you. :)

[Edward]

I am a high school student and I just just read this book and I feel as if I just read the worst book I have ever had the chance to read. The story follows a girl who doesn't try to get help and gives stupid reasons for committing suicide. A problem I have with the story is Hannah says she's not getting revenge but by forcing teens to hear how, by doing something tiny they have just killed a girl. How is that not revenge. One of my other many problems I have with this book is the fact that the plot is the stereotypical high school experience where all kids are asshole except for the knight in shining armor who protects the poor hurt girl. Secondly, I also have to ask where the heck are Hannah's parents and how do they not notice what she's going through or feel guilty about it. I mean, the fact that they didn't even give their daughter a funeral. This is even after we hear how close Hannah was with her parents in the beginning of the story. Yes, their store started to go under but that is not a reason to not pay attention to your daughter, especially after she just comes home with a huge haircut. These are only some of my many problems with this story. Don't read, unless you want to hear a story about a girl who dies, through the ears of a boy that liked her but never told her. P.S. The boy just cry and blames himself throughout the whole story.

[Shruthi]

I think that school students should read this book as it gives them an insight of a person who is suffering as well as being bullied. I think that no matter what part of your life you are at I think everyone should at least read this once, giving them an opportunity to see a person's thoughts and experiences as bulling is a topic that people face whether in school or not.

[[deleted user]]

Taylor wrote: "This book is a must read for teens and parents of teens because it shows the power of rumors and how all the little things that people don’t think matter, how much they can matter to someone. It al..."
omg this book was very emotional but it is a good read. I cried.

[Jade]

I think these types of books should be required to read in middle school and high school because we live in a dangerous world and there are so many teenagers battling with Depression.

Its really sad that more and more teens kill themselves everyday because what teens experience in school.

This book lets you see of the reasons behind why teenagers chose dying over living

p.s. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me because you can really connect to the book. I almost felt like I was Hannah telling people why they were part of the reason I killed myself.

[[deleted user]]

Edward wrote: "I am a high school student and I just just read this book and I feel as if I just read the worst book I have ever had the chance to read. The story follows a girl who doesn't try to get help and gi..."

I'm with you. I think the same. I know, the book is for teenagers, and that, but depression and suicide thoughts are simply too personal, and the story is pretty common to reach those subjects properly. Yes, it gives you an insight, but I don't think it would have educationar purposes.

[Joshua]

I have to straight away say I am most definitely not a fan of this genre of novel. I frequently do not bother to read YA because much is highly stereotypical and I cannot push myself to read a whole book. Upon hearing about this book I decided I would try it and I did actually finish the book. The changing dialogue was a change from the normal style of writing YA and the story was okay at best. From what I read I simply cannot say that the book provides deep insight into suicide and the teen psyche. This novel is simply put ... a novel. It is a story written for entertainment. It simply touches on the ideas of bullying and depression and suicide but there are so many more sides to a story than what can be put on pages. If a teen wanted to read this I still think it is a good YA novel but in regards to what you are saying there are a number of other novels that I would say are a must read over this.

[Kayleigh]

I adore this book, and I can't emphasise strongly enough how important the message is. It's one of those books that has meaning both within context and outside of it - you can pull out quotes and meaning to everyday life. Ultimately, to me it is a message about how you have to be aware of how your actions, no matter how small, can affect people and that you don't know what struggles other people have. In this book it could be argued to be an extreme case, but there lots of people for whom these actions can cause the snowball effect that we see with Hannah. Not everyone will necessarily want to kill themselves, but you can destroy people's lives with your actions if you are unkind. I loved this book as a teen, and as an adult I still find use for it.