Review for 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

13 Reasons Why
By Jay Asher
Published by Razorbill                     
Source: Library
Library Challenge
288 pages

"Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen 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."- Goodreads

Why did I give it five stars? The honest answer? Because it touched my heart. This book opened my heart as well as my eyes to just how everyones actions can affect the life of a person. This is not a happy or even mellow book, it's pretty deep so if you go into reading this don't blame it for that.

We go along with Clay as he listens to the casettes made by Hannah and we discover it right along with him. He is one of those boys who has a good reputation and generally tries to stay out of trouble. Clay had a crush on Hannah which made this so heartbreaking to read. Why? Because as soon as Clay found out what was actually going on in her life, he wanted to help her. . . But he was too late. It's not that before he ignored her it was just that he never really got up the nerve to talk to her. Anyways, bottom line he really cared about her and as he listened to the tapes, his emotions came through to me as the reader and I felt what he was feeling. Raw and and intense emotions. Even though Hannah is not there physically I really connected with her character. Some people have said her reasons for ending her life were stupid but everything affects people different, right? So I sympathized with her and I loved her to bits. I understood the way she reacted, not to ending her life, but to the things that transpired. Poor girl. Then there are the other characters or should I say the other 13 reasons why, and each one of those people became an imprint in my mind. They were well rounded and each had their own unique personality.

The plot in my eyes was briliant. Cassete tapes? Yeah, I really liked that idea. This is such a tragic story but it is so beautifully crafted. The auther really made it realistic and thoughful. All of these things could absolutely happen. The message I got out of it: be careful what you do because actions can never be undone, and they might just have a snowball effect in someones life. This is a suspense novel because the author Mr. Asher got you turning pages furiously to find out more and what happened to whom and so forth. He really knew what he was doing, he hooked me into a story. The events are well plotted, the scenarios are well described and the characters shine.

I recommend this to anyone. But don't read it if your not into sad stories and don't hate on Hannah because just think how you would have felt. This is a suspenseful and beautiful novel that talks about a sensitive subject. My hat is off to Mr. Jay Asher, he did a wonderful job!

Excerpt:

Hello, boys and girls. Hannah Baker here. Live and in stereo.
I don't believe it.
No return engagements. No encore. And this time, absolutely no requests.
No, I can't believe it. Hannah Baker killed herself.
I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why.
What? No!
I'm not saying which tape brings you into the story. But fear not, if you recieved this lovely little box, your name will pop up . . . I promise.
Now, why would a dead girl lie?
Hey! That sounds like a joke. Why would a dead girl lie? Answer: Because she can't stand up.
Is this some sort of twisted suicide not?
Go ahead. Laugh.
Oh well. I thought it was funny.
Before Hannah died, she recorded a buch of tapes. Why?
The rules are pretty simple. There are only two, Rule number one; You listen. Number two: You pass it on. Hopefully, neither one will be easy for you.