Thirteen Reasons Why

"HELLO BOYS AND GIRLS, HANNAH BEAKER HERE LIFE AND IN STERIO. NO ENGAGEMENT RETURNS, NO ONCORE AND THIS TIME ABSOLUTELY NO REQUESTS... IM GANNA TELL YOU THE STORY OF MY LIFE. MOST SPECIFICALLY... WHY IT ENDED." Now I know alot of people wo would freak out if they got a bunch of tapes from a dead girl blaming you for why she commited suicide. And I know you would feel offoul knowing you coused...more

"HELLO BOYS AND GIRLS, HANNAH BEAKER HERE LIFE AND IN STERIO. NO ENGAGEMENT RETURNS, NO ONCORE AND THIS TIME ABSOLUTELY NO REQUESTS... IM GANNA TELL YOU THE STORY OF MY LIFE. MOST SPECIFICALLY... WHY IT ENDED." Now I know alot of people wo would freak out if they got a bunch of tapes from a dead girl blaming you for why she commited suicide. And I know you would feel offoul knowing you coused a girls death. Well that is the story of Clay Jenson a boy who is part of a list of people who are the cause of Hannah's death. its an amazing story and I recomend it to anyone looking for a good read.   hide

This is such an amazing book. The character Clay Jensen receives 7 audiotapes in the mail. When he begins listening to them, he finds out the tapes hold the reasoning behind his secret crush's suicide, Hannah Baker. Each side of the tape tells a story involving one student she went to school with, and the actions that happened and snow- balled into her decision to take her life. Wondering what...more

This is such an amazing book. The character Clay Jensen receives 7 audiotapes in the mail. When he begins listening to them, he finds out the tapes hold the reasoning behind his secret crush's suicide, Hannah Baker. Each side of the tape tells a story involving one student she went to school with, and the actions that happened and snow- balled into her decision to take her life. Wondering what Clay has done to contribute in this decision, he feels compelled to listen to the audiotapes and learns the real story of Hannah Baker's life.   hide

I listened to the unabridged audio book version of this story and my breath was taken away. The story was told with two narrators, one playing the role of Clay Jensen, a high school student who receives a box of audio tapes in the mail not knowing what story they would tell. As he begins to listen he hears the voice of the other narrator, Hannah Baker, a student that just a few days earlier...more

I listened to the unabridged audio book version of this story and my breath was taken away. The story was told with two narrators, one playing the role of Clay Jensen, a high school student who receives a box of audio tapes in the mail not knowing what story they would tell. As he begins to listen he hears the voice of the other narrator, Hannah Baker, a student that just a few days earlier committed suicide. He spends the rest of the day listening to the tapes and trying to understand the thirteen reasons why Hannah decided to end her own life. This is a very powerful story that makes you take a step back and remember the things that happened in high school and how sometimes the little things in life can make a big impact on others.   hide

Finish reading this on my way from NYC to Gainesville and at some parts I couldn't stop asking myself if there's anything I've done or said that caused someone to decide to take his or her life away. Cos that's what this book's all about - knowing that actions have consequences and worse, how those consequences have less desired effects on others. We just don't know or never bothered to...more

Finish reading this on my way from NYC to Gainesville and at some parts I couldn't stop asking myself if there's anything I've done or said that caused someone to decide to take his or her life away. Cos that's what this book's all about - knowing that actions have consequences and worse, how those consequences have less desired effects on others. We just don't know or never bothered to know. It also cuts me deep when Hannah got to the last person that she said to be the cause of her successful suicidal attempt - her teacher. It illustrates how much students actually rely on teachers for advice and guidance. It's a good read, a must read - it'd definitely make you think about everything you've said or done...   hide

When Clay Jensen receives a mysterious package on his front door step, he admits to being excited about it. An anonymous package for him? How intriguing! The contents of the package were intriguing. They belonged to a girl who had recently committed suicide. Inside the shoe box were seven tapes, each labeled by a number with blue nail polish. Hannah Baker explained that whomever received the...more

When Clay Jensen receives a mysterious package on his front door step, he admits to being excited about it. An anonymous package for him? How intriguing! The contents of the package were intriguing. They belonged to a girl who had recently committed suicide. Inside the shoe box were seven tapes, each labeled by a number with blue nail polish. Hannah Baker explained that whomever received the tapes had to listen to each one in it’s entirety. Only then would they understand why she decided to kill herself and only then would they realize that they were one of the many reasons why. The novel launches itself into a story with many side plots. Hannah’s tale becomes a quilt, with each person a square and each connection the thread that bind them all together. A story of high school angst, of rumors and reputation, the novel depicts how small stabs at a person can bring them down and tear the human spirit. It takes nine to eleven positive affirmations to do redo the damage of just one negative. Hannah Baker was set on giving up and she did just that. But she decided to let those who hurt her know, in hopes that perhaps they would suffer a little too, knowing how their words tore her world apart. Clay has to listen to the tapes helplessly, imagining the many ways he could have helped her or reached out. Though rather disheartening, the novel leaves the reader with hope that maybe a small gesture of some sort will help someone else going through a difficult time.   hide

This is a book for young adults, but not too young. I am not a young adult, but am a mom of young adults (early high school). I would say the youngest that should read this book is 9th grade. It deals with some topics (sex, drinking, driving, parties) that most kids younger than high school are not, and should not be exposed to. I believe in innocence! Anyway, this is a thought provoking...more

This is a book for young adults, but not too young. I am not a young adult, but am a mom of young adults (early high school). I would say the youngest that should read this book is 9th grade. It deals with some topics (sex, drinking, driving, parties) that most kids younger than high school are not, and should not be exposed to. I believe in innocence! Anyway, this is a thought provoking book for teenagers. It shows that what you say and do matters. Teenagers think it's funny to "diss" their peers. They may think twice about letting cruel, or insensitive remarks slip out after reading this. It illustrates well that there are consequences, sometimes heavy ones, for irresponsible actions. My 15 year old read it and it impacted him so much that he has brought it up in conversation multiple times since he finished the book last week. It is hard to put down and I would recommend parents read it and discuss with your teenagers.   hide

While the premise for the book was quite impressive, it failed to impress. Hannah Baker is a selfish masochist who expects everyone around her to pity her because she's dealt with a few difficult situations. She expects everyone to see her as the victim, even though she stood by and allowed a girl to be raped while she was hiding in the closet, willingly got into a hot-tub with the very...more

While the premise for the book was quite impressive, it failed to impress. Hannah Baker is a selfish masochist who expects everyone around her to pity her because she's dealt with a few difficult situations. She expects everyone to see her as the victim, even though she stood by and allowed a girl to be raped while she was hiding in the closet, willingly got into a hot-tub with the very rapist, and blamed a school teacher for not caring. I hate to break it to Hannah, but teens deal with more than this on a daily basis and are still strong enough to persevere. I think the victim in all of this are the people who had to listen to Hannah's tapes, leaving behind a horrible legacy of vengeance. Her peers were teens, imperfect as all teens are. I agree that the destructive power of rumors should be addressed, but I feel like I'm still waiting for the climax of the book. Everything that happened I can see happening at any high school in America, and Hannah is stupid to think that she was the only troubled soul in the world. I wouldn't recommed this book to anyone, because it's a disappointment. Mr. Asher could have done so much better. The book simply missed the mark.   hide

It's been a long time since I read an entire book in one day, but THIRTEEN REASONS WHY made me do it again. Written as two parallel narratives told from the point of view of high school student, Clay, and the disembodied voice of his dead classmate, Hannah, the book explores the reasons behind Hannah's suicide in an eerily realistic way. Through a series of seven cassette tapes that...more

It's been a long time since I read an entire book in one day, but THIRTEEN REASONS WHY made me do it again. Written as two parallel narratives told from the point of view of high school student, Clay, and the disembodied voice of his dead classmate, Hannah, the book explores the reasons behind Hannah's suicide in an eerily realistic way. Through a series of seven cassette tapes that arrive on Clay's doorstep one afternoon, Hannah narrates the chain of events that led to the disturbing decision to take her own life. Asher's handling of the narratives is very nearly flawless. Every once and a while there is a sentence that doesn't quite fit the tone or the rhythm of the story, but overall he handles a difficult subject without being preachy or resorting to shock value. The truly eerie thing about THIRTEEN REASONS WHY is that Hannah could be anyone. She could be someone you sat next to in high school, she could be a co-worker who's been acting a little off lately, or she could be you. The events that unfold through her cassette tape narrative could happen to anyone, anytime, and Asher conveys this with great clarity. This book is a good read for teens, young adults, and adults alike. Its exploration of how the smallest of events can have the most devastating of impacts will give readers of all ages reason to stop and think.   hide

The topic of this novel must be important to the author, as he chose it for his first young adult novel. Despite feeling put off at the heroine's obvious psychosis (for she bullheadedly chooses her own melodramatic demise), I did feel compelled to read the entire book. Asher seems to want to get the point across to teens that every action has an effect on other people - that...more

The topic of this novel must be important to the author, as he chose it for his first young adult novel. Despite feeling put off at the heroine's obvious psychosis (for she bullheadedly chooses her own melodramatic demise), I did feel compelled to read the entire book. Asher seems to want to get the point across to teens that every action has an effect on other people - that sometimes, seemingly innocent gaffes can damage lives. Asher also pushes the need to reach out and help others in pain. The lesson in this book can go two ways, though: We choose how we react to the slights against us, whether we cave in and give up, or choose to focus on better moments and future well-being. For this beleagured girl chose to embrace the bad rather than connect with those who were there for her and who could have helped her.   hide