Clay comes home one day to find a package waiting for him. Excited to see what it holds, he opens it to find cassette tapes. When he listens, he hears something he can’t believe. Hannah, the girl who committed suicide, says that he and twelve other people caused her death. They are the thirteen reasons. Barely believing what he hears, he listens, and he finds out things about himself and others in his community that he never would have thought of.

I can’t honestly say that I “enjoyed” this book, not in the traditional sense, anyway. I didn’t finish the book and say, “Oh, that was a really cool book!” smile, and move onto something else. It was raw and emotional, and it made me have this sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach. This book was full of suspense, for me. Halfway through the book, I a part of me wanted the story to be some sick joke. I didn’t want Hannah to be dead. Maybe she just wanted to teach some people a lesson and disappeared for a couple weeks. I was thinking this even though I knew it wasn’t true.

I didn’t really like Hannah that much. If I had met her, I probably wouldn’t have liked her and instead been one of the people who believed all those rumors about her. This book made me think of the way I treat other people. Aren’t I a bit quick to believe what others tell me about people I don’t take the time to know, instead of finding out for myself? Even though I didn’t like Hannah, in a way, I could sympathize with her. Have we not at one time or another felt completely alone?

As I was nearing the end of the book, I couldn’t see how it would end in a way that I would feel like the story had come to a close. I read the final chapter, still not seeing what could come out of such an event. However, in the last two or three pages, I felt like everything had come to a close. When I finished Thirteen Reasons Why, I closed the book, and felt like the story was done.

My rating: 4/5

Posted by Melanie at 9:19 AM    

Labels: 4 stars, Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why