By Jay Asher
Genre YA Contemporary
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis
Clay is stunned when his high school crush Hannah commits suicide. He's even more so when he finds a box of old cassette tapes recorded by Hannah. As he listens to the tapes and follows the map Hannah left he'll discover what no one knew and the thirteen reasons why Hannah took her life.
First Sentence
"Sir?" she repeats.
To be honest, I really had no desire to read this book. It's subject matter didn't appeal to me and I figured it would be too preachy, but when it came up as a Kindle's daily deal I bought it and not too long after started to read it. Sorry, I often have no real reasoning behind why I pick up a book. I liked the way the author wrote this story. That is, I liked following the map with Clay and the suspense it added to figure things out. I did not like the back and forth between Hannah's voice and Clay's. For some reason I had to really focus to remember who was talking. But the suspense was great. I wanted to keep reading and see how everything ended. I felt Clay's pain even though I was being told about it rather than shown.
Was the book preachy? No, actually it wasn't bad. I felt like the author maybe had a message but he wasn't ramming it down anybody's throat or anything. This story is a hard story to read. On the one hand you want to slap all these dumb high school kids on the other hand you want to slap Hannah and tell her to man up. It was frustrating for me. In the end, I wasn't too impressed but after I read the author's notes I actually liked it better bringing it up to three stars for me. So if you want to read it just make sure you read the author's notes.
Should you read it?
I think yes. It's brings up some important topics but it's not easy.
I liked this when I read it ages ago. It was better than I expected it to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those well-known YA books that I’ve been reluctant to read for reasons similar to yours. I’m glad it was better than you expected. Maybe I’ll pick it up in the future.
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, but it's been a long time since I read it. It is a subject I care deeply about and I'm all for awareness being raised, but like you I don't like preachy, messagey books, and I felt the author did a good job of avoiding that.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I thought this was an interesting, important book, but I wouldn't say it blew my socks off. The hype made me think it would. Still, I think it's great that Asher opened up a discussion about such a heartbreaking issue.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this. I think because it will hit too close to home as I was suicidal in high school. I don't know. Maybe, it would be a good for me to read. Maybe, I'll relate to it better. I'm glad it was better than you thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteI remember all the hype about this one when it came out but the subject matter isn't one that appeals to me. It's funny because very often the notes by an author on a book is much more interesting to read than the book itself!
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting way to tell a story, but what a hard subject matter to write about! Still, sometimes that's what books are for.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the audiobook of this a while ago. I felt the same. I was frustrated with all the characters, but I also felt for them.
ReplyDeleteI've... started this one. I need to finish. I really enjoyed the voice so far, but I know exactly what you mean. I think (at least so far) it does a good job making the characters KIDS, which not all YA does (especially with so many of us adults reading it now).
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite books ever. Mind you I just turned 26 years old, but I feel that there is so much truth in this book. It shows how the smallest actions or gossip can have an impact on someone, or just in general what power people have over others without even knowing. Very beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteJasmine
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