Book Review

While reading 13 Reasons why certain things caught my eye; first, the way the story is told through audio tapes and through internal thoughts. There are very little conversations in this book which is what makes the book. Jay Asher could’ve chosen to write this book like any other type of book but he chose a unique and different way. Your body receives chills down your spine at the end of every audio tape because Hannah (the girl who’s voice is on the audio tapes) calls out the next person, “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.” Jay Asher does a great job at wanting to catch the reader’s attention from the very first line of the book. He makes them want to know who else is responsible for the death of Hannah Baker.

The second thing that caught my attention was the emotions the characters brought to your attention. You could feel the pain Clay felt while listening to these audio tapes. As a reader you were able to hear his voice becoming weaker and softer through his internal thoughts, you could tell he wanted to do more and speak out but since he didn’t he felt responsible for Hannah’s death.

“My breathing begins to slow. The tension in my muscles starts to relax. Then, a click in the headphones. A slow breath of air. I open my eyes to bright moonlight. And Hannah, with warmth. Thank you.”

This is a quote from the end of the book when Clay is about to press end on the very last tape that Hannah had made. Before the tapes, Clay was questioning why Hannah killed herself, why she didn’t reach out to anyone, he loved her. After Clay received the tapes he was never going to let hope pass him by. Hannah taught Clay a lesson he will never forget, even though he wasn’t one of the reasons why Hannah killed herself, Clay will forever treat people differently and not let someone he wants to meet walk right past him without him saying “hi”. Through the tapes Hannah begins to become darker as she gets down to the very reason of why she killed herself. Hannah is the type of character that everyone knows in real life. There isn’t one teenager in this world that hasn’t had a friend say that they wanted to end their life. But, Hannah is the one person that did end their life. The signs were there, just like they were with Joe. Everything affects everything.

Lastly, the weak plot caught my attention. Jay Asher made this book very relatable for teenagers and by doing so he made the book very typical. It was an amazing read, but the book lacked passion and depth. Jay did an amazing job at telling the story of Hannah Baker. But, I believe he hasn’t first hand witnessed someone without a shred of hope, at their breaking point, at the end of the rope. But, if there's one thing Jay did do is write a book that teenagers will make their children read because of the message that the book is giving. This book is a bible to those who have experienced thoughts of taking their own life or seen someone take their life. I'll leave you with a quote from the book; “You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.”