Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Rating:  6.5/10 
Read:  June, 2011
Recommended To:  Young adults & YA Fiction lovers
Categories:  Fiction, Young Adult, Mental Illness, Fiction Dealing With Suicide

Hannah Baker decides, before she commits suicide, to record, on cassette tapes, the 13 reasons why she decided to kill herself.  In her strange suicide note, she talks to and about 13 people, and how those people contributed to the reasons why she chose to commit suicide.  She didn't leave them to be found with her body though, instead, she mailed them to the first person on the list, the person who is part of reason number one.  She left instructions for the person to listen to all the tapes, and then mail them to the next person on the list.

The story starts as Clay Jensen, Hannah's crush, finds the box of tapes on his front porch.  He pops the first one in, and finds out that he is one of the people on her list, and if he listens, he'll find out why.  The story weaves back and forth between the narrative on the tapes, and Clay's life as he listens to them, and discovers the 13 reasons why Hannah Baker decided to kill herself.

Personal Thoughts

 When I read the description of this book, I was really intrigued by the idea.  It was a fresh take on a subject that has been tackled before, sometimes well and sometimes badly.  When I finally got the book, I was really excited to delve into it.  As most young adult books, it was a fairly easy read.  The writing was simple (in a good way), and fast-paced, which is a sign of someone who knows how to write for the young adult audience.  Yet, it wasn't written in a "dumbed-down" kind of way, which some YA writers tend to do; being young isn't the same as being dumb, I appreciate when a writer realizes that, and doesn't write as though it is. 

So, it was well written for a YA novel, I liked it.  I didn't love it.  Part of the reason I usually like to read Young Adult novels once in a while is because it takes me back that time in my own life usually, when I first really fell in love with books.  I didn't feel that with this book; the characters were realistic, but I guess they just weren't characters that I really connected much to, because they didn't remind me of anyone I knew.  I also felt like it just could have been... more.  I don't know how else to say it.  I don't know specifically what I would change, or what was lacking.  I just felt like it didn't quite explore the concept as much as it could have.

Pros

* Fast-paced, quick read, that doesn't drag at all

* Interesting way of tackling the subject of suicide, while making it particularly relevant to teenagers

* The dynamic of switching between the tapes, and Clay's struggle to listen to them while going about his normal life, and facing the other people on the tapes, really works for this story.

Cons

* It was good, but it could have been better.  The idea was a 10, while the execution was a 6.  Not badly written, but just not fully-explored.

* It didn't have much of an emotional impact on me, which was surprising considering the nature of the book.


OTHER BOOKS BY JAY ASHER: