For The L♥ve of Reading

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Published by Razorbill 2007
288 Pages (paperback)

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.
I have mixed opinions on this book, however I know what the most prominent feeling I had about this book. Overall it's a really great book that I think a lot of people should read. It gets down to the core of one of my most valued "ideas" I guess you could say. I really feel that it's really important to treat people as best as you can, especially if you really don't know them. I know that sounds weird but people who you are closer to you know their situations but people you don't know real well at all, you have no idea what they're going trough. Now that's not to say that the people you're close to can't "hide" things from you or not share their whole life with you, but you will get some truth from them. Just as Hannah gave the people she was "closest" to the truth, they just didn't see it. I've always felt that way and that's always been an idea that's been held in higher standards for me and it was the biggest thing I got from this book. Hopefully some of you see what I'm trying to say!

Now for the book! I really feel like this book isn't really about the book or the characters but rather the ideas and situations presented in the story. Don't get me wrong the I really felt for the characters and the story was depressing but good, but this book is about the general situations presented. It was interesting to get into Hannah's head and then to get to hear about the characters outside of her stories. It shows how different people can all come together unconsciously to affect one single person to the point where they don't think they can return. I liked Hannah but I personally couldn't connect with how she got to that horrible point. I don't know, I feel bad for thinking that way but the things that sent her towards that cliff just seemed like things that everyone has to deal with. I mean not everything, or in the combination that Hannah dealt with but I just didn't make that connection with her, but I did feel for her. Clay was a good duel narration, but he had nothing to feel bad about with Hannah, at least not like the others. I really liked him as the duel narrator but it would have been interesting to be able to get into the head of one of the other characters, who had more to deeply contemplate then Clay. Other than that this book was a great book that allows us as readers to really contemplate the affect that we all have on other people. It was a great book that I'll be passing around to my cousins!

4.5 Kisses