Book Review : Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box 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. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

I've heard a lot about this book, on goodreads, the blogosphere, vlogosphere, literally everywhere. And it has predominantly been good reviews. So I considered this to be a necessary read for me. Not just because a lot of people say it's a good read (though that was a factor in the decision) but I really was intrigued by the synopsis and the premise.

 I got through the book in about 5-6 hrs. It was a difficult read but the morbid curiosity to know who was next on the tape and what they had done to get on the tapes made me read on, Like the morbid curiosity that the people on the lists had. But they did have an added incentive of the tapes getting out to the public.

I do not know if I was the only one but I empathized with Clay more than I did with Hannah. I am not saying that I do not understand what drove Hannah to suicide. Throughout the whole tape Hannah talked of the Snowball effect that a small instance could have on a persons life, that in her case led her to commit suicide. The tapes spoke of the consequences that a simple list, or action that affect a life. But her action of recording those tapes and sending it to the 13 people had its own consequences.

Though the tapes were Hannah's point of view, the contrast of what Clay thought of the same situations was a great insight. It helped me see the other side of the coin. To me this was not just about a Teenage Girls suicide note but the opportunity lost to have a friendship, maybe even a relationship. And the sad part was that this was not just Hannah's loss but also Clay's. And considering that Clay had feelings for her, and he could not do anything about it anymore.

I liked the ending of this book. It was not a sweet ending but it was open ended. There was still hope.

To me this book has a rating of 4.5/5.