THIRTEEN REASONS WHY BY JAY ASHER

Thirteen Reasons Why is a compelling read from beginning to end. It's emotional, realistic, and an all around important read. I tihnk older young adults are a good fit for this one. 

Rating: ★★★★
​Release Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Young Adult. Social Issues. 
Series: None. Standalone. 
Pages: 320 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased. ​

You can’t stop the future. 
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

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 as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

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Release Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fiction & Drama (social issues)

A compelling read from beginning to end 

This is one of those books that you have to be in the right mindset to read. It deals with serious social issues like sexual assault, bullying, and suicide. It's not a book for everyone but it is an important one. It makes you think about how you treat people and shows the worst ramifications that can come from hurting others. Now, while it is a good book and sends a powerful message, I did find some problems within the story. Those are listed below.

Problem 1: I felt for Hannah, I really did! When I was in high school I lived through 2 suicides of classmates. It's tough stuff and one of the hardest acts to accept. Whether a person wants to believe it or not, it does effect everyone- even those who may not have been super close with the individual who died. In this case though, I didn't necessarily believe the story and the reasons WHY she did what she did. Had the author stuck to one or two reasons and built upon those, I think it would have felt more authentic. But there was so much going on (and a lot of blame for the smallest of things) that didn't feel truthful. I understand she had mental health issues- it doesn't take a whole ton to make someone with these issues come to such a drastic decision like this one. But she blamed so many issues on classmates and spoke about them in the tapes without every saying something about what was happening. She didn't seem super bothered as these things were happening so it felt forced that these issues made her take her life. I don't know how else to describe it without looking uncaring (and trust me, it makes me feel that way just to write this). I'm just basing my opinion off the feelings this book gave me, not suicide in general. There is never a time when bullying or sexual assault is okay. NEVER. And the victim should NEVER be to blame. EVER. I just hope that authors who write about the issues make it seem authentic and fluid within the story. 

Problem 2. I don't think this book is a good one for 12 year olds. AT ALL. The message YES, the book on it's own, no. I think this book would be confusing on a young mind. I would consider this one an upper YA novel- it does deal with high school students after all. 

Problem 3: All the build up and the ending was seriously lacking. It simply just ended. I guess if you look at it in terms of the topic it makes sense, but readers need something that wraps it all up. You don't get that here. There is no justice. 

Other than these problems, this is a powerful novel and I am glad I read it. I think many people will feel the same, some will have serious issues with the book, and others will recommend it to everyone they know. It's all in the eye of the reader! If you like the way it sounds, pick it up.

★★★★