“You can’t stop the future
You can’t rewind the past
The only way to learn the secret
…is to press play.”
Published by: Puffin
Pub. Date: August 6th 2009 (originally published: October 2007)
Genre: YA – contemporary/suicide literature
ISBN read copy: 9780141328294
Source: Bought
Format/pages: Paperback, 288
Date read: 2010
My rating: 
Brief story-line: “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.”
Thirteen Reasons Why is by all means about the teenager girl Hannah Barker who committed suicide. To explain why, she sends out 7 tapes with thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Each and one of those who get these tapes gets a last wish from Hannah: to listen to all the tapes, then pass the tapes to the name that popped up after theirs. Everyone who get these tapes is one of the thirteen reasons why she killed herself.
The protagonist is Clay Jensen, he had some kind of secret crush on Hannah and can’t understand why he’s on her list. As we get through the stories they are getting worse and worse. And the big question is: When does Clay’s name appear and what have he done?
The novel is described in a warm and gentle way and not on one of the stereotypical ways where the teenager is a “deadly depressed” teenager girl, and we don’t get that typical feeling that “this was done by pure egoism” which is usually how people react towards suicide. This novel actually have layer and shows how small things have a very great impact on someone that’s depressed, something as small as a brief smile can light up the day for weeks just as a snappy comment can ruin someone’s life.
Thirteen Reasons way is Jay Asher’s debut and it went straight into the best seller list, and that is well deserved. The novel has a very well developed plot and it’s written with a purpose, the author wants people to open their eyes and pay attention to what they are saying, because no matter how little it might mean to you it can be the world to another. Asher himself has experience that a friend tried to commit suicide so this book is written first hand.
I strongly recommend this book, it’s a book you’ll laugh and cry.
“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.”
Signed,
Lindea
Thirteen Reasons Why is available at Amazon.com
