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 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 waited entirely too long to read this book. I'm not sure if it was the serious issues I could tell this book was about from the summary that made me hesitate, or if my TBR list was just growing too long or what? But I waited too long and I'm sorry for that. All I can say to those of you out there who haven't read Thirteen Reasons Why, is to go out right now and get yourself a copy and start reading.



I'm in love with Jay Asher's writing. To be honest, I thought I was a part of this book. Not just reading the words and turning the pages, but I felt like I could hear Hannah's words for myself, and see the places on the map that Clay was visiting for myself. Asher is that talented, he takes you inside his writing and does not let go. As Clay listens to Hannah's story he decides he won't be able to take breaks or spread the stories out. It's almost like ripping off a band aid - you just have to get it over with. Not just so he can find out how he played a role in the grand scheme of things, but because he needs closure and the it's the type that can only come from knowing the whole story. I was right there with Clay, I couldn't stop reading, I just had to get the full story.

This is not a light read, I found no humor within these pages and yet I couldn't, and didn't want to stop reading. Even now, I'm finished and yet still Hannah and Clay are with me. I think Thirteen Reasons Why will be sticking with me for a very long time. I'm not usually one for books with strong morals being forced on readers, or lectures about lessons to be learned, but this was different. Asher made me look at things in new ways and I'm not sure you can go back after something like that. I learned a valuable lesson from this book and I'm grateful for that. Clay says in the beginning of the book that he'll never be able to get Hannah's voice out of his head, and to be honest I don't think I will either.

This story was amazing. It was emotional and heavy, but also moving and beyond memorable. I feel grateful to have read this book and cannot say nearly enough about how highly I think of Asher's writing and technique and his amazing gift for story telling. I may not be able to look back at this book and want to re-read it over and over again, it's just not that type of book. But I also can't bear to part with it. I'm not sure I'll ever read another that can even come close to being it's equal. I will never forget Hannah's story.

Thirteen Reasons Why gets 5 shamrocks without a doubt!