After all these years I've never come across a book in marginally like this. I have to say the format and style was pretty unique and that something you don't say a lot in YA. I feel like everyone should give this book ago, it doesn't matter if you've heard the negative reviews. Find out for yourselves why Hannah did what she did and her reasons.

I couldn't stop reading thats how good the writing was, he really got into the mind of Hannah and to read that I have to say was pretty hard for me (one of the reasons it took quite long).

One thing I'm trying to get around is; does it really glamorise suicide? For the most part I don't think so. It would be more of a suicide prevention book as the book deals with the reaction of people around Hannah as well as how she got to her position.

It's important book, it's hard hitting but bare in mind if you have suffered/are suffering from any of the topics it would be a good idea not to read it yet. Mental Health is important.

13 Reasons Why by Jay asher.
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 one day to find a mysterious box with his name on it, outside his front door. Inside he discovers a series of cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush. Only, she committed suicide two weeks earlier. On the first tape, Hannah explains that there are 13 reasons why she did what she did - and Clay is one of them.
If he listens, Clay will find out how he made the list - what he hears will change his life forever.
A very good read with good characters. Found it a little slow in places. but then I couldn’t put it down in had to find out what happened. 4*. Netgalley and penguin random house UK children's.

Did you know it is actually a book?

I wanted to write about the series for a long time, and now I bring you the actual book in which the series was inspired.

I really recommend everyone to see the series, parents, teenagers, bullies or someone that experiences what is written in this book/tv series.

As a parent, I have to admit I didnt had these kind of things back in my school, and I was in fact a popular girl but i always looked out for the “new people”, organized parties for everyone. I know that for other people High school was pretty much awful, for me it wasn’t at all, one of the best times ever.

Now as a parent, this tv series showed me what can go wrong in high schools nowadays and how different it become and I really felt afraid for my little RJ, but I think every parent would feel like me.

I really recommend the book and the tv series.

This is a heart wrenching read which had me sobbing. I found I had strong feelings for Hannah Baker and can imagine this book relating to lots of secondary school children. This book sends some strong messages about people's actions and encourages them to really think about behaviour and the consequences to another person. I think this would do well as a class read in secondary school.

My friend asked me to watch the TV version.
I watched an episode and then worked on finishing the book.
I just feel it wasn't for me. Nothing really connected with me and the POV character has so much "Oh they say I''m good guy. I'm not!'
The subject matter is worth talking about though.
I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Everyone knows what this book is about, everyone has heard about the TV show based on it, and how sucessful it has been. (I was still living under a rock, and kept myself from watching until I was done reading this).

"I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell youthe story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of of the reasons why."

A few days after Hannah Baker's death, Clay Jensen received a package full of audiotapes. And while hearing these tapes, Clay's world take a full turn.
He gets to know the details that got to her depression.. first kisses gone wrong, being joked on classes, shoved back by the ones she used to trust.. Reading this book got me emotional, as some situations sounded quite familiar.

I guess the main issue older readers (such as myself) have with this book is the fact that Hannah gets to emotional about things that aren't important at all. But I guess we were all like that as teenagers. And this book deserves to be read in a "teenager state of mind", to be fully understood.

Definitely a eye-opener, I would recomend this book to most teenagers. Not only to the bullied ones, so they know that they're not alone, but to everyone else. Because silence hurts too. Help someone. Show them a smile. You might be saving someone else's life.

This book was mind blowing and very insightful at the same time. It forced me to see things from a different perspective and I'm so very glad that I did read this book. It was uncomfortable to read for certain parts but I'm assuming that was the point. Very well written!

Thirteen Reasons Why is a very engaging book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I am not quite sure if I would have read the book before I became engaged to the Netflix series but I am glad I did. I have a feeling that I would probably have missed out on this great book otherwise.

Jay Asher's writing aesthetic is very engaging and his use of dialogue and character development was excellently written. I was also very found of his plot device and the framing of his chapters which urges the readers to become gripped and become totally engrossed.

Some of the subject matter is truly horrific and at times I wonder are teens this self obsessed. At first glance, they seem like everyone is close but as you ponder your way through the book, you realised that the teens really have no interconnection with each other. They co-exist in their own private worlds but no one really knows each other.

I do not know if this is a plot device for the book or if this is a reflection of modern teen society today. I hope it is the former because if it is the later, the world is in a very sad state of affairs.

Overall, this is a gripping read and would recommend this book to anyone. It's paced extremely well, the shocking ending and conclusion are fully engaging and one of the better young adult fictions that transpires through all age ranges. This is a true winner and it has piqued my interest in Jay Asher's writing which I am going to start reading.

A compelling read.
There are plenty of arguments for and against the content and I'm not really sure where I stand on those, but as a piece of literature I really enjoyed it.

: I will start with confession, I requested this book, because I knew the TV Series are out, it can’t be bad if it’s on telly right? And guess what, I was right. I loved this book.
This book is a quick read, because it is tiny and really gripping. This book carries two stories at once, the story of Hannah and another one of Clay. This novel is filled with feelings and regret. I loved Hannah’s character in this book, yes, even though she is dead, she is still the main character of this book. I loved her courage for this confession and the secrecy and originality of all this “business”. The palette of characters is really wide in this book and offers a great variety of personalities to choose from. The characters are very realistic, just like ordinary school kids, which most of us faced in our lives. The whole story is told by Clay and Hannah, but that is sufficient to showcase the feelings and powerful meaning of this novel.
I absolutely loved the message of this book, and I think that Jay Asher done a great Job, by highlighting suicide and its causes. I loved the way he showed, how small and to some, unimportant actions might influence young people and what it can lead to. I loved the difficulty of relationships which Jay Asher was portraying in this book, and how it changed due to particular actions. The narrative of this book is flowing smoothly in this novel, there are no much twists or turns, but every chapter has a great cliffhanger, which creates suspense, makes you wonder of what is waiting in the next side of that cassette. One thing that made it difficult for me, was the merging of these two stories, I would’ve preferred that Hanna’s stories would be uninterrupted by Clay’s commentary and thoughts.
The language of this book was easy to read and understandable, and the chapters are reasonable length, so it is easy, quick and very powerful read. The ending of this novel is well thought throw and shows to all of us, that life goes on. So, to conclude, it is very amusing and extremely deep book, full of friendships and teenage relationships, and I think this book is absolute must read to all the school goers (and others as well), as in my opinion, most of them can relate to this book and learn few great things about life as well.

I enjoyed it. I wanted to read this before watching the series on TV

A difficult book to review as I worked in a school library and I would have to think twice about putting it on open shelves. Whilst it tackled a serious topic I think that by using suicide as some sort of revenge it it may give young people a strange validity for taking their own life rather than encouraging them to deal with their problems and talk to someone about their feelings. I have very mixed views about it.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Wow! An incredible book with a lesson for every one who reads it. This definitely gets 5*'s from me.

I had been wanting to read this book for a long while because of the Netflix series (which I'll be watching soon) but also because I'd heard plenty about the book. I actually really enjoyed it and I wasnt sure I would.

This book worked for me because I liked the characters. I instantly liked Hannah and cared about her. I genuinely wanted better for her because she got dealt a shit hand. And I liked Clay. O kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and to find the flaw in his apparent nice guy act but he was genuinely this nice guy who wasn't perfect but wasn't malicious with his niceties.

I respected the book for highlighting suicide and the warning signs to look for. It sounds like the fault for suicide is trying to be passed onto others and in some ways it was other people's fault for putting Hannah on the path she was but I felt this was more about explaining that suicide didn't occur for a single reason and there is no easy fix to help those contemplating suicide but there are signs to look for.

I also liked that a lot of people on Hannah's list are people who many would like and get along with. They weren't all horrible mean people bullying her or anything like that but the simple acts of normal people who to one person can be taken in one way but seen by that person as another. It makes you think about how your actions can affect others and that really is an important thing to remember. Our actions affect not just us.

There were bad guys in this book. People who deserved a comeuppance but then the minor revenge in this book was nowhere near enough.

I think the book was well done. These are only my immediate thoughts so I will need to take time to stew but it really was a quick read which hooked me immediately.

I really don't understand the hype surrounding this book. I thought it was poorly written and one that I could not even finish.
I have experience with suicide and I do not think this gives a fair and honest representation of it. The fact that this girl blames some pretty innocent people for the reasons why she has taken her own life were shallow and somewhat ridiculous. I think this is a terrible book to let young people read and I would not adopt it into my own curriculum.

I thought this book was well written and tackled a very difficult subject which is not talked about enough. I thought it was written in a way that would speak to young adults and make them think about mental health. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Before I begin I’m going to say one thing: I will not be watching the TV show. I have many issues with it, BUT I did find the book compelling and thought-provoking.
I get why this book is huge. I don’t get why people thought it needed a show, and I definitely don't get the ‘fan vids’ of Hannah and Clay, which I’ve seen floating around social media. Or the memes: someone upsets you, queue the “Welcome to your tape” jokes. Hell, even my friends have made these jokes on various group chats and to use that word, I was triggered.
I’m mentally ill, have been for years, lets get that out there. I’ve been suicidal, I’ve been through therapy and I’m on medication. Yet, this book itself wasn't triggering. What WAS triggering was what happens when a much wider audience gets hold of something and it becomes pop culture. I have many issues with the show, but I’m going to stop here. That’s for another day.
I can see why people feel strongly about this book, whichever camp they fall into; I get it. However, unlike many people reviewing this I was kind of ‘meh’ about it.
It’s told in the POV of Clay, but through the words of Hannah - a girl who has recently killed herself - through the narrative she encloses onto 13 tapes. On them are the reasons that pushed her to suicide; the 13 people, of which Clay is one.
I will however, say it was compelling - I flew through it on a train journey. But it made me so angry. Not for her reason for killing herself, I get that. I get that it’s the little things building up on you that break you down. But romanticizing this? I understand this is an unpopular opinion, but as a society we need to stop romanticizing mental illness – it is not pretty. This book was brutal, but the way her tapes are portrayed is absolutely toxic.
It’s creative, it’s original, I didn't enjoy it. But I can appreciate why people find it compelling.


Thank you to Netgalley for my review copy, also a big thank you to @hobbitasha​ for editing this for me.

'You took that hope away. You decided I didn't deserve to have it'.

Confession: I haven't watched the Netflix show based on this book, so I went into the story with an open mind and completely unaware of where the plot was heading. The result, for me, was a little mixed.

Clay Jensen receives a mysterious package in the mail that contains 13 tapes. On listening to the first cassette, he realises that the voice he's hearing is that of Hannah Baker, a student at his high school who's recently taken her own life. By listening to the tapes, and visiting the places Hannah has been in the recent past, Clay begins to put together the 13 reasons Hannah committed suicide, and why he's made 'the list'.

I liked the premise for this - the idea that it isn't one incident that leads to someone taking their own life, but rather a series of seemingly small and insignificant things that can build up to push someone too far. I felt Hannah's loneliness and desperation in the story, and although some may call her selfish and hyper sensitive, I could relate. I liked her. I understood her reasons behind wanting to finally stop her life, and by the end I was (like Clay) willing someone to intervene - even though we know it's hopeless.

Although we know the inevitable outcome of the story, I enjoyed the journey it took to get there. I was genuinely surprised by some of the revelations that were revealed, and I liked discovering things at the same time as Clay. It felt that we were learning about Hannah together. Having said that, I thought the ending was a little flat. I wanted to see how things turned out with Skye, and what he would have said and acted differently, knowing what he now knows about Hannah.

At times I also found the jump between narrators confusing and a little off putting. I sometimes has to reread previous sentences from one narrator to the other so that I could remember what was going on.

This was an easy read, and although I wouldn't call it enjoyable due to the subject matter, it was interesting, and I genuinely wanted to know more about Hannah's journey.

When Hannah took a handful of pills and killed herself everyone was shocked. What could have caused a young girl with her whole life ahead of her to have decided that there was no way forward for her? These questions were asked throughout the community but there were some who knew the answers. Hannah had made a series of audio tapes. She had left explicit instructions about who should receive these tapes and when.
Told through Hannah’s voice on the tapes & Clay, a young man who knew her, we build up a picture of the sometimes horrific way young people can treat each other- sometimes deliberately & sometimes unthinkingly.
This was an absorbing and engrossing read. It is one that will stay with me for a long while. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read this five star book.

Okay, I’m just going to start with I thought it was good but I didn’t love it. I didn’t dislike it either, I’m just sort of ambivalent towards its. I watched the show before I read this – and had pretty much the same feeling – so I spent a lot of time comparing the two.

It got into the story really quickly… almost too quickly. I hate when it takes forever for a story to start but I like a bit of a lead up. I like seeing how the story affects the main character and for that you have to see what they are like before the plot starts, but it doesn’t here, the plot starts within the first couple of sentences. So you don’t see that change really. Funnily enough, I found it ended kind of abruptly as well.

Structure wise I liked how Clay’s narration and Hannah’s tapes were interwoven. The recordings were in italics, in between Clay’s thoughts, so easy to read and understand, though I did get confused sometimes when I didn’t notice the italics, but that’s my own fault rather than the book’s. It also helped highlight some of the parallels between Clay and Hannah, as they both had similar thoughts or did the same thing. For example, after leaving the room they first kissed in, they went downstairs and grabbed / leaned against the piano. They left the room at different times and both did it for different reasons but it’s interesting that they did the same thing. Or how they both wanted to be new and improved to those that didn’t know them, Clay to Hannah and Hannah to the school.

Character wise, I found everyone one-dimensional, other than Clay and Hannah. It’s actually where I think the show really outshined the book. I understand why it’s like that – the book is limited to the two points of view while the series can show multiple – but I think the show demonstrated the message more, about how you never know all that’s going on in a person’s life, how your actions can effect another or how everything can just build up. In the book we see it only with Hannah, and to a lesser extent Clay, but the series shows most of the people on the tapes. We see how Alex is affected by Hannah, while he deals with his feelings for Jessica and his insecurities with his dad, the pressure from the jocks. We see what this situation has done to Tony, along with how his past relationships have affected his current one and what he would do for his family. Sonder is a good word for the show in comparison to the book. It’s not a complaint on the book, just saying in this aspect the show was better. Hell if the book did try to put everyone’s POV I might of got bored tbh.

Keeping with the characters, a quick note on the mains. I can understand where Hannah was coming from, I don’t agree with but I could see what led to it and can’t say for certain that I wouldn’t do the same if I was in her shoes. Clay, I found more likeable than his TV counterpart … Hannah too for some reason… but I still don’t understand why he couldn’t just ask for the walkman.

Hope I got my thoughts across here, I found it hard to work through them for this, and I’m not sure I’m explaining it very well. I may not have loved it but I’m glad I read it and for all my criticisms I do recommend reading this and would love to hear your thoughts on it.