I loved this book when I originally read it about 8 years ago but having seen the TV show I enjoyed it the second time even more.
I was actually surprised how true to the book the TV show is, there are a few noticeable changes but not as many as you would expect for a 13 part series. Its hard to wrap my head around a young girl committing suicide and then effectively blaming other people for it and while that still causes a question in my mind I had more empathy with Hannah this time.
I really would consider this book one of my all-time YA favourites and I am pleased it has been given a huge boost thanks to the netflix show.

I am very much a believer that a TVs adaptation can never do a book justice, so when a TV show affects me as much as this one did I have to go to the source material.

The book was certainly traumatic and my mind was filled with anger and sadness that so many small acts could end in such a way, but I found the book to be somehow less than what I expected. There was no real resolution after such a traumatic evening, Clay seems almost numb, there was no confrontation, no reaction and for me worst of all no consequence.

The acceptance that this was like a documentary, just a linear explanation with no punishment to be meted or culpability owned up to ,just frustrated me and in a way made me less sure that the book would be a positive thing to inform parents or those teens in the throes of dark times. The show seemed to be more dynamic and thought provoking because it actually showed the horrendous fallout both from the seemingly small acts of selfishness, wilful ignorance or straight out arrogance that led to Hannah's death and the effect that the revelations on the tapes had on those thirteen individuals and Hannah's parents.

Good but not great.

I read this book after watching the TV adaptation of it. What can I say? It is a must read for any teenager and (in my opinion) does not glorify teenage suicide at all. It shows the importance of being aware of how our words and actions can effect those around us, and the devastating consequences when a young girl does not feel like she has a voice. Heartbreaking and utterly compelling. A superb and highly recommended 5 stars.

Very disjointed for me, hard to follow as not free flowing due to the way it was written, but an interesting insight to teenage issues

Free copy kindly received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was keen to read this book as everyone has been raving about the TV series. I don't get much time to watch tv, so wanted to read the book instead.

Hannah Baker has committed suicide and has recorded a collection of cassette tapes to explain her 13 reasons why and the tapes are to be heard by the people involved with the reasons. Clay, one of the POV’s of our story is one of them.

It was good how the story unfolded and a very different idea telling the story through a series of cassette tapes. It was very clever how each person linked into the story and how the events unfolded.

Unfortunately I only felt able to give this book 4 stars as I felt it was missing something but I'm not sure what. I thoroughly enjoyed this book though and would recommend it to others.

This is actually a re-read for me.
Having been interested in the TV show (and obsessing) I HAD to read the book again.
If you really want something new to obsess over, then 13 Reasons is something I definitely recommend.
This book truly makes you question life and what little things can do to create a much bigger problem.

As a school librarian and in light of the recent Netflix adaptation of this book, I have been hearing a lot of talk about this recently. Looking at some of these reviews, I have been very concerned that some of my pupils have been asking about it, so I have just read it - always the best thing to do people, as you should never rely on hearsay!
Firstly, I don't think this book actively promotes suicide. I actually think it is the intention of the author to make us think about how our actions affect other people's lives. It is not about revenge. It is about changing your actions...making time to talk to that person you think may need someone to talk to....being kinder. Listening to the tapes makes Clay appreciate that a person's actions can influence another's life in ways you do not realise and that making an effort to really get to know someone else can help them be happier if they are struggling.
However, I agree with some of the views expressed below that this is definitely not a book to be given to someone who is suffering from depression. This is not a self-help book. Hannah is in a cycle of self-destruction, a downward spiral she is not able to escape from. She has already made up her mind that she cannot carry on and I am not sure she can be diverted from her course in the end. Mr Porter tries to help her talk, but unintentionally confirms the decision she has already made. I have not suffered from depression myself, but am very aware of what this can lead to and I can see that the book could be read in a way which could offer suicide as an option to someone who is in a dark place.
If you are worried about whether to recommend this book, or allow a young person to read this, my advice would be that this is not a story for younger children - this is a dark and sometimes sexual story and does have a rape in it. I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 15/16, because of this.
In addition, be aware that this is not a story for someone who suffers from depression as it can be read in a way which seems to offer suicide as an acceptable option if you can see youself in the same place as Hannah finds herself, although this is not its intention. Be aware of who is reading this book. It is, however an interesting read and does open the discussion about suicide, just be careful about who you recommend this to and do talk about it with them both before and afterwards.
Having said all this, I did enjoy reading the book and don't believe that the author intends anything dark by it or suggests intentionally that suicide is a way to get revenge on others.
The Netflix series worries me far more than the book itself. This strings out the story in a way which seems to glamorise Hannah's tapes and the idea of revenge on those that caused her suffering to make it into a "teen drama full of angst".
The Netflix series is horrific. This oringinally had a certificate of 15, but this has now been amended to 18. The tv show definitely does not leave you with the same feelings as the book and most certainly is not for children. The final episode even shows Hannah sitting in a bath and cutting into her veins with a razor blade. Please do not watch this if you liked the book. Jay Asher, you should be ashamed that you had anything to do with this!

After hearing all the hype around the Netflix series I knew I had to read the book before allowing myself to watch the series. I wasn't sure what to expect all I knew about '13 reasons why' was that it was about a suicide.

The storyline was very fast paced and easy to read, I finished the book within a couple hours. Overall I think the book addresses some major issues within teen culture today, especially with regards to rumours and how an opinion about someone can have so much of an impact on their life. I think this book is good for young adults to understand the need to find the truth about a rumour before believing it and shows teenagers that it is okay to share your feelings or get help from others. Whether this is from professional help or family and friends.

I would recommend this book to a friend and would definitely encourage schools to consider putting this book on the curriculum to show how easily one rumour, and the after affects of that rumour, can have on an individual.

This is a story about suicide and revenge. A culmination of 13 individual events, some seemingly shallow or inconsequential on their own, push Hannah over the edge and she takes her own life. However, before doing so she records the details of those events on to several audio tapes to be passed down a list of her antagonists.

We hear the story from Hannah's point of view, through the tapes she has made as they are listened to by nice guy Clay after he receives the package of tapes in the mail. But why is he on Hannah's list when he only ever wanted to help her?

Obviously this is a very sad story, but I do not agree with those who say that it glamorises suicide. It is a perfect example of why we should all be a little kinder to each other, and to ourselves.

First of all I would like to thank Jay Asher for writing this brilliant novel, this is one story that will stay with me for a long time.
I could give you thirteen reasons why I loved this book so much but I would be giving away the plot and I don't want to I want you guys to read it for yourselves it's a rollercoaster ride filled with every emotion you could ever want to feel in a book it truly is.
This book teaches you a life lesson and that is that all actions have consequences and you may not realise that what you are doing is affecting someone now but it may hurt them later and if you don't have anything nice to say about someone then please don't say anything at all.
I urge all you readers to read this novel ...I know it's been adapted to a tv series which I kinda watched first before I read the book refrain yourselves people this is what you need to read first.
A brilliant thought provoking genius of a book and I cannot recommend it enough!
Jay Asher I salute you!

Still a relevant and engaging read almost ten years after publication, however I don't think it explains or details enough ways in which Hannah's suicide could have been prevented.

This book was ok I guess... But it just seemed way too much like Paper Towns... Like... "Here... Follow the trail to find out what happened to me..." Ummmm... Ok.

Also, Hannah is such a bitch! I mean WHAT KIND OF PERSON SENDS ROUND A TAPE TO 13 PEOPLE AND BLAME THEM FOR HER DEATH! She wasn't exactly an angel either... I think the fact that doing this doesn't make her a good character role model at all and it depicts suicide in a jokey-'haha it's all your fault' way which I think is very very wrong. There's a way to portray suicide and this just wasn't it.

So yeah the story was similar to John Greens's but the way that Asher goes about it is very different.

I did like the format in how the story was told and the suspense Asher created to get us excited for Clays's section of the tape. But when it finally did get to Clay's section... I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED! LIKE HOW UNBELIEVABLY PREDICTABLE WAS THAT??!!!! Ugggghhhh!! AND HOW MEAN OF HANNAH TO DO THAT TO CLAY! AGAIN, WHAT. A. BITCH. !

I think that this book is ok - hence the 2 stars - but I don't think it's one that I would instantly go out and recommend

Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of a teenage girl called Hannah Barker who kills herself. A week later Clay Jensen a teen boy who loved Hannah receives a package on his doorstep containing a bunch of cassette tapes which Hannah recorded before her death, to provide Thirteen Reasons Why Hannah was driven to do what she did.

For obvious reasons it's a very emotive novel. Suicide, teen or otherwise is a trigger subject and very upsetting. I suppose I half expected it to be very dramatic, which it wasn't.

But wait... that's not a criticism, far from it. As someone who was bullied all the way through high school I understand what this book is trying to say, and what I hope is that other people do too. I hope this book and for those who don't read, this series, achieve what it has set out to do. That is, the way that things which some people perceive to be 'small' or insignificant things, can really affect other people's lives.

It highlights how bullying is more than just attacking people physically or verbally. How it can be small things like spreading a 'little' rumour, or stealing something which would have made that persons day.

But what this book is also about, is the people left behind. There is a lot of focus on blame but also on the things that the person themselves could have done differently, the way that Hannah towards the end almost sets herself up to make her life as terrible as possible in order to finalise her decision. It explores the complexity of the depressed mind and how reason can go out of the window when life becomes so terrible and you feel so alone. How one chain of events can cause you to make a decision about ending your life.

What I hope this book, and this series does is reminds people to be nice to other people because you don't know how much that person needs just one smiling face in their day.

I had heard of Thirteen Reasons Why many moons ago, it was one of those books that I promised myself I would read, but my reading list got ridiculously out of control and this book slipped from my mind. Then suddenly there was a flurry of conversation on social media as it was announced that it was being adapted for Netflix and once again I was reminded that I wanted to read this. What I did instead was binge watch the 13 Netflix episodes with the idea being that I would still read the book at some point in the future. But upon finishing the series I struggled to organise my thoughts, I wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to feel. So I did the only thing I knew how to do and I read the book too. Only I'm still sat here trying to process my thoughts and feelings. And I think that's the whole point.

You aren't supposed to be able to read this and just move on with your life. The death of anyone, let alone a teenage girl with her entire life before her, should never be easily dismissed. Whether you are a teenage reader or an adult one, this book should make you feel uncomfortable. Some of Hannah's reasons may be small and insignificant to you, but when you put them all together you can begin to understand the snowball effect and why it may weight a person down. Something I remember thinking of Hannah when watching the first episode, when she was pursuing Justin Foley, was just how happy and confident she seemed... compare that to the Hannah in the last few episodes and its easy to see the difference (something that wasn't so obvious but definitely implied in the books), but we don't always notice the changes when they happen slowly.

I have urged my teenage daughters to watch this series, to read this book. I want to open up the discussion about mental health, about bullying and about suicide. I want them to know that Hannah's story doesn't have to be their story. Hannah had people that she could have confided in but for whatever reason didn't.

There is no part of this book or tv series that is easy, but Asher has handled the subject matter beautifully.
It's also worth noting that the copy I read was the original copy in which Hannah succeeds in killing herself, I've heard in the anniversary edition she is found in time and survives.... and I would definitely be looking to read that for myself.

Sometimes it's hard to see why other people might dislike a book you enjoy, but with Thirteen Reasons Why, I can understand it perfectly.

It is told from the perspective of Clay, but is mostly about the life of Hannah - a girl who recently killed herself. After her death, Clay receives a set of cassette tapes on which Hannah explains the thirteen reasons why she decided to kill herself. And he is one of them.

It is extremely compelling - unputdownable almost - but a problem many readers have is that the book relies on your sympathy for Hannah to effectively relay its message, and yet Hannah comes off as bratty, selfish and ofttimes over-sensitive. Many of her "reasons" are things that everyone has experienced at some point and people generally file those under "bad days" and definitely don't kill themselves because of it.

But actually, I completely understood and sympathized with Hannah. As a suicide survivor, I even related to her at times. And, though I don't attempt to speak for everyone, I feel in a position to attest that there can be something bratty and selfish about suicide.

I think this book captured a certain feeling very well and I disagree with those who thought Hannah wasn't realistically suicidal. It's true that nobody kills themselves because they get stood up, and nobody kills themselves because some douche groped their ass, and nobody kills themselves because of a mean rumour... but each of these is a little bit more added to the weight that is crushing down on someone.

People like to look for clear-cut reasons that make sense. They want Hannah to give a good reason why she killed herself. But, in reality, it so rarely is one big reason you can point to. Most of the time, the little things all build up, day after day, one small thing after another, until the little reasons all blend into a single feeling of hopelessness.

That is what this book is about. And it's also about taking responsibility for your actions and understanding how your small selfish acts can affect someone else.

I did not have an issue believing in or finding sympathy for Hannah. My only real issue with this book was Clay, the revelation about him, and the way he viewed the truth about Hannah. Clay changes his mind about Hannah based on what he hears and decides she did not deserve to be slut-shamed because the rumours weren't true. But - would she have deserved the treatment any more if she had done what the rumours said? "No" is the answer. And I wish the book had taken the opportunity to address that.

But otherwise, this is a creative pageturner, even if it seems a bit strange that cassette tapes were being used in 2007. I liked it a lot and it really made me think.