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 the reasons why.
If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.


Oh. My. God.


This book was so AMAZING. It was amazing to the point where days after I finished the book, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Even when I was reading other books. It was just that powerful that it affected me emotionally. I don't cry when I read books, but this was truly heartwarming... and breaking at the same time. It also got me thinking, how teens end up killing themselves through suicide. What goes through their minds? What causes them to do such a thing which causes so many people to be hurt? There are clearly some factors, and Hannah had Thirteen Reasons Why.


Sure, mostly the list contained guys and what they did to her. But oh, my, god (again). WHAT THEY DID TO HER. I couldn't imagine that ever happening to me. It's quite horrifying that a girl, supposedly that pretty and popular would have that much trouble with life and how different people affect that. How boys used her, and broke her heart. How friends she thought were friends were just using her. How Clay... I won't give the book away. Slowly, little by little, the 13 reasons why Hannah committed suicide come together to form one puzzle which connects with one person (the reason) to another, which becomes a whole circle.


The sad thing is, this could have been prevented. As Hannah mentions in a few of the tapes, she gave warnings. She asked for help. No one helped her. That really just gets to me. I mean, so many suicides today could be prevented, but only if WE help them. 


Thirteen Reasons Why will always be stuck in my head. I may forget the reasons, but I will not forget how Hannah struggled through life, how she decided that life just wasn't worth living. It's BEAUTIFULLY written and very well detailed, in a format that's interesting and different from others. Readers will be captivated from the first word to the last, and won't give up on hearing Hannah's story.