Reviews with content warning for Rape - Thirteen Reasons Why

I knew how the story would end and Hannah's reasons, because I've already watched the Netflix show in it's entirety. The audiobook is done very well with Clay's confusion and distraught state whole listening and Hannah's emotions throughout telling her story. The book has landed on banned and challenged lists for years due to its topic of suicide (among other issues), but teens especially need to be openly discussing the issue. Teens contemplate, attempt, and even commit suicide often, and I appreciate Asher for using Hannah's voice to show how usually the cause is not one problem but the compounding of multiple life happenings.

The book mostly occurs all in one afternoon, evening, and night as Clay listens to the taped after finding them delivered to his house. He cuts in giving his thoughts on the events as Hannah tells her truths, and for me that added nuance to understanding who Hannah and all the people cast in her reasons are. I love how accurate season 1 of the show is to the book, except it plays out over more than one night. The show stuck with me, and the book will, too, in its own way.

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baluga's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Spoilers

This novel was a dark journey of reflecting on the human condition where we turn our heads the opposite direction when something is off. Continually, do you see the events leading to Hannah baker's death be caused by not only the outright doers but also those that chose not to change the narrative. Firstly, was the rumour that she let Justin go farther than a kiss at the playground which kick started a reputation that gave excuses for others to assume they had a right to do certain things. Justin started the rumour but nobody dared correct it or ask. Secondly the hot or not list. As it was passed around the class no one decided this was disgusting and ripped it, threw it out or anything. Humans will simply adhere to what others do to fit in or in the eyes of teenagers and most others supposedly, "survive". I did disagree with Hannah over the way she decided to reveal these secrets. I found it to be placing blame on others while lacking the other half of the story where you also need to take responsibility for sharing your feelings. It's easier for people to pretend you don't exist when you stay silent. However she did end up sharing how she felt and took responsibility when it came to saying she was no better in the Bryce and Jessica incident. But she did talk to someone, or at least tried to. She talked to Mr. Porter who dismissed her by saying you either confront Bryce or move on. Instead of providing support for a traumatic experience. In the end I believe this story to be a direct way of saying bystanders are just as responsible for injustices as the aggressor and to reach out or put a stop to wrong doing's instead of living passively. A book that had a similar message was station eleven by Emily St. john Mandel.

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yuze's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

to me, this book was interesting enough to keep me turning its pages. i was curious enough to want to know who's next in the list and what did they do. one major thing i did not like is how narrow hannah's view of the world is. but i guess she was still a child and as far as she knew, highschool was probably the world to her.

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_viola__'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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marcusbryan777's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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raekoch's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Such a hard topic. I couldn’t stop reading once started but have been avoiding this one for a while. Glad I read it but definitely could be a trigger.

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