Reviews with content warning for Grief - Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why was such a great read! I can't tell you how many times I cried because of this book. Jay Asher, in my perspective, did such a great job of putting Clay and Hannah's stories into one. Not only was the stop, play, and pause buttons very creative, but how he used them or more specifically: where. For instance, when Clay would need to stop because of his parents (which is totally relatable) or whenever he needed to recollect his thoughts.

I think that making Hannah a love interest for Clay was a spectacular idea. At first I thought it was a little cliché, but I started to notice that his love for Hannah is what kept us going. That, and the mystery behind Clay's tape (which I'm not going to get too far into due to spoilers).

Lastly, the reason (no pun intended) I think Thirteen Reasons Why was such an amazing read was because of the real life situations. It named almost every possible thing I could think of, whether it was blatantly said or hidden in the characters. Depression, suicide, rape, alcoholism, narcissism, sex addiction, LGBTQ+, etc.

Just the way that Asher put horrible, tormenting things into fiction made the problems beautiful. Not beauty in a way where the actual problem is beautiful, but in a way where it teaches us of the dangers. This book warns us about what other people are going through. It basically teaches us that everyone goes through something and could be hard to detect it. Also, that everything leads up to something.

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lei_reads's review

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.25

I hated how the author romanticised suicide and how he wrote the POVs.

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maudsmeets's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.5

Wasted potential.

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caitlinjohnson's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I started reading this because I wanted to watch the show and I wanted to read the book first. What I love about this book is that it doesn't sugar-coat anything, it really shows what Hannah's going through and, even though it's seen through Clay's eyes, you get a look at how the other characters have grown and responded to the tapes, knowing everything. I also love that at the end it gives Clay a chance to make a difference in someone else's life who's hurting like Hannah was.

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brookey8888's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Honestly every time I reread this it hits me harder. This book is just so sad but also important because one thing big or small can change someone’s life, for better or worse. Honestly I think this isn’t a five because like you don’t get to know Clay really, it’s only Hannah you get to know.

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justanotherbookontheshelf's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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