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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Just wow.
Okay so it is almost two in the morning, so this review may not make any sense, or may be all over the place. I don't know, but bear with me here...
This book. This book made me feel some type of way. And if we are going to be honest, it wasn't pleasant.
Why I say it wasn't pleasant, isn't book I didn't enjoy the book--which is the opposite, I loved the book. It was haunting and a topic I think needs to be discussed more. This book made me feel. This book made me reflect, not only on my perception of me, but also on how my actions and words effect those around me.
13 Reasons Why, is told through the perspective of Clay, a teen who for all intents and purposes is the goody-to shoes, if you will. However, the story isn't about Clay, but rather about Hannah. Hannah is a girl who killed herself two weeks prior to the books beginning, leaving behind cassette tapes for thirteen people who played a role in her decision to end it all.
I finished this in one sitting. I could not for the life of me, set this down. Not because it grabbed me (which it did), but rather I felt that if I put the book down, I wouldn't return to the book with the same intensity and feeling I had before--I believed that Hannah's story deserved my emotion, it deserved the five hours I so willingly gave up. Why? Because I can relate to Hannah. For the first time in a very long time, I found a character that felt the same way I did for the past decade.
This book, in my own humble opinion, gave a beautiful and realistic glimpse into the world of girl's whose life was falling apart, who just for once wanted to be believed and not thrust aside-she wanted someone to actually want to care. It just so happened that it got to the point that the only way she saw for relief was by ending it all.
Through his storytelling, Asher screams to his readers--us--to look at how we interact with others, to watch our actions and our words, because we never know the impact it will have on a person. That very point of contact, could be the one thing that saves someone, or tips them over. For me that is what I took away most from this book. After closing the last page, I literally sat in my bed and just stared at the wall. Thinking of all the times my actions or my words could have effected someone--or did effect someone; and the most daunting and question that arose was, did I actually care?
Did I care about the power that my words had or the power that my actions create? If I am being brutally honest, these past few months. No I didn't. After reading this book...that scared me the most, and is something I have learned and will keep with me for the rest of my life hopefully. Like Clay, I walk away from this book knowing to reach out, be aware of the signs, and to honestly and sincerely care--because no matter what. EVERYONE is important.
OK, so this book is about a very touchy subject—suicide. If I’m going to focus on that issue, here are my thoughts. A lot of her problems (minus one circumstance) were things that happen a lot to girls/boys in high school. I worry that this kind of glorifies suicide and that anyone who is going through similar issues might see suicide as a better solution. I also didn’t like how she blamed everyone else for her suicide. She did admit that in the end it was her choice, but she is essentially ruining several people’s lives by blaming them for her death. How does a person move on after they believe that they were the reason for someone committing suicide? I do understand that the point is more so that people should be aware of their actions and words, because you never know how it will affect someone. I like that concept, but I wish that the book showed how the actual bullies were changed by the story, and not just the person who was caring and considerate the whole time.
With that touchy subject out of the way, I’ll focus on the actual novel. I liked the idea of the audio tapes and the narrative switching back and forth from Clay to Hannah. It gave a more dynamic story than just switching off each chapter, as multiple-perspective books usually do. However, I did find it to be very confusing at times. Sometimes things were happening to Clay as he was listening to Hannah’s tapes, so the stories would get kind of jumbled in my head. I had to go back and reread some sections for clarification. The story was intriguing enough that I didn’t mind too much about that. I definitely wanted to keep reading without stopping.
To read the rest of my review, go here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.blogspot.com/2015/03/thirteen-reasons-why-jay-asher.html
Thirteen Reasons Why is one of the books that has been on my TBR list for a long time, and one that has come highly recommended by some of my YA fan friends and a couple of former students as well. I knew the book centered around a girl's suicide, and I guess that is what held me back from reading it. Despite my dread of the topic, I found this to be a unique, thought-provoking book. Asher's decision to write this with two different narrators is one of the things that makes the book unique and very powerful. When Hannah decides to take her own life, she also decides to leave behind a series of cassette tapes on which she has recorded the reasons why. Half of the book is told through Hannah's voice on these tapes. The rest of the book is told from the point of view of Clay, a classmate of Hannah's who had more than a slight crush on her, as he listens to the tapes. The result is that the reader comes to understand and empathize with Hannah--with her anger, her hurt, and ultimately the despair that led her to believe death was her only answer; however, the reader also comes to an intimate understanding of Clay's anger, guilt, hurt, and desolation as he mourns the loss of a girl he cared about and all that died along with her.
This is a book that teens, parents, teachers,...anyone who deals with teens, actually, should read. It brings young adult issues to light, and artfully (if painfully) helps readers to understand how these issues are often internalized and can become debilitating for teens. The book makes it clear that teens may be able to work through such issues if they have support and feel connected to caring individuals who will help them to find perspective and hope. I was pleasantly surprised with the book's ending, which was another factor in the power the book holds.
It's a book that deals with a huge issue & does it in an... OK way. OK? Probably the right word I think, mostly because empathy (or sympathy) was in short supply. The litmus test being that I shed no tears whilst reading this book. As a man who cries at the drop of a hat (adverts, sad looking animals, happy looking animals... just animals), this suggests to me that the level of emotional engagement may be a little lower than it could have been.