Scan barcode
A review by joemdief
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
4.0
Suicide..A topic most are at least slightly uncomfortable discussing, but one which has a lasting impression on everyone's lives it variably impacts. A good friend of mine chose to end his life a little over three years ago and, although all of "signs" were there, everyone who cared about him was either too ignorant to take his suggestions seriously, or too blind to realize the cry for help he was implying through his words and actions. After a tragedy like this, those who he had reached out to desperately searched for what they could have done to try and stop him from taking his life. By then, we had all "missed the boat", so to say. I thought, "My inaction on this day could have saved him, but I chose to do nothing." It's a startling sadness. Something insignificant can trigger the feeling, like a title wave, flooding back to you. Reading Hannah's thoughts led me to muse about the life, and potential last thoughts of that dear friend.
I presume it to be true that suicidal thoughts are an illness, a sickness that takes over a person's life, possessing them, creating a tenable plan of escape from a world the ill do not feel they belong in. Most people don't realize how one action, for good or ill, can set in motion a destructive train of events.
The antagonist in this story is not Hannah, or even her ghostly audio cassettes, but the repeated connotation positing that suicide is preventable, and certainly no joke. Any plea for help should never be overlooked, and people should consider what they say and do before acting. Noone could possibly predict an exact conseqeunce. Although this review sounds quite maudlin, I feel very drawn by the motif of "Thirteen Reasons Why". It resonates with me, and I believe that everyone should be more aware of the subject, Suicide, regardless of their comfort level. This book only covers one girls suffering with this illness, and there are more cases than imaginable, each different. Asher's novel left me to ponder. Beautiful story, in a very sad way.
I presume it to be true that suicidal thoughts are an illness, a sickness that takes over a person's life, possessing them, creating a tenable plan of escape from a world the ill do not feel they belong in. Most people don't realize how one action, for good or ill, can set in motion a destructive train of events.
The antagonist in this story is not Hannah, or even her ghostly audio cassettes, but the repeated connotation positing that suicide is preventable, and certainly no joke. Any plea for help should never be overlooked, and people should consider what they say and do before acting. Noone could possibly predict an exact conseqeunce. Although this review sounds quite maudlin, I feel very drawn by the motif of "Thirteen Reasons Why". It resonates with me, and I believe that everyone should be more aware of the subject, Suicide, regardless of their comfort level. This book only covers one girls suffering with this illness, and there are more cases than imaginable, each different. Asher's novel left me to ponder. Beautiful story, in a very sad way.