If there was ever a book that made you sit and think, really think hard, about every interaction you have ever had with another person, Jay Asher’s #1 New York Times and International Bestseller “13 Reasons Why” is it. It compels you to look deeper into yourself and opens your eyes to the sad realty of suicide and how the words and actions you say have a larger impact.
The book follows the narration of the main character, Clay, who receives a box full of tapes in the mail. There are seven tapes in total, each double sided; 13 of those tapes have recorded messages from a girl named Hannah who had recently committed suicide. Each person that the box of tapes is sent to had, in some way, played a role in her suicide. Each person is blackmailed into listening to all the tapes; otherwise another box of tapes will be sent out for everyone to hear, the truth of her death no longer remaining a secret.
Each tape builds on the other, interweaving the moments together that created the snowball effect that could not be stopped. Some of the interactions seem minor while others are quite obvious; each is vital to her message and eventual suicide.
Most people are aware that their actions can negatively affect someone in some way or another, but people aren't aware that even the smallest things can create astronomical consequences. Sometimes it isn't even the words said, but the way in which the words are used or even the context or situation that the words are used.
Asher brings to light the power of our actions and how real suicide is. After reading this book, you are no longer the same and you never will be. It is a powerful book that resonates with its readers long after the covers are shut. As your fingers brush across the pages and pinch the corners to turn to the next page you are sent to another world, living in Hannah’s torment and feeling her pain while also grappling with Clay’s frustration and heartbreak. As you read with Clay and listen to Hannah telling her story, interwoven as if through conversation, you are able to live out both sides; the pain the person going through the battle of suicide feels as well as the heartache and confusion left in their wake through the people they left behind.
Books do an amazing job of bringing to light the human condition and allowing people to delve in and realize that they are not alone in this world. This is a book that does just that. It is suspenseful and mesmerizing until the very last page. It allows for people to see the other side, what people considering suicide are actually going through and how, even for them, it is not an easy choice.
This is not a book for the light hearted or those who are uncomfortable with controversial or hard topics. This is a book that is going to make you uncomfortable and will change you for the better. It will leave a lasting imprint on you that is impossible to shake. While it may be uncomfortable, it is an important and profound work of literature that should be indulged by anyone struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide. Those who have lost loved ones to suicide, teenagers going through the troubles of high school, or to those who want to understand more about the human condition can read this and become more aware.
This is a book that will change your life and make you rethink everything you thought you knew. Once you turn to the first page and start reading you will not be able to stop until you reach the last tape.
