The book, "Thirteen Reasons Why," has taught me so much about how people should be treated and how much we all effect each other's lives, whether we know it or not. The main character, Hannah Baker, takes us in a journey to her past to help everyone, mainly the thirteen people she has directly pointed out, understand why she killed herself and how exactly they effected her life so much for her to want to end it. Although that may not sound like a fun story to delve into, once you start reading this book you will not be able to put it down. The diverse array of characters, the subjects she concurs and her view on the world will make you think about life more seriously and contemplate how you treat the ones around you. Please enjoy my thirteen reason why you should read, "Thirteen Reasons Why."
1. The characters are so complex.
In the story, Hannah Baker has killed herself but has left behind cassette tapes to explain the thirteen reasons why she did it. Each reason is a person, and our main character, Clay Jenson, is one of them. He doesn’t realize until about half way through the book the real reason that she included Clay in these tapes, but it really changes him. There are other people we learn about who treated Hannah Baker horribly, and when each person receives the cassette tapes, they are given these instructions: “The rules are pretty simple. There are only 2. Rule number 1: You listen. Rule number 2: You pass it on. Hopefully neither one will be easy for you.”
2. It is a young adult book with elements of mystery, murder, young love, growing up, and suicide; what not to love?
Through reading this I learned a lot about what it was like being a teenager, falling in love with someone, being bullied, bullying others, and feeling like your life is not worth the pain, but the most valuable thing I learned while reading this book came from something that Hannah Baker said; “You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.”
3. You won't know everything until the very end, and even then, not everything is as it seems.
Clay learns a lot about Hannah and because of her being suicidal, he decides to reach out to another kid he assumes is also suicidal to help him out. That is the thing about this book, while reading it you and the characters in the story all learn something. “After all, how often do we get a second chance?”
4. Following Hannah's story is so intriguing, you won't be able to put the book down.
You’ll be as intrigued as Clay is and you will want to spend all your time reading and deciphering her words and figuring out what could have been done to prevent the inevitable, but, “You can't rewrite the past.”
5. It's inspirational and says a lot about the inner workings of a teenager’s mind.
“Sometimes we have thoughts that even we don’t understand. Thoughts that aren’t even true—that aren’t really how we feel—but they’re running through our heads anyway because they’re interesting to think about.
If you could hear other people’s thoughts, you’d overhear things that are true as well as things that are completely random. And you wouldn’t know one from the other. It’d drive you insane. What’s true? What’s not? A million ideas, but what do they mean?”
6. It subtly talks about rape and sexual assault without making it exactly clear because outright saying you were raped can sometimes come off as lying for attention (don't you just love the double standard?)
“Like driving along a bumpy road and losing control of the steering wheel, tossing you—just a tad—off the road. The wheels kick up some dirt, but you're able to pull it back. Yet no matter how hard you try to drive straight, something keeps jerking you to the side. You have so little control over anything anymore. And at some point, the struggle becomes too much—too tiring—and you consider letting go. Allowing tragedy... or whatever... to happen.”
7. It is a book for everyone!
“Because it may seem like a small role now, but it matters. In the end, everything matters.”
8. My mom made me read this book when I was about 12 and it really shaped how I thought about relationships.
Reading this at such a young age was really helpful and influenced me to try my best not to treat people the way people treated Hannah Baker.
“A flood of emotions rushes into me. Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope.”
9. There are many lessons to be learned.
“Soul Alone by Hannah Baker
I meet your eyes
you don't even see me
You hardly respond
when I whisper
hello
Could be my soul mate
two kindred spirits
Maybe we're not
I guess we'll never
know
My own mother
you carried me in you
Now you see nothing
but what I wear
People ask you
how I'm doing
You smile and nod
don't let it end
there
Put me
underneath God's sky and
know me
don't just see me with your eyes
Take away
this mask of flesh and bone and
See me
for my soul
alone.”
10. The author is amazing!
Check out other books by Jay Asher, “The Future of Us,” “Positive,” “What Light,” and “Thirteen Reasons Why: 10th Anniversary Edition.”
11. Who doesn't love a happy ending? Well, read it anyways!
“You can’t go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is…now.”
12. It's a New York Times Bestseller and has won many awards.
It reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list in 2011 and has won the International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choice, the Writing Conference’s Literature Festival, the Best Books for Young Adults, the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, the Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, the California Book Award, and the Kirkus Reviews Editors Choice.
13. It is being turned into a mini-series that will be available on Netflix on March 31, 2017! (So, you still have time to read the book!)
Selena Gomez is the executive producer for the Netflix series so we should all binge watch the series when it comes out to see how these complex characters and amazing dialogue are translated into a series. All I can say to the author and the team behind the new Netflix series is, “thank you.”
