So far, I think this book is my favorite. Clay Jensen, a student in high school, comes home to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker-his classmate and crush-who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Instead of numbered chapters, the book is broken up into "Cassette 1: Side A" and so on. There are 7 tapes, 13 sides. Clay is one of the sides . If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
This book is harrowing, to say the least. Diving deep into the depths of Hannah's mind, the reader gets her perspective on life and the spiral of Depression. When I read the back of the book I assumed the reasons would be big blatant issues, but really it seemed like a bunch of smaller issues that when added up just made it too much to handle. This is not to say there aren't big issues, but not every reason (standing by itself) is a giant catastrophe.
This book envokes a lot of emotions, or at least it did in me-sadness, anger, confusion, happiness, and more. It made me think in depth about how our everyday actions/interactions/lack of action can impact another person. While there is some sexual content, there's not a ton of profanity. If I were a teacher, I don't think I would teach it in the classroom just because the content is so heavy-some students may not be mentally or emotionally ready or strong enough to read it. As a soon-to-be counselor, however, I would definitely keep it in my office. Totally worth reading as an adult for sure.
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