Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Written by: Jay Asher
Series: N/A
Publisher: Razorbill
Publish Date: October 18. 2007
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 288
Source: Borrowed from Library
Buy the Book: Thirteen Reasons Why
Synopsis: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 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. Clay is one of them. 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. (Via Amazon)
Brian: Shaunta and I both had the great pleasure in meeting Jay Asher at writing conferences in the last month, Shaunta at RWA, and me at SCBWI. He’s warm, funny, super approachable. He told me the fascinating backstory of how his book got to the shelves, and how it’s grown in popularity over the last six years. I know he gave Shaunta a lot of great advice for the first years of being an author, too, and I know how much this conversation meant to her. So after we both got the opportunity to meet him, we knew exactly what to make our August book. Thirteen Reasons Why! And I’m glad we did, because now I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. Jay Asher is a remarkable writer, telling this haunting story in a way that makes you want to savor all of Hannah’s stories but at the same time makes you want to flip through the pages as fast as you can.
Shaunta: Thirteen Reasons Why had been on my radar, and my bookshelf, for a while. I have a quirk that makes sad books difficult for me. I knew that this one was about teen suicide, so I hesitated. I’m really glad I read it though. It’s a great story told in a way that makes it completely compelling. I couldn’t stop reading. I loved that it was Hanna’s story told through the eyes of a boy who loved her. The idea of the story of a suicide told through the perspective of the one person who might have really been able to make a difference was a great one. It made the story that much more intense. The reader might not be able to identify directly to Hannah, but Clay is like an everyman.
Brian: I loved putting myself in Clay’s shoes throughout the book, wondering what I would do in such a unique and eerie situation as this one, someone from beyond the grave giving me a walk-through toward an unthinkable discovery. In the first 50 pages I struggled a little bit with the idea that if a girl was knowingly going to kill herself, would she go to all this effort and means to plan the kind of journey she would never be able to experience herself. But once I looked past this reservation, and came on board, I sped through the book in just two days. I loved that the book never glorifies nor ridicules Hannah’s decision. I also liked that Clay didn’t judge her for her actions. Thirteen Reasons Why is the kind of moving story that keeps you thinking about it days and weeks after you’ve finished it, and that’s the kind of power this book puts over its readers that keeps them coming back. It was a pleasure to meet Jay in person, and now I can call myself a fan. I can’t wait to see what he brings out next!
Shaunta: Meeting Jay was absolutely the highlight of my summer. Thirteen Reasons Why wasn’t an easy read. It was sad and heart wrenching as well as a compelling page-turner. It’s easy to see why readers have made this one a bestseller. The pacing of the story, the intertwining of the two storylines–Hannah’s story and Clay’s experience of hearing it–made this book incredible. I love long, epic stories–but sometimes a book that just tells the story of one night has just as massive an impact.
