13 Reasons Why (a book review)

Published October 28, 2010

What if you could have saved someone’s life and you didn’t?

What if your name was included on a list of 13 reasons why someone committed suicide?

And what if 12 other individuals had access to that list because 11 of them are also on it?

High school student, Clay Jensen arrives home one afternoon to find a package on his front porch addressed to him. With no return label. Inside are seven audio cassettes marked in nail polish with numbers and letters, but who are they from? And who listens to cassette tapes nowadays anyway? Clay dashes off to the garage and digs out the old tape player, inserts Cassette 1, Side A, and is shocked to hear the voice of his long-time crush, and now dead friend, Hannah Baker. The Hannah he recently kissed at a party. The Hannah who committed suicide two weeks ago.

The rules of the tapes are simple, “Rule number one: You listen. Number Two: You pass it on. Hopefully, neither will be easy for you.” And let me just say it now: It won’t.

Thus begins a night long journey for Clay through Hannah’s carefully mapped out reasons for deeming suicide her only option. One by one, he walks the downtown haunts where each of the 13 stories unfold, her voice coming through a walkman headset as she guides him toward the defining moments leading up to the end of her life–just as the 12 other individuals whom these tapes will pass to (or have already passed through) will do. Clay’s detachment at the initial seemingly unrelated events is gradually followed by frustration. Then horror. Then tears. Interspersed with Hannah’s own tears on tape.

As the night wears on, Clay’s experience is akin to watching an assortment of toy dominoes being set up, so awkwardly jig-jagged, yet so perfectly balanced, as he awaits that final trigger which will send them colliding. Until the morning shadows grow along with the awful realization that had just one domino (or event) been removed or responded to differently, this might have been enough to alter the course of Hannah’s future.

In the words of the author, Jay Asher, “Everything affects everything.”

What I liked:

1. The premise. How often do I think something’s an original idea? Not very. This is.
2. It’s literary, which, as you know, is something I particularly appreciate in a YA novel.
3. The difference between Hannah and Clay’s voices. A pet peeve of mine is when a novel alternates first person narrators and they sound EXACTLY the same (especially when they’re opposite sexes). It leaves one feeling either confused, or bored, or both. Fortunately for us, Mr. Asher nails the tone, attitudes, and style of speech for each individual in a way that other authors should take notes on.
4. Along those lines, I appreciated that Clay and Hannah’s voices were interspersed with each other, giving the effect of conversation rather than one-sided chunks of information.
5. Which leads me to the dialogue. There are multiple reasons 13 Reasons Why sat for 65 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and this right here is one of them. Dialogue is tricky to write—let alone one-sided dialogue (or monologue, technically) which sounds conversational. Mr. Asher achieves this on 2 different levels: first through Hannah’s tapes; then through Clay’s internal thoughts.
6. The message. I respect an author who can make a life-impacting point in a novel without “preaching” at the reader. Not only does Asher accomplish this, he does it well, issuing a convicting challenge along with a measure of hope—the latter of which I found surprising considering the topic.
7. The fact that Mr. Asher tells reality like it is. Okay, I’ll be honest; this book will be a little too much for some. It’s intense and, at a few points, rather graphic in its endeavor to offer a fairly accurate portrayal of high school life. It’s not that all teens will experience these 13 issues, but I guarantee they’ve dealt with some of them, and probably heard stories about the rest. Is it uncomfortable at times? Yes. Did I cry? Yes. But it gives realistic context to the heavier subjects the youth of today deal with. Bullying. Peer pressure. Rape. Suicide.
8. The online notes I’ve read from individuals who claim this book acted as a lifeline in their deepest seasons of depression when they felt alone and that no one could relate. Well done, Jay. Well done.

What annoyed me: Actually…nothing.

An FYI for next week:  The author of 13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher, will be interviewed by yours truly. Right here. And I predict you’ll like him .

What’s the mood noise of the moment?  The Fray: How to Save a Life

Tags: 13 Reasons Why, book review, Jay Asher, YA books