TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why grasped my attention from the very first page. I had read this book a few years ago but I forgot all the details. Even though I had already read it, it captivated me once again. A big theme in this book is how a person’s action can always have repercussions. Hannah discusses this ongoing snowball effect and how it ultimately made her kill herself. The fact that what other people say and do can cause someone to harm him or herself really makes the reader rethink how they treat people. This book promotes people to treat each other with respect and to always do what is right. It also makes the reader think to take action on things instead of just watching things happen. For example, when people got the hot or not list, they could have stopped passing it around to stop people from getting hurt.

Another obvious theme in this book is suicide. Clay struggles with how he could have prevented Hannah from doing this. It makes one think about how to help people get through tough times and when they are depressed. The tapes Hannah makes discuss this huge theme of guilt and blame. Hannah makes these tapes that are the reasons why she killed herself. She wants every person responsible for her death to hear what they did to contribute and live with the guilt of having blood on their hands. The only thing this book leaves out is Hannah’s parents. I wish it put them in there to know how they felt about what Hannah did. It kept me wondering if they knew why she killed herself and if they feel responsible in any way.

            Thirteen Reasons Why shows adolescents as very irresponsible, sexual, and having very intense emotions. Through Hannah’s tapes, it shows how irresponsible all the guys were because they did whatever they wanted and did not think how their actions would affect others. Most of Hannah’s reasons why do not have a sense of personal responsibility. A lot of the struggles Hannah faces are sexual acts, such as slapping her butt. There are a lot of intense emotions that Hannah encounters and also Clay. Clay is having a lot of feelings of doubt and regret. Because of these intense emotions, I think it would appeal to adolescents since they can relate. I also think this text would appeal to adolescents because it is really different than all the other young adult books out there. They way that it is written through both Hannah and Clay’s point of view really captivates the reader. Also I think the fact that Hannah committed suicide in a way is intriguing to adolescents. It makes people want to know why and the suspense of where Clay fits in keeps the person engaged enough to continue reading.

            I would rate this book an A because it really captures the readers’ attention. I also think it promotes people to be kind to one another and realize how actions and words can impact people.