Thirteen Reasons Why: Book Review

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.

This book shows you how it is like to be giving up… on yourself. You get to see Hannah the main character's downfall. After reading this book, you will start considering the way you look at people, the way you judge people based on what you hear or what’s apparent. There is so much more in a person than any of us can figure out.

This book will also make you reconsider the way you treat people because sometimes, it’s okay to ask for help or even offer help. You don’t know, you may end up saving someone’s life without even knowing it. Believe it or not, many people around us are in pain, especially in high school, where most of us - if not all - are in pain. I may sound confusing, but when you read this book, you will understand what I mean.

I have to be honest with you. I picked up this book with high expectations. The idea itself gripped me. Unfortunately, this book didn’t turn out as good as I thought it was going to be, but it was a good story. What I like the most in a book is one that makes you feel and think, which what “Thirteen Reasons Why” offers.

I didn’t find this book hard to put down. The characters weren’t anything unique or interesting, but you learn from their mistakes, especially the main characters. Basically, watch what they did wrong and do the opposite. And yes it’s harder than it sounds, but it has good results. Also, I’m just speaking of myself here, the ending didn’t satisfy me. This story felt incomplete. I wished we could see more of the people on the tapes, how these tapes changed them.

What I really didn’t like about this book is the writing. It wasn’t that good. I noticed several grammatical mistakes as I was reading it. There was no character description. Although I didn’t like the writing style, I’m still glad I read this book.

I couldn’t bring myself to give this book a 2 because at the end, it has a meaningful story. You should check out this book. It’s a very easy but also a very dark read. I don't recommend this for teens under 15.

Mark: 3.5/5