Thirteen Reasons Why - Book Review
The 12th book I read in my 24 books was Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
Ok, so unless you've been living under a rock you already know what this book is about. The controversy surrounding the Netflix series and this book are completely insane but probably warranted.
I have to start this by saying suicide is something that has effected me and my family, so it isn't something I take lightly.
Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl, Hannah, who has committed suicide and leaves behind a series of tapes that explain why she did what she did. With the tapes is a list of people that are supposed to receive these tapes, one after another. We see the story and hear the tapes through the eyes and ears of Clay, a boy who had a crush on Hannah.
From an adult point of view, I can say that what this girl seemed to experience was not ok, but kids are cruel and the same things that happened to her have happened to me and I'm sure to most kids in the world. I'm not trying to minimize her pain as I realize that many teens commit suicide for these exact reasons all the time. I do know that this book and I'm sure the tv series (I haven't seen it) don't really glorify suicide as some people are saying. They seem to very well show how people hurt and it effects other people's lives but it did also make it seem like Hannah got the last word. She got to tell her story through these tapes. Anyone who knows somebody that has committed suicide knows, the following through with the act, in reality, silences your voice.
I don't know how I felt about this book. It might be my least favorite book I've read this year. It almost made me feel grimy. This could be due to my previous experience with suicide as well as my battles with depression and anxiety and not actually the book. I don't know.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Razorbill; 1st Edition (June 14, 2011)
Ok, so unless you've been living under a rock you already know what this book is about. The controversy surrounding the Netflix series and this book are completely insane but probably warranted.
I have to start this by saying suicide is something that has effected me and my family, so it isn't something I take lightly.
Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl, Hannah, who has committed suicide and leaves behind a series of tapes that explain why she did what she did. With the tapes is a list of people that are supposed to receive these tapes, one after another. We see the story and hear the tapes through the eyes and ears of Clay, a boy who had a crush on Hannah.
From an adult point of view, I can say that what this girl seemed to experience was not ok, but kids are cruel and the same things that happened to her have happened to me and I'm sure to most kids in the world. I'm not trying to minimize her pain as I realize that many teens commit suicide for these exact reasons all the time. I do know that this book and I'm sure the tv series (I haven't seen it) don't really glorify suicide as some people are saying. They seem to very well show how people hurt and it effects other people's lives but it did also make it seem like Hannah got the last word. She got to tell her story through these tapes. Anyone who knows somebody that has committed suicide knows, the following through with the act, in reality, silences your voice.
I don't know how I felt about this book. It might be my least favorite book I've read this year. It almost made me feel grimy. This could be due to my previous experience with suicide as well as my battles with depression and anxiety and not actually the book. I don't know.
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