Tolog Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
reviewed by Lauren Risha

Suicide; it’s a word that people are often afraid of. It’s a word that can cause extreme chaos or silence a room. Often we tend to shy away from acknowledging the truth of this so-called ugly word and ignore its meaning. But in his compelling novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher steps out of society’s comfort zone by exploring this very human tragedy and its causes. 

Asher’s story follows the metaphysical journey of Clay Jensen as he uncovers more about the suicide of his friend and long time crush, Hannah Baker. After strangely discovering a box of mixed tapes with Hannah’s voice recordings on them, Clay commences on a journey all over town to discover the real reason why Hannah took her own life. As his adventure unfolds, Clay realizes that it only takes a few small occurrences to add up to a devastating result.

The author does a great job of explaining suicide in a non-creepy way, which I thought was really valuable. The duality of perspective shown through the alternating of points of view really reveals what Hannah was feeling and why, along with how Clay reacted to each line Hannah said. The complication of Clay being Hannah’s unrequited lover pulled on my heart strings and kept me reading on; almost hoping that this hauntingly dead character would miraculously come back to life. I loved how Asher used the motif of old tapes and old tape players to demonstrate the senescence of Hannah’s feelings. 

Reading this book truly changed the way I see suicide and suicidal people. As each seemingly irrelevant event in Hannah’s life was revealed, I began to see how tiny acts of hate could snowball into a ball of hopelessness. My understanding of this thought process grew and I realized that any kind gesture, no matter how small, can stop tragedy from occurring. This novel inspired me to always keep my mind open to what people can be going through in their personal lives, and to act in a way that could only diminish suicidal thoughts. I will never forget the lessons this book has taught me, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a thought provoking read.