Tolog Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
reviewed by Claire Villegas

Clay Jensen is one of the thirteen individuals whose life was changed when a box of cassette tapes from Hannah Baker comes into possession. Clay finds the tapes on his front porch one day and soon discovers they are audio recordings from Hannah Baker, the new girl with a bad reputation and Clay’s crush. These tapes unravel the mystery to why she killed herself just two weeks ago.

Through a duel narrative from Clay and Hannah, we learn not only her thirteen reasons but also more information from Clay as he listens to the tapes. As the story goes on, we learn that it all started with just one boy and that everything went downhill from there. As Clay listens, he despises how people treated Hannah badly and regrets some of his decisions. He blames himself for not doing anything to prevent her suicide and wishes he did something to show Hannah how he felt about her earlier. Clay learns that although he is too late to save Hannah, he is not too late to help those around him.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a novel filled with mystery and suspense that is unlike any other. Jay Asher’s use of a duel narrative shows the two sides to this story and offers different perspectives. I loved this book not only because of the mystery and characters but also because it brought up relevant issues. Bullying is a big problem and leads to many ending their life just as Hannah Baker did. This book shows the negative impact that people’s actions can have on a person. Jay Asher brilliantly addresses contemporary issues while producing a good read that is impossible to put down.