Tolog Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
reviewed by Genevieve Spiotto

Our lives are filled with people who come and go. However, there are still people who stay in our lives, like our best friends, and even if we separate from these people, they still leave a lasting impact on our lives, and therefore stay with us even after they are gone. This, unfortunately, is the same for people who are not our friends. Some people come into our lives, only to end up hurting us, and then leave. These people also make lasting impacts on our lives. This is a major theme that circulates throughout the book Thirteen Reasons Why, as Hannah Baker learns this lesson.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a heartbreaking novel written by Jay Asher about a young girl whose pain leads her to commit suicide. The narrator of the novel, Clay Jenson, is an outsider in Hannah’s life who has trouble understanding Hannah’s want to commit suicide. After receiving a set of tapes that Hannah recorded, Clay is offered answers as to why Hannah committed suicide. By telling the story through both Clay’s and Hannah’s eyes, Asher gives the reader not only an understanding of what it’s like to be left by someone you care about, but also an understanding of why one would want to leave their whole life behind and everyone in it by committing suicide. Asher’s novel gives reader a new understanding of bullying and suicide, as you are sucked into Hannah’s story, finding yourself able to relate to not only Hannah’s pain, but also the actions of those who contributed to her depression, some of these actions seemingly harmless.

Asher creates a suspenseful and interesting story, with a very interesting flow, each chapter being a new story of a person who affected Hannah. The story tells about a snowball affect of rumors and bullying brought about by other people in Hannah’s life, and as the story unfolds, the reader helplessly watches the snowball continue to grow. All at the same, the reader is left in suspense as they wait for Clay’s story to come up on the tapes.

Thirteen Reasons Why is not only interesting, but also causes the reader to acquire a new awareness about how their actions can affect people, who may already be hurting. Many times it seemed that all Hannah really needed was one person to comfort her, and maybe she would have had someone to live for. The heartbreaking fact that no one could see Hannah’s pain creates a new awareness in people. The book teaches that you should treat everyone well, no matter who you are and what you hear about them, as you can never know what they are going through and how you will affect them. As Clay Jenson learns, you might end up pushing their snowball farther, causing it to grow.