Asher, J. (2007). Thirteen Reasons Why. NY: Razorbill. 288 pages.
The main character is Clay Jensen, who has always had a crush on a fellow classmate, Hannah Baker. Here’s the problem: a few weeks before the novel opens, Hannah committed suicide. One day, Clay finds a package on his front steps, and opens it to find audio tapes that Hannah recorded prior to her death, describing 13 reasons why she committed suicide. Each reason is a different person, and each person on the list is instructed to listen to the tapes. Clay’s character is brilliantly developed, but my major problem with this book is that I was really annoyed by the character of Hannah. I imagined what it would be like to actually be a recipient of audio tapes like this, and for some reason Hannah’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard in my head. I will say this: the novel is different from anything else I have ever read. There is/was a lot of buzz about this book because of the original concept & content.
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