From Amazon: Clay Jensen returns home from school one day to find a mysterious box, with his name on it, lying on the porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she did what she did - and Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list - and it'll change Clay's life forever. I have found this difficult to review and have spent ages staring at my computer trying to find the right words to describe how I feel about this book. I had wanted to read it for ages, having read amazing reviews for the US edition and was super excited to get my hands on a copy when it was finally available here in the UK. However I found myself disappointed in it. That’s not to say I don’t think it was well written because I do: Jay Asher did an amazing job creating the characters and fitting Hannah’s story into Clay’s narrative. The problem I had was I hated the story. Or rather I hated Hannah’s actions and not just her decision to end her life but also with the whole concept of the tapes. I understand why some people were on her list of recipients but there were others where I felt their inclusion was cruel. I thought the whole point of the novel was to convey the message that we should take note on how we treat others because it does have consequences yet I felt Hannah’s actions both with her death and with the tapes went against that. Instead of feeling sympathy towards her I just felt angry. I know I may have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager but none of what she described felt, to me at least, as something you couldn’t get back from.
As you can see I spent a lot of time thinking about this novel and although I may not have liked it I’m starting to think that might not have been its intention. If the author’s aim was to make me think he succeeded. And will I think about how I treat others after reading it – definitely.
