Thirteen Reasons Why

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

One day Clay Jensen comes home from school to find a shoe box package with no return address. At first hes excited, but when he opens the box, he finds seven cassette tapes. And when he plays them, he finds that they were recorded by a classmate named Hannah Baker, a girl who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Recorded on the tapes are thirteen reasons why Hannah chose to end her life. The reasons are all linked to specific people, and the tapes are passed onto those people in the order they are on Hannahs list. They are all, in some way, responsible for Hannahs death. Clay stays out the whole night, listening to the sounds of Hannahs voice leading him throughout the town, basically reliving select experiences from Hannahs life that lead up to her decision to end it.

Hannahs narration is interwoven with Clays actions and memories, which sometimes makes the story confusing to read. However, it does help to better understand both Clays and Hannahs emotions. Hannahs reasons for suicide are hard to read for Clay, who alternates between blaming himself and blaming Hannah for not letting Clay reach out to her. It was hard for me to read as well, and I cried many times while reading.

For a debut novel, Thirteen Reasons Why is exceptionally well written for such a serious topic. It is often difficult to address things such as suicide because many people dont want to discuss it. However, I think this book was wonderfully written. This novel thoroughly demonstrates the consequences of even the smallest actions and what the piling up of problems can cause, which Hannah refers to as the snowball effect. There are so many life lessons to be learned from this novel. I highly recommend this book because it has truly changed the way I think.

Reader reviewed by Mary

What leads someone to commit suicide? A question that people find hard to answer. Because the answer is something some people don`t want to hear. You may not know it but you may have done something that negatively impacted someone.


So Clay Jenson is surprised when he receives thirteen little tapes from Hannah Baker, his classmate who committed suicide. Hannah of the tape, explains that each person who receives this tape has caused her to commit suicide. The rules of the tapes are: Listen and then pass it on. And Clay starts listening and learns the truth about Hannah`s life...



This book is a truly touching story. It was very well written and even though Hannah you know that Hannah is going to kill herself at the end you`ll find yourself wishing that she hadn`t.

Reader reviewed by The Story Siren

What an unbelievable book. If you havent read it, you should. If your thinking about reading it do it now.


I dont know about you, but I love getting stuff in the mail, especially getting packages. Well so does the main character of this story, Clay. But Clay would rather have not received this package.


Hannah Baker. Clay has had a crush on Hannah forever, but he never had the guts to really tell her. Now he never will. Hannah committed suicide. But before Hannah killed herself she left something behind. Seven cassette tapes. Seven tapes that tell the story of the thirteen people that caused Hannah to feel that she had no where to turn.


Each person has a story within the tapes and it is your responsibility after you listen to the tapes to pass it onto the next person. But what did Clay do? How could he be one of the people responsible for her suicide, he will have to listen to the tapes to find out.


This is one of the most compelling books Ive ever read. It is right up there with Picoults Nineteen Minutes. This is definitely one of those books that makes you look at the way you treat people and how fragile we are as humans. I cried, I laughed, I felt.


Suicide is the third leading cause of death in people ranging in the ages 15-24. If you know someone who has talked about committing suicide, please dont take it lightly. You might be the one person they are reaching out to.

Reader reviewed by Jocelyn

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY focuses on the set of audiotapes made by a girl named Hannah Baker right before she killed herself. There are thirteen sides to the tapes recorded. And theyre going to be heard by thirteen people. Thirteen of the reasons why Hannah ended her life.

This story is not just Hannahs; it is also Clays. Clay had a crush on Hannah for ages, watching her from afar (but not in a creepy way). And hes one of the thirteen people to receive the tapes. This book takes place mostly on the night that Clay wanders around town, visiting the places mentioned in Hannahs tapes, listening to Hannahs voice and trying to deal with what has happened. Trying to figure out why hes received these tapes, why one of the thirteen reasons belongs to him when all he ever did was try to connect with Hannah.

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY is a powerful debut from a talented new voice in YA literature. This dual narrative brings to light the reasons for Hannahs death, lets readers know her life, but also lets us get to know Clay, who is an important part of Hannahs story. This is different from most books in that the end of the story is the first thing we know. We know it will never turn out any differently. The reader knows from the start that Hannah is dead, but still we go on the agonizing journey to finding out why, along with Clay. To finding out what might have been different. This shows so well the pain of suicide for those left behindwhat could we have done? Should we have seen?and goes even further, as some of those people will actually get concrete answers to how they could have saved Hannah, and will have to live with it forever. This painfully honest story will stay in the minds of readers long after the final page. Jay Ashers brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story, and readers will eagerly await whatever he writes next.