Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Plot Summary:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself--a truth he never wanted to face.

(summary, and summary format credited to RazorBill, a member of Penguin Young Readers Group)

I first read Thirteen Reasons Why as a galley (a book before it was published) in July 2007, and it didn't take more than a couple of pages for me to fall in love with the story, the writing, Hannah and Clay, and the clever plot line.

Reasons is such an emotional, and heart-wrenching story. Being told Hannah's story through the eyes of Clay is like watching someone you love slowly deteriorate, until they no longer no themselves. Obviously, this book is extremely painful to read, but at the same time completely satisfying. You really get inside a suicidal teenager's head, and witness first hand their slow, but sure journey to ending their life. But the thing that struck me the first time I read Thirteen Reasons Why was how aware it made you of the impact that everyday things you can have on someone. This is something that all teenagers NEED to become aware of, and that very few of them are. Luckily, I know that Thirteen Reasons Why has shown at least some teens, even if it is only some, how powerful an impact their "harmless" comments can have on a peer.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that speaks to people. It's a lot more powerful to read a fictional 16-year-old's journey to suicide than to be told why a teenager chooses suicide by a parent or guidance counselor. When you read Hannah's words, you are reading her mind, and that is something that really makes you more aware of people, and how they react to what you say.

All in all, Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that anyone who will ever have to deal with someone suicidal should read, anyone who is suicidal should read, or anyone who is just looking for a great piece of literature to power through. If you are any of the above, you will not be disappointed.