Book 52: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This is one of those books that popped up as a suggestion after reading some YA.  I was interested, but cautious, not really sure how a book about teenage suicide that blames fellow students would read.  But I finally got around to reading it.

I tore through this book.  It was very compelling and I wanted to get to the end.  At first I was concerned that the book may embolden someone on the verge of suicide themselves, but quickly you see how misguided she is in her assumptions.

In a quick nutshell. Thirteen Reasons Why starts out with a box of cassette tapes letting the recipient know that if they received this box they were part of the reason why she took her life.

The 13 events the tapes cover make life very difficult for Hannah, the events on their own would not seem too big, but it is the accumulation of the events and their after effects that add up.  This part of the book I am sure many High-schoolers will identify with.  I certainly did and HS has been many years ago (funny how this happens).  People make assumptions that are misguided or fabricated and no one ever seems to want to know the truth. 

And then there is the flip side, the side Hannah can not see.  That there are people who see through the crap and care.  That is the real tragedy of the story. 

Simply I would recommend this book, it is compelling and thought provoking.