THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERTHE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES “Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” —Chicago Tribune “A stealthy hit with staying power. . . . thriller-like pacing.” —The New York Times “Thirteen Reasons Why will leave you with chills long after you have finished reading.” —Amber Gibson, NPR’s “All Things Considered” You can’t stop … chills long after you have finished reading.” —Amber Gibson, NPR’s “All Things Considered”
You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
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 why 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 firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.
Need to talk? Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) anytime if you are in the United States. It’s free and confidential.
Find more resources at 13reasonswhy.info.
Find out how you can help someone in crisis at bethe1to.com.
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Warning: This book discusses depression and suicide.
I read this book on a flight between London and Malta, after having bought it the day before at Waterstones. I’ve since lent it to anyone who will listen to me, because holy shit this book is amazing.
The book discusses the theme of teenage suicide, through the point of view of someone whose classmate and first love has killed herself. Clay receives a shoe box with seven cassette tapes inside, and each side contains a part of a story, explaining why Hannah Baker had killed herself in the first place.
Without going into too much detail, the book goes into so many different issues: friendship, underage drinking, drunk driving, rape culture, first love, adults being disappointing, depression, suicide, mental issues being viewed as invalid, popularity, sex, voyeurism…
It has it all.
Each side of each tape reveals someone who did something, however small, that led to Hannah killing herself. Each side of the story reveals how small inconsequential actions leads to larger and larger ones, and eventually, it all amounts into a life that’s difficult to live. Hannah kills herself after being let down, time after time after time, and by the end of it, it almost feels like it isn’t just Clay who’s lost a friend. It’s you too.
The story works as a great way to bring up the concept of teen suicide to an audience who may have never met someone suicidal. It puts things into perspective, and helps you realize just how bad it can be for someone, even if they don’t show it. And maybe, just maybe, it can reach someone who knows someone who’s killed themselves, someone who has to deal with an empty space in their life, and helps there. Or maybe someone who’s bullied in the past before, someone who’s said things that have hurt people before. Maybe through this book, they’ll realize that what they do and what they say could really have an impact.
That’s the best things about books – you never know who they’ll reach.
Final rating: 5/5. Please read this book, no matter who you are or what you’ve experienced or who you’ve lost.
Although I could not get the book out of my hands, it’s not for the right reasons. It’s one of the worst books I have read lately. Clay’s thoughts and Hannah’s speech mixed, it was just one big headache. The book is very confusing and incomprehensible, and I think, sorry, yes? But the reasons for her suicide were foolish. The reason I couldn’t get the book off my hands was that I was bursting with curiosity to know what Clay had done to Hannah (this is why i’m giving it star no. 2). But the book is smeared and doesn’t reach the boiling point. I didn’t understand at all how all the stories connected, and they were very dull to my taste. I bought it because it is written in the cover that the book was six years in the New York Times best-seller lists (it’s not clear why).
This book is everything. Seriously worth reading. It will change your view of what kids today go through. Books like this and All The Bright Places are what inspire me to write. If this book touched you check out The Goodbye Boyfriend: A Stand-Alone YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series Book 3)
An amazing book. Makes us realize how every single and small act affects a person in a very harsh manner. Very realistic and I have no words to explain how I felt when I was reading each sentence.
Insightful dialogue and thoughts from a teen perspective…both boy and girl. So many hidden feelings at this age revealed. It looks at the angle of where intervention was missed or not chosen how it could have been had the players had more courage and or knowledge. Sad.
A great story about how difficult it can be growing up in a world where teens are often made to feel powerless over their own lives. This tragic story offers insight into a world that adults often forgets exist during adolescents and how one person’s life is affected by everyone around her.
This book opened my eyes to a lot of what goes around us in everyday life. It’s taught me a lot on how to be a better person to others.
the sires are better
This book was absolutely amazing!!!!!
Every now and then a book comes along that just strikes a resounding cord in your heart. A book that reaches in, tilts your world on it’s side and will not let you forget it, ever! Had I not read a few reviews prior to reading the book I may not have been sure if my reaction was purely emotional or the book is just THAT good. It is though, THAT GOOD. It’s also struck a cord with me personally though, having lost a dear friend to suicide very close in age to Hannah. Because of this I very much applaud the author for handling this very taboo and difficult subject in a way that doesn’t glorify it, yet gets the subject out there and talked about. I’ve read reviews by people who think this book should be banned. Of course these are the same people who have never experienced the devastating loss so what they have to say isn’t really relevant anyway.
It show how the real world of high school is and the challenges that people have to face.
Another one of my favorite books! Really good read! Very relatable! I can write about it all day but I don’t have enough space! Lol
I re read this book every couple of months, one of my all time favs
Good
Everyone should read this book. It is so beautiful and sad and the worst part is that it could happen to anyone. An eye-opener to a sad reality.
Nigga read the book.
was a really good book
Such a sad, touching and eye opener story, I felt that the main character of the book was probably depressed and felt that it was sad she didn’t get the help she needed before she ended her own life, also I kept thinking as I was reading the book that it was sad she was placing the blame on all these people she sent tapes to because everyone has bad incounters with school mates and co workers but you just have to brush it off and keep going not take your own life, so I think she was depressed and used those bad incounters as a excuse to take her own life because she couldn’t deal with her own pain and sadness, this was definitely a great read for parents to teens because it showed me things I need to be aware of with my own kids!!