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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher


ashleighjane

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My Summary:

In Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah uses a series of tapes in order to expose the thirteen reasons/people why she committed suicide. The tapes are posted from person to person, almost like chain mail. There isn't really one thing that caused her to commit suicide, but rather the negative actions of her peers all added together pushed her over the edge. The tapes also show how the people's actions affected how other people act.

 

Things I liked:

The thing I like most about this book is that it really makes you think about how your actions, however small, may affect another person's life. This is especially current, after the prank call to the hospital Kate Middleton was in lead to a nurse committing suicide. We might think that it doesn't really matter if we yell at the person serving us in a shop; they'll get over it. But what we don't think is that we might be the tenth person to yell at them that day. I really like that this book has caused me to think about things like this.

 

I found this book really difficult to put down, as I wanted to see who the next tape was going to be directed at, and I also wanted to know why the tapes had been sent to Clay. (The book is in the point of view of Clay, a romantic interest of Hannah's.)

 

I also found this book painful to read, but in a good way. It definitely tugged at my heart strings. Even if I found difficulty in finding sympathy for Hannah, I was able to empathize with Clay.

 

I'm glad that the book ends on a positive note, and that potentially something good may have come from Hannah's actions.

 

Things I didn't like:

Hannah. I found it extremely difficult to like Hannah. Her actions make me think of 'A' from the 'Pretty Little Liars' series. She made me really angry. She of all people should have known how people's actions can affect people, but she thought it was a good idea to tell people it was their fault she killed herself? Her actions could plausibly have caused further suicides. In fact, I don't like the fact that she had the audacity to blame her suicide on anyone else but herself. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing about the book. It could almost fit into the things that I did like. My dislike of Hannah elicited emotion, which I think made me like the book more.

 

Overall:

I really enjoyed this book, and read it in a couple of days. I would recommend it to anyone over the age of 15 who enjoys books that elicit strong emotions. One word I would use to describe this book is 'MAUDLIN'

 

A quote that sums up the book for me:

"I guess that's the point of it all. No on knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue . Yet we push it all the same." - Hannah Baker.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just downloaded this book and I'm 25% through it already. Really enjoying this book and I am finding it very difficult to put down.

 

I found is difficult to put down too! :)

What a terrific review :) I have had this book on my to-be-read shelf for years, and am now thinking that I should read it soon.

 

You definitely should :)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 years later...

I really loved the book when I read it! I think I want to re-read it at some point. 

 

I was wondering if any of you have watched the TV version? It's now available on Netflix (or at least I've now discovered it) and I was wondering if it's good :)

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So far no negative reviews, then :)   (If you'd like, you can have Netflix for free for one month, as a try out, and if you don't like it, you can just cancel the 'order' and be done with it after a month. Meaning you could watch the show or other Netflix shows you're interested in :)

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12 hours ago, frankie said:

So far no negative reviews, then :)   (If you'd like, you can have Netflix for free for one month, as a try out, and if you don't like it, you can just cancel the 'order' and be done with it after a month. Meaning you could watch the show or other Netflix shows you're interested in :)

 

That's nice of you, but my internet connection isn't fast enough for something like Netflix.

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  • 4 weeks later...

As someone who has struggled with bouts of depression, I can tell you one big reason to avoid 13 Reasons Why. 

Hannah's reason for suicide was mostly based on vengeance. People don't commit suicide because they're angry. They commit suicide because they are so utterly lost, helpless, and isolated. It it a decent novel? Sure! But not an accurate one.

 

I mostly say this because of some media hype surrounding the Netflix adaptation.  I've already come across embarrassingly inaccurate articles about how Hannah could be compared to teens today, and a bunch of other hogwash.

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Yeah I thought the same thing about the show when I watched it. I haven't read her book, but in the show her entire narration is telling people why they're to blame for killing her, essentially, and that is not my understanding of how a typical (if there is such a thing) suicide thinks. Suicide is an act of violence against oneself because of despair and hopelessness and a need for release, whereas her violent intentions were directed outwards at others, which isn't really consistent with someone who feels the need to end themselves.

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Qoajo, that's interesting. It made me think about murder-suicide. According to wikipedia, murderer–suicides were found to be highly depressed (this is relating to "a study specifically related to murder–suicide, Milton Rosenbaum (1990)"). 

 

Maybe this was Hannah's way of committing murder-suicide. She doesn't kill anyone, but she does something that has long-term effects in her targets' lives. 

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  • 1 year later...

While the original idea for the book is good, seeing as how it brings the issues of suicide to light, the novel has now turned into the glorification of suicide. It's becoming more well-known, having two seasons of the show on Netflix, but the main problem is that this book/show is romanticizing suicide, which is, to be blunt, a horrible thing to tell teenagers. Teenagers are the target demographic of this book/show, and the whole idea of the story is basically saying, "Suicide is bad, but look how much attention Hannah Baker got when she killed herself because she was angry!1! They'll always remember!1! Look how she's idolized!!1!" which I find to be a horrific message. While the book/show may be a great book/show, it is neither accurate nor healthy for teenagers and young adults to see and idolize.

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