Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Review
May 16, 2016
This year is going by rather quickly it's as though I just blinked and now it's the middle of May. It's almost my two year blogiversary and the exams are just around the corner. Everything is just moving so quickly and I haven't even started with my reading list for this year (16 books to read in 2016). I decided that it's time to get the ball rolling and started reading 'Thirteen Reasons Why' by Jay Asher and I wasn't disappointed.
It has a very interesting stroyline and the style in which the book is written made it quite difficult for me to put it down. Whenever I had any free time it was almost certain I would have the book in my hands. The story starts of with Clay Jenson, a shy and timid boy, receiving a mysterious box of tapes at his door steps. The tapes are from his late classmate, Hannah Baker, who recently commited suicide. He soon discovers that the tapes are for the thirteen people who contributed to Hannah's suicide.
Clay and Hannah never had much of a relationship, he just knew of her and wanted to get to know her more. Clay listens to tape after tape wondering where he fits into this story. As the story progresses he comes to realise how much Hannah was hurting and that not all he heard about her was true. This proved to me how true this quote is: "Be kind to everyone because you have no idea what they are going through. " People put on masks to hide their true emotions and this book gives us a inside view of someone like this. It shows that even the person who seems the happiest may need a friend by their side.
Overall I think this was an amazing book. I know the review is rather vague but it's hard for me to explain without giving away too much. The stories of the various people mentioned in the are book are interconnected and everything begins with a simple rumour started by a single person. The ending was quite interesting, you get to see how this experience has changed Clay and maybe you will also realise that it has changed you too.
Favourite Quotes :
"You can't rewrite the past."
"No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. "
"You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is...now."
"[...] what if I got to know you and you turned out to be just like they said? What if you weren't the person I hoped you were? That more than anything, would have hurt me the most."
4 comments
I had added this book in my to-read list but never got around to actually get my hands on it. The story sounds so interesting.
ReplyDeleteNoor | Noor's Place
It's amazing, you should definitely read it!
DeleteI read this when I was in high school because it became a bit of a fad back then, along with the likes of Twilight. There was always a strong group that thought it was a good book versus another group who thought it was complete crap. I guess it can be seen as either depending on your mindset. For example: certain incidents in the book suggests that Hannah Baker did what she did for attention. Which makes the whole suicide thing completely stupid and mindless. She could've got what she wanted and fought for things the way every normal human being does.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I did empathise with her when I read it. I haven't read it since and I don't want to because I want to preserve my original opinions of the book!
Thanks for sending me your link on twitter!
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Aria | All Souled Out
I agree with you. I guess everyone sees things in a different way.
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