from Luke:

'Thirteen Reasons Why' is an intense mystery that you read through with bated breath. This mystery, however, has a twist: it is told primarily through the voice of a teen girl named Hannah Baker, through cassette tapes that she recorded before she committed suicide (which seems to be a theme in a lot of young adult books today, and for very good reason; school bullying, amongst other reasons, are regularly discussed in the media as leading factors to these acts). The tapes have been left to our protagonist Clay Jensen, who has been tasked to listen through thirteen cassette tapes to learn the full, sordid tale of why she did what she did. With each tape, your stomach twists and turns to see the barrage of incidents large and small, from a kiss on a playground slide to a cry for help rebuffed, that end Hannah's life. Though entirely heartbreaking and highly stressful, 'Thirteen Reasons Why' is a book you simply cannot put down. ( )

This book caused my depression to skyrocket. ( )

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher connected with me in a way I didn't expect. I read this YA novel because my niece, Kaylee, asked me to. No other reason. I'd never heard of it. I knew nothing about it. Yet, if it was important enough for her to ask me to read it, I felt I needed to. Even with her description of the book, I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't what happened. I started reading and couldn't stop. I was already tired when I started and yet I read until exhaustion took over. I felt upset because I couldn't stay awake to finish it. The next day I even broke one of my own rules and recommended the book on social media before I finished reading it or reviewed it. I even emailed a friend to recommend it for his teenage daughter. I found myself on a quest I didn't understand to get this book in the hands of teens and the adults in their lives. When I finished it that night, I cried and cried. I felt pulled and pushed. I recognized a period of time in my life that I'm loathe to admit existed let alone discuss. My heart ached for every person out there struggling to reach out for the help they need... The story isn't that extraordinary or surprising, and that is exactly what makes it so powerful. It is honest and tackles issues without treating teenagers either like they are unrealistically innocent or over the top bad. This is a story about real teenagers without the need to wrap the issues teenagers face in the supernatural or some kind of fantasy world. The realness of Thirteen Reasons Why comes in the fact that it describes situations that happen in teenagers' lives in schools and communities around the world every day of the week. Thirteen Reasons Why reminds us all that the actions we take today have repercussions that we may never anticipate and that may happen long after we've forgotten what we did. In fact, there is also the reminder that inaction can be as deadly as action. Asher weaves a story that is all too believable populated with characters that all too real even making the one or two things the reader may doubt at the beginning quickly seem irrelevant. ( )

“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people.

A very well told story a about a very tough topic. Suicide is always one of those scares that, as a parent, is hard to fully see, hard to stop and hard to diagnose. But, it's also hard to bring up talking about it and being able to help your child.
This story takes off and leaves you running to catch up the whole way. I thought the overall sadness and anger, some of the stages of loss, were fitting and set the stage but neither were overwhelming.
The author reminds us that we affect people, even if we think we do or don't. It reminds you that each person is an opportunity. Maybe, just maybe, if you tried harder, you could make a good impact and change their lives. Even just by doing something small. ( )

I'm giving this book 3 stars instead of 2 because I like the format with the two points of view and the idea that Hannah left her story on cassette tapes to be shared with others. However, it's not one of those young-adult books that's universally appealing to adults. I could not relate to Hannah's feelings regarding her classmates -- sure, I felt picked on in high school, but Hannah's angst was just too much for me. I wanted to tell her to just get over with it, move on, ignore those people. ( )