sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sometimes I pick up a book and barely put it down until it's finished. Usually the book disturbs or haunts me in some way, but those are the ones that I can't put down no matter how hard I try. Thirteen Reasons Why was one of those, but it was disturbing in a whole different, far more emotional way.
A book centred on a suicide is always going to be difficult to read, but the structure really heightens that, and Hannah's voice throughout is so devastating that it really was almost impossible for me to stop reading. It's really well written and manages to provide so much insight to characters who we never actually see.
It was interesting, having seen the series first, to discover how much of the book is left open to the reader. We hear Hannah's versions of events but see so few of the wider repurcussions. Nor are we given the chance to explore any of the stories from other perspectives like the series does. But I think Hannah's (and Clay's) story has so much more power because of that, and it'll certainly stay with me for a long time.
A book centred on a suicide is always going to be difficult to read, but the structure really heightens that, and Hannah's voice throughout is so devastating that it really was almost impossible for me to stop reading. It's really well written and manages to provide so much insight to characters who we never actually see.
It was interesting, having seen the series first, to discover how much of the book is left open to the reader. We hear Hannah's versions of events but see so few of the wider repurcussions. Nor are we given the chance to explore any of the stories from other perspectives like the series does. But I think Hannah's (and Clay's) story has so much more power because of that, and it'll certainly stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Rape
wends_nblw's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
sarahkinney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Drug use, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Confinement, and Infidelity
sydneylount's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
davidbythebay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I actually thought I may enjoy this book when I was beginning it. The writing is very nice and it did flow at a pretty good clip. My issue is with the subject matter and how it was handled. This is going to be scattered because I'm just frustrated by this irresponsible drivel.
I've been suicidal and live with bipolar disorder. I am thankfully doing well with medications and therapy. I know something about the subject matter. I hated the treatment of suicide here in several ways. First, it did feel like glamorizing suicide. Full stop. That's enough on that, especially since it was included in a number of other reviews.
<spoiler>Second, it was filled with victim blaming. Clay continually lays Hannah's decision squarely at her feet and says it was on her that she did this. As someone who was once yelled at for my suicidal talk when I was reaching out to a friend for help, I was triggered by this. Hannah is telling her story and listing the people whose behavior and interactions fed Hannah's thoughts. Clay then keeps reminding the dead Hannah that she had made up her mind and there was no helping her, that these events happened and at a certain point Hannah wanted to end her life and the events still to be explained were gratuitous "reasons" for her decision. Let's also take the detour to discuss the events of Jessica who was Hannah's friend, then not, then Hannah witnessed Jessica being raped while hiding and never said anything, then calls Jessica out for being a reason who Hannah wants to kill herself. So Jessica is a victim and a reason for Hannah, but also Hannah says that Jessica brought this on herself. That's not right. Consent is necessary for any sexual interaction. No person has the right to touch the person of another.
I don't see Hannah as a victim throughout this, in so far as she was not a victim of being pushed to suicide by these people. She was a victim of bullying and gossip, of bad toxic people, but not of being pushed to suicide. I do find her to be manipulative in sending these tapes out. I see her as being hypocritical by claiming exposing lies and rumors and gossip (whether true or not) is wrong then by airing all this dirty laundry to these people. Airing a crime to the proper authorities is one thing, and I guess eventually Mr. Porter may tell the authorities based on this tape as he is one of the names people, but I'm just talking about social infractions and teenage gossip she claims are so heinous as to cause her to be suicidal. And let me also say, I don't see how Mr. Porter could have really done anything differently except maybe being more empathetic and following up with Hannah's parents immediately or calling the police thinking Hannah was a danger to someone. Clay seems to think he could have done something. Was this teacher supposed to force her to stay? Tie her down and make her talk? I just don't see logic here at all.
Third, it is completely illogical. Hannah describes everyone as being a reason for her, a horrible sinner that must be exposed. But, she will only expose these people to the other sinners among them. All, of course, except our main man Clay who was brought into this list of crimes because Hannah really liked him and wanted to get to know him. The rest are guilty of a wide variety of crimes - literally, in some cases, these are illegal actions being described - and nobody seems to be doing anything about this. Now, I get that someone guilty of a crime under the law may not want to risk exposing the crime of another as it could expose their crime; HOWEVER, we have a rapist and a peeping tom! They far outweigh some of the "lesser" crimes. Hannah hints at her home life and issues there, but she blames only people in her school.
Then we come to Clay, who is our narrator and was sent these tapes. She tells him he did nothing wrong and he's not a reason. WHY INCLUDE HIM THEN? Why make him twist and play with him until it was his turn. And you included him because we needed to hear what happened there to then get to the rest of the people? Why couldn't you have just done the same thing you did throughout the entire tape, Hannah, and talk about someone without their name and either let others fill it in or continue without knowing who you are talking about? No logic! And Tony, the guy who was sent the tapes so Hannah could ensure the dirty dozen followed through and listened to all the tapes, got to hear the tapes which disproved Hannah's initial statement that only those sinners on her list of 13 reasons would hear of these crimes. There is at least one person outside of them, plus the apparently innocent Clay, who know all this disgusting truth about this town's teenagers.
But for crying out loud! Her "reasons" included nobody mentioning her haircut and a boy stealing her secret compliment notes. The notes could have easily been handled with a loud and public shaming of the boy via a "hey! That's mine!" Done. The hair? Yes, compliments on a change of hairstyle are always nice, but they shouldn't be so necessary. Petty.</spoiler>
Finally, my experiences being suicidal in the past and discussing this with others who have suicidal thoughts in their past agree: THIS IS NOT HOW SUICIDAL THINKING WORKS! Hannah's whole shtick is how awful these people were and that's why she killed herself. But there lacks the entire hopelessness of suicidal thought. Hannah keeps talking about how everyone let her down by not helping, but she only lists these events and people without anything more. There is no discussion of why this impacted her so. In fact, it just makes the entire thing feel like "Hey. Have a bad few days? Maybe a bad school year with the shit kids these days do? Suicide is the answer." WRONG! Wrong message. Wrong reasoning. Wrong. Read up on suicide from REPUTABLE websites and books (memoirs) and really get to see what it's like from better places than this.
The real issue in this book is that we have to be more aware of what's going on around us and compassionate to those people we interact with. Don't gossip. Don't rape. Don't peep. Do try to be decent. Do reach out and compliment and say hi and notice when someone is going through something. Great messages. But they are given at the periphery of a story focused on mean people and actual criminals being blamed for a suicide.
I'm annoyed read that. My first 1 star of 2022 and it's April 8th. Only 1 star for the good writing and great pacing. But, the streak is over. Thank God is was quick and over with now.
I've been suicidal and live with bipolar disorder. I am thankfully doing well with medications and therapy. I know something about the subject matter. I hated the treatment of suicide here in several ways. First, it did feel like glamorizing suicide. Full stop. That's enough on that, especially since it was included in a number of other reviews.
<spoiler>Second, it was filled with victim blaming. Clay continually lays Hannah's decision squarely at her feet and says it was on her that she did this. As someone who was once yelled at for my suicidal talk when I was reaching out to a friend for help, I was triggered by this. Hannah is telling her story and listing the people whose behavior and interactions fed Hannah's thoughts. Clay then keeps reminding the dead Hannah that she had made up her mind and there was no helping her, that these events happened and at a certain point Hannah wanted to end her life and the events still to be explained were gratuitous "reasons" for her decision. Let's also take the detour to discuss the events of Jessica who was Hannah's friend, then not, then Hannah witnessed Jessica being raped while hiding and never said anything, then calls Jessica out for being a reason who Hannah wants to kill herself. So Jessica is a victim and a reason for Hannah, but also Hannah says that Jessica brought this on herself. That's not right. Consent is necessary for any sexual interaction. No person has the right to touch the person of another.
I don't see Hannah as a victim throughout this, in so far as she was not a victim of being pushed to suicide by these people. She was a victim of bullying and gossip, of bad toxic people, but not of being pushed to suicide. I do find her to be manipulative in sending these tapes out. I see her as being hypocritical by claiming exposing lies and rumors and gossip (whether true or not) is wrong then by airing all this dirty laundry to these people. Airing a crime to the proper authorities is one thing, and I guess eventually Mr. Porter may tell the authorities based on this tape as he is one of the names people, but I'm just talking about social infractions and teenage gossip she claims are so heinous as to cause her to be suicidal. And let me also say, I don't see how Mr. Porter could have really done anything differently except maybe being more empathetic and following up with Hannah's parents immediately or calling the police thinking Hannah was a danger to someone. Clay seems to think he could have done something. Was this teacher supposed to force her to stay? Tie her down and make her talk? I just don't see logic here at all.
Third, it is completely illogical. Hannah describes everyone as being a reason for her, a horrible sinner that must be exposed. But, she will only expose these people to the other sinners among them. All, of course, except our main man Clay who was brought into this list of crimes because Hannah really liked him and wanted to get to know him. The rest are guilty of a wide variety of crimes - literally, in some cases, these are illegal actions being described - and nobody seems to be doing anything about this. Now, I get that someone guilty of a crime under the law may not want to risk exposing the crime of another as it could expose their crime; HOWEVER, we have a rapist and a peeping tom! They far outweigh some of the "lesser" crimes. Hannah hints at her home life and issues there, but she blames only people in her school.
Then we come to Clay, who is our narrator and was sent these tapes. She tells him he did nothing wrong and he's not a reason. WHY INCLUDE HIM THEN? Why make him twist and play with him until it was his turn. And you included him because we needed to hear what happened there to then get to the rest of the people? Why couldn't you have just done the same thing you did throughout the entire tape, Hannah, and talk about someone without their name and either let others fill it in or continue without knowing who you are talking about? No logic! And Tony, the guy who was sent the tapes so Hannah could ensure the dirty dozen followed through and listened to all the tapes, got to hear the tapes which disproved Hannah's initial statement that only those sinners on her list of 13 reasons would hear of these crimes. There is at least one person outside of them, plus the apparently innocent Clay, who know all this disgusting truth about this town's teenagers.
But for crying out loud! Her "reasons" included nobody mentioning her haircut and a boy stealing her secret compliment notes. The notes could have easily been handled with a loud and public shaming of the boy via a "hey! That's mine!" Done. The hair? Yes, compliments on a change of hairstyle are always nice, but they shouldn't be so necessary. Petty.</spoiler>
Finally, my experiences being suicidal in the past and discussing this with others who have suicidal thoughts in their past agree: THIS IS NOT HOW SUICIDAL THINKING WORKS! Hannah's whole shtick is how awful these people were and that's why she killed herself. But there lacks the entire hopelessness of suicidal thought. Hannah keeps talking about how everyone let her down by not helping, but she only lists these events and people without anything more. There is no discussion of why this impacted her so. In fact, it just makes the entire thing feel like "Hey. Have a bad few days? Maybe a bad school year with the shit kids these days do? Suicide is the answer." WRONG! Wrong message. Wrong reasoning. Wrong. Read up on suicide from REPUTABLE websites and books (memoirs) and really get to see what it's like from better places than this.
The real issue in this book is that we have to be more aware of what's going on around us and compassionate to those people we interact with. Don't gossip. Don't rape. Don't peep. Do try to be decent. Do reach out and compliment and say hi and notice when someone is going through something. Great messages. But they are given at the periphery of a story focused on mean people and actual criminals being blamed for a suicide.
I'm annoyed read that. My first 1 star of 2022 and it's April 8th. Only 1 star for the good writing and great pacing. But, the streak is over. Thank God is was quick and over with now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Alcohol, Sexual content, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Bullying, Car accident, Stalking, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, and Mental illness
bookishgoob's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death
rashellyreads's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thirteen Reasons Why was such a great read! I can't tell you how many times I cried because of this book. Jay Asher, in my perspective, did such a great job of putting Clay and Hannah's stories into one. Not only was the stop, play, and pause buttons very creative, but how he used them or more specifically: where. For instance, when Clay would need to stop because of his parents (which is totally relatable) or whenever he needed to recollect his thoughts.
I think that making Hannah a love interest for Clay was a spectacular idea. At first I thought it was a little cliché, but I started to notice that his love for Hannah is what kept us going. That, and the mystery behind Clay's tape (which I'm not going to get too far into due to spoilers).
Lastly, the reason (no pun intended) I think Thirteen Reasons Why was such an amazing read was because of the real life situations. It named almost every possible thing I could think of, whether it was blatantly said or hidden in the characters. Depression, suicide, rape, alcoholism, narcissism, sex addiction, LGBTQ+, etc.
Just the way that Asher put horrible, tormenting things into fiction made the problems beautiful. Not beauty in a way where the actual problem is beautiful, but in a way where it teaches us of the dangers. This book warns us about what other people are going through. It basically teaches us that everyone goes through something and could be hard to detect it. Also, that everything leads up to something.
I think that making Hannah a love interest for Clay was a spectacular idea. At first I thought it was a little cliché, but I started to notice that his love for Hannah is what kept us going. That, and the mystery behind Clay's tape (which I'm not going to get too far into due to spoilers).
Lastly, the reason (no pun intended) I think Thirteen Reasons Why was such an amazing read was because of the real life situations. It named almost every possible thing I could think of, whether it was blatantly said or hidden in the characters. Depression, suicide, rape, alcoholism, narcissism, sex addiction, LGBTQ+, etc.
Just the way that Asher put horrible, tormenting things into fiction made the problems beautiful. Not beauty in a way where the actual problem is beautiful, but in a way where it teaches us of the dangers. This book warns us about what other people are going through. It basically teaches us that everyone goes through something and could be hard to detect it. Also, that everything leads up to something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Misogyny, and Homophobia
brookey8888's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Honestly every time I reread this it hits me harder. This book is just so sad but also important because one thing big or small can change someone’s life, for better or worse. Honestly I think this isn’t a five because like you don’t get to know Clay really, it’s only Hannah you get to know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
jbellomy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Rape, Grief, Body shaming, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death
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