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lalawoman416's review against another edition
1.0
This book sucked. Seriously. Hannah was a very unsympathetic character. Out of the 13 reasons why, I thought 9 of them were incredibly unfair. She projected so many unfair assumptions onto the kids (and teachers) around her. If we had a book from the perspective of the other kids, you might get another perspective altogether - one in which Hannah doesn't come across so well. And aside from the actual content of the book, the style was awful too. It kept jumping between Hannah and Clay and sometimes from sentence and sentence - which might not have been too awful if I had actually liked the book. No, I will not be watching the Netflix show.
aejohnson85's review
3.0
I read this just ahead of the Netflix series being released. The book was a quick read as I wanted to get to the end of the tapes...like everyone, I wanted to know what Clay's involvement was. The book is written from Clay's perspective over the one night he listened to the 13 tapes left behind by Hannah Baker after her suicide. Many secrets are exposed about the individuals names on her tapes and I found the end of the book a bit unsatisfactory, as we don't get a feel for what will happen next.
The Netflix series is much different from the book, and dare I say, better done? An odd opinion when the show is based on the book...the show takes all the aspects from the book BUT we get a more fleshed out view of all the other characters, instead of just Clay's perspective. We also see how awful most of the teenagers really are...there were a lot of changes, most significantly, the fact that Clay struggles to listen to the tapes, rather than listen to them all in one evening.
The subject matter of the book and the show are very heavy and should not be taken lightly. There is a lot to think about when reading/viewing...
The Netflix series is much different from the book, and dare I say, better done? An odd opinion when the show is based on the book...the show takes all the aspects from the book BUT we get a more fleshed out view of all the other characters, instead of just Clay's perspective. We also see how awful most of the teenagers really are...there were a lot of changes, most significantly, the fact that Clay struggles to listen to the tapes, rather than listen to them all in one evening.
The subject matter of the book and the show are very heavy and should not be taken lightly. There is a lot to think about when reading/viewing...
royalwaterfowl's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
It was good and made me think. Was a page turner.
magikfaye's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katiescho741's review against another edition
1.0
It was difficult to read this book without thinking of the Netflix series, especially since I think the show did a better job at depicting the story.
The book focusses only on Hannah and Clay. Clay listens to Hannah's tapes all through the night and learns her reasons for killing herself. I think this book would have been much better if we were show each person's reaction as they listened to their own tape. Then we could have got their side of the story. The way the story is told means all the characters except Hannah and Clay are one-dimensional with no motivations, context, or personality.
I think Hannah comes across and whiney and emotionally manipulative, and sometimes cruel. Clay and Tony are involved with the tapes because of small things that happened that were beyond their control, and now they will always feel guilty about being the cause of a girls death.
I think Asher is trying to say something about the treatment of girls in high-school with this novel...Hannah is the victim of boyish bragging and rumours that give her a bit of a reputation. But the message never really comes across properly. There's also the important issue of consent, which I think could have been talked about a lot more in this novel but again it's a missed opportunity.
I found myself getting annoyed at Hannah. I got the feeling that she killed herself to teach the people in school a lesson, and some of her reasons and stories were just a little silly. I know, it's a snowball effect but most of them were "boys are dicks sometimes", "girls are bitches sometimes" and she moans a lot about having no one to reach out to, but she did! Clay was there ready to listen, and to be fair, even Mr Porter was eager to listen and help but Hannah was vague and confused with what she said.
Even her poem in the book was just some typical teenage heartbreak...we've all been there!
I can see why they changed and added so much for the show. It's an interesting premise, but I think the execution fails, and made Hannah a completely unsympathetic character.
The book focusses only on Hannah and Clay. Clay listens to Hannah's tapes all through the night and learns her reasons for killing herself. I think this book would have been much better if we were show each person's reaction as they listened to their own tape. Then we could have got their side of the story. The way the story is told means all the characters except Hannah and Clay are one-dimensional with no motivations, context, or personality.
I think Hannah comes across and whiney and emotionally manipulative, and sometimes cruel. Clay and Tony are involved with the tapes because of small things that happened that were beyond their control, and now they will always feel guilty about being the cause of a girls death.
I think Asher is trying to say something about the treatment of girls in high-school with this novel...Hannah is the victim of boyish bragging and rumours that give her a bit of a reputation. But the message never really comes across properly. There's also the important issue of consent, which I think could have been talked about a lot more in this novel but again it's a missed opportunity.
Spoiler
The depiction of the event in the hot tub in the show is much more forceful and clearly a rape, but the way it's told in the book, Hannah sort of lets him do what he wants. I think this could have made way for a mention of consent, but nothing comes of itI found myself getting annoyed at Hannah. I got the feeling that she killed herself to teach the people in school a lesson, and some of her reasons and stories were just a little silly. I know, it's a snowball effect but most of them were "boys are dicks sometimes", "girls are bitches sometimes" and she moans a lot about having no one to reach out to, but she did! Clay was there ready to listen, and to be fair, even Mr Porter was eager to listen and help but Hannah was vague and confused with what she said.
Even her poem in the book was just some typical teenage heartbreak...we've all been there!
I can see why they changed and added so much for the show. It's an interesting premise, but I think the execution fails, and made Hannah a completely unsympathetic character.
rj_owen's review against another edition
2.0
Before I write my feelings on this book, I want to remind those reading it, that it is a work of fiction. And fiction is written for one purpose only: to entertain people (two purposes if you count raking in tons of money, but let's forget that is why some people write books these days for a moment.)
The concept of Thirteen Reasons Why didn't seem like something I would be interested in, however so many seemed to like it that I thought I would give it a chance. A girl, Hannah Baker, commits suicide and then sends out these audio tapes to the people who were ultimately the reasons why she killed herself. The story follows Clay Jensen (one of the person on the tapes) as he listens to her story and goes to the locations she indicates around town to, I guess, somehow gain more insight into what happened.
I have a couple issues with this book. Firstly, the supposed reasons Hannah has for killing herself....ridiculous. Wow, I was expecting something a bit more...deep or traumatizing. The two most affecting stories she had to tell, (and I truly HATE to say this) she really got into them herself, almost as if she knew what was going to happen. If you read it, I think you would see what I am referring to. Hannah real wasn't even likable either because of what she was doing to the people who really hadn't done anything wrong to her (Clay and Tony). As I was reading it I could definitely see that this is what a grown man felt a teenage girl would apparently kill herself over. I understand the need to warn kids about the pressures of high school and harm of bullying or creating rumors, but this particular instance was not really an enjoyable piece of writing. And like I said before, that is the reason for reading fiction books.
Secondly, the simultaneous narration of Clay and Hannah was hard to follow. I would say I read at a fairly moderate pace and since every other sentence was another narrator, I became confused quite easily and had to go back and reread to make sure I knew what was happening with each one of them. I understand the necessity for it and I can't say that it was done poorly, but it wasn't something I personally enjoyed.
I don't think this book would really help anyone in anyway if that was an underlying goal. It is just another piece of fluff in a genre that already has too much.
Follow my reviews at http://lostinabookstore.blogspot.com/
The concept of Thirteen Reasons Why didn't seem like something I would be interested in, however so many seemed to like it that I thought I would give it a chance. A girl, Hannah Baker, commits suicide and then sends out these audio tapes to the people who were ultimately the reasons why she killed herself. The story follows Clay Jensen (one of the person on the tapes) as he listens to her story and goes to the locations she indicates around town to, I guess, somehow gain more insight into what happened.
I have a couple issues with this book. Firstly, the supposed reasons Hannah has for killing herself....ridiculous. Wow, I was expecting something a bit more...deep or traumatizing. The two most affecting stories she had to tell, (and I truly HATE to say this) she really got into them herself, almost as if she knew what was going to happen. If you read it, I think you would see what I am referring to. Hannah real wasn't even likable either because of what she was doing to the people who really hadn't done anything wrong to her (Clay and Tony). As I was reading it I could definitely see that this is what a grown man felt a teenage girl would apparently kill herself over. I understand the need to warn kids about the pressures of high school and harm of bullying or creating rumors, but this particular instance was not really an enjoyable piece of writing. And like I said before, that is the reason for reading fiction books.
Secondly, the simultaneous narration of Clay and Hannah was hard to follow. I would say I read at a fairly moderate pace and since every other sentence was another narrator, I became confused quite easily and had to go back and reread to make sure I knew what was happening with each one of them. I understand the necessity for it and I can't say that it was done poorly, but it wasn't something I personally enjoyed.
I don't think this book would really help anyone in anyway if that was an underlying goal. It is just another piece of fluff in a genre that already has too much.
Follow my reviews at http://lostinabookstore.blogspot.com/
danoreading's review against another edition
5.0
Really engrossing, couldn't put it down sort of novel. Highly recommended by my YA loving coworkers, and I couldn't agree with them more. Good stuff.
ida2121'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
4.25
smsienk's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after watching the show - actually liked the show better
It’s a good book handling a tough topic, but it was one of the rare occurrences when the subject was better handled through a visual, multidimensional depiction rather than a novel. The show was able to give each character more depth and breadth than the book could. I wish the point was more clear that the final decision was Hannah’s - it’s there, but subtle. And I wish there were more follow up with the other characters - copy cat suicides are extremely common, and receiving something like these tapes would likely increase that risk.
It’s a good book handling a tough topic, but it was one of the rare occurrences when the subject was better handled through a visual, multidimensional depiction rather than a novel. The show was able to give each character more depth and breadth than the book could. I wish the point was more clear that the final decision was Hannah’s - it’s there, but subtle. And I wish there were more follow up with the other characters - copy cat suicides are extremely common, and receiving something like these tapes would likely increase that risk.