Second Quarter Book Reveiw

Second Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Genre: Non-Fiction

Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl who commits suicide. Before she did she created a set of tapes that each was based on a person who was one of the thirteen reasons why she killed herself. The book takes place as Clay Jensen’s perspective as he listens to the tapes. Also it shows the effect of the tapes on him as he reads them even though in most of them he isn’t mentioned.

“A brilliant and mesmerizing debut from a gifted new author.” Says the book jacket.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a fairly depressing book in my opinion. The books I normally read are more positive. Some get a little dark but this is a subject I almost never delve into. Also the writing style is different than what I am used to. The books I normally read are very descriptive and are difficult to understand by most people. In this book there was very little tough vocabulary. This book though puts you in the eyes of a depressed and troubled teen. This book makes you almost experience the feeling yourself. Also it gives you a peek at the mind of a suicidal person. I liked the writing style of this book. Jay Asher did a good job writing this even if it was an extremely dark subject. This book well grasps in my opinion though the things that happen in a teens life. A lot of this stuff makes sense and could easily happen. Most the painful things that happen to Hannah in this book can easily happen to any teenager.

“I tear the blades of grass out of the gutter and stand up to leave. As I start walking, I rub the blades between my fingers till they fall away.” (40)

This book left me with a strange feeling. I liked it but I also didn’t like it. I didn’t like the depressing attitude of it. I didn’t like the though of someone who killed themselves then is giving people tapes to torment them. I know if this happened to me I would be a total wreck. I also liked it because it was well thought out. I liked how it switched between Clay and Hannah. I overall disliked it more than liked it. It just changed your mood when you read it. Just the stuff that seems little that affects people in a small way.