[Second Look] Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Second Look is an original feature showcasing books that

       have been sitting on the "to read" shelf for too long! 

Thirteen Reasons Why 
Author: Jay Asher (Blog, Facebook, Twitter)
Publisher: Razorbill - October 18, 2007
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary, Thriller
13 Reason Why Project

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Thoughts/Review:

When I started reading this book I thought it would be about Hannah and her decision to commit suicide, and it is. More so, to me, it is Clay's story. This is about surviving a friend's death, understanding consequences when bystander intervention is absent and moving on. Asher has taken the time to highlight incidents that occur in most (if not all) high schools in the U.S. and abroad which further reaffirms issues of bullying in young people's lives. This book is also great for starting conversations with youth around bullying, social pressures, stress and suicide. 

I'll admit, when I finished this quick read I ventured over to Goodreads to mark it as "read" and read other reviews posted. I had a lot of mixed emotions and so I went for a walk... 

*Climbs onto soap box*

Below are some of my random thoughts for processing:

• Suicide does not need a valid reason. What I mean by this, is even if Hannah's thirteen reasons feel petty, they weren't to her and that's the point. Every human handles stress differently. Any one of these thirteen reasons have been someone else's one reason. For some people it's one bad report card for another it may be year's of abuse, and for another it maybe a life long struggle with mental illness. All equally valid reasons and with equal loss.
• It's not your fault. Clay says this often as he listens to Hannah's stories. He tries to replay events in his head to see when he could've reached out to Hannah and Hannah experiences/witnesses several incidents of her own, all bad things but none of them their fault. It's not even the "Baker Dozen's" fault. 
• We need bystander intervention training in schools/workplaces. You see this halfway play out in a scene with Justin and Bryce along with the effect of a failed intervention on Bryce's part. You also see this play out with Hannah and Jenny later on the same night. And you see plenty of characters stand by idly as things happen that should not. Hannah goes through great lengths in her tapes to explain why each of the situations are not acceptable and how they've built onto her snowball of non-escape.
• Move on. The last person Hannah calls out is Mr. Porter, her guidance counselor and English teacher. "Move on" is one of two choices he presents Hannah, which she uses as affirmation of her decision because she already knows that she cannot "move on". However, Clay uses the same advice to act as closure and spark a new hope. It's our ability to "move on" which allows each of us to wake up and start a new day. That doesn't mean forgive, forget, remain silent or become an activist. It simply means to finish today and begin tomorrow. Just move on. 

*Climbs off soap box*

The book was fast paced, thrilling and a page turner. Asher exhibits a really interesting take on writing with multiple points-of-view. It took me a minute to sort out the voices in my head, but I really enjoyed not having to wait a whole chapter until I could get input from the other POV. I'm looking forward to more writing from Asher.

Rating:

4.5 Stars - Read it in one sitting. 99% chance I'm reading Jay Asher's next book.