Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several 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.
This is an excerpt: A shoebox-sized package is propped against the front door at an angle. Our front door has a tiny slot to shove mail through, but anything thicker than a bar of soap gets left outside. A hurried scribble on the wrapping addresses the package to Clay Jensen, so I pick it up and head inside. I take the package into the kitchen and set it on the counter. I slide open the junk drawer and pull out a pair of scissors. Then I run a scissor blade around the package and lift off its top. Inside the shoebox is a rolled-up tube of bubble-wrap. I unroll that and discover seven loose audiotapes. Each tape has a dark blue number painted in the upper right-hand corner, possibly with nail polish. Each side has its own number. One and two on the first tape, three and four on the next, five and six, and so on. The last tape has a thirteen on one side, but nothing on the back. Who would send me a shoebox full of audiotapes? No one listens to tapes anymore. Do I even have a way to play them? The garage! The stereo on the workbench. My dad bought it at a yard sale for almost nothing. It's old, so he doesn't care if it gets coated with sawdust or splattered with paint. And best of all, it plays tapes. I drag a stool in front of the workbench, drop my backpack to the floor, then sit down. I press Eject on the player. A plastic door eases open and I slide in the first tape.
I really love this book because it discusses suicide, a real issue, and makes you think of all the reasons or ways you could push someone that far, even if you didn't think you were doing anything. I actually don't have a lot to say about this book other than it was amazing and reading this book should be on your MUST DO BEFORE I DIE LIST (for those of you who have that list. I need to make one...) In the book, as the synopsis tells you, Clay is on the list. Just a warning, Clay is not the first one to be talked about, and I know some people are impatient like me and would want to just skip to the part that has him in it. DON'T. If you want any of the emotional effect this will create for you (it's a good effect. Affect?...:/) then just read, and you will feel every single emotion that Clay and Hannah feel. Also, and I am completely serious, this book has saved people's lives. I'm sure there are at least a thousand people out in the world who are alive and healthy and happy because they read this book. So, if you're interested, go check it out!!!
Thirteen Reasons Why's Official Website: http://thirteenreasonswhy.com/
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