VOYA (February 1, 2008)
Listening to the audio cassettes found propped against his front door, Clay is shocked to hear the voice of Hannah, who killed herself two weeks earlier. On the tapes, Hannah explains why she committed suicide and how the thirteen people named in the tapes contributed to her decision to end her life. Clay learns that he is among those named. High school senior Clay is the novel's main narrator, but the story belongs to Hannah. She describes in an authentic, if overly self-aware, voice how slights and misunderstandings snowballed until she could no longer cope. Hannah's reputation is questioned, her parents are distracted by financial problems, her friends use her, and when she reaches out for help, no one steps forward. Readers will immediately identify with Hannah's experiences in high school society. From Hannah, readers realize the impact of thoughtless actions and comments. As Clay finishes Hannah's story, he becomes more perceptive and sensitive to others. Teens will embrace Asher's debut novel because it is not condescending or preachy. Sex and drugs are plot elements but are not graphically described. Short sentences make it a quick, smooth read, yet there is depth to the novel. This provocative tale touches on universal topics of interest, is genuine in its message, and would be a good choice for high school book discussions and booktalks. The attractive cover art is aimed at female readers. But because the content appeals to both genders, more readers would be drawn to the book if it featured Clay on the cover. --Judy Sasges.

SLJ (November 1, 2007)
Gr 7 Up-High school senior Clay Jensen receives seven audiotapes in the mail. They contain the story of why Hannah Baker, a girl he adored, committed suicide. Each side is devoted to a person in her life and a reason for her death. Clay also has a map of places featured on the recordings. He spends a torturous night listening and wandering, unearthing the depth and causes of Hannah's unhappiness. His torment is private-how did he hurt a girl he treasured from afar-and empathic-her hurts and betrayals tear him apart. Clay's pain is palpable and exquisitely drawn in gripping, casually poetic prose. The complex and soulful characters expose astoundingly rich and singularly teenage inner lives, with emotions as raw as cut wrists. The mood is more serious than somber, and Clay's thoughtful synthesis of Hannah's increasingly explosive narrative saves the novel from melodrama. In fact, Hannah's and Clay's narratives are woven together so seamlessly that the characters appear to converse naturally from opposite sides of mortality. Compounded, the tapes build the plot in increasingly tense increments-Hannah's story is a freight train of despair and suspense that picks up speed as it moves to her final undoing. Like the protagonist in John Green's Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005), Hannah is an animate ghost; Clay's bereaved voice bears witness to her tragedy. The episodic structure is nicely suited to reluctant readers, but the breakneck pace and dizzying emotion are the true source of this novel's irresistible readability at all levels.-Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. ( )

This is a popular title in junior high and high school libraries. A young girl who has committed suicide leaves behind tapes that outline the reasons why she did it. It certainly reminds the reader of the fragility of young people and how important it is to really listen to them. It also shows the power of rumors and the insecurity within that age group. I do think the book has a powerful message. I'm trying to decide why I only gave it three stars and it has to be because I thought, despite all I've written, that it was sort of boring. Yikes! That makes me sound cold and I'm not. Something about the prose was mechanical and it detracted. ( )

This is a great book. It was so good that I didn't want to finish it. Ever get that feeling or do you think I am totally mad? At the same time I couldn't put it down which was a bad thing because I was meant to be writing an english eassy. I think that it would be a good book to read as a class at school because it would make people more aware of what their actions and words might lead to. It was a great book and I think anyone would like it even if they don't like reading. Can't wait to read another book by this author any ideas would be great. ( )

For more mature readers--may be more high school than middle school due to the issues involved. A girl sends tapes she has made to 13 of her classmateswho have affected her life, explaining the role they had in her suicide. There are many issues for discussion here. The book affected me deeply. ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I don't often write introductions to my reviews. In fact, the last time I can remember doing so was with the wonderful PUCKER by Melanie Gideon, which I read in 2006. However, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, the debut novel from author Jay Asher, is the type of book that begs an introduction. So if you'd like to skip down to the third paragraph for the "meat" of the story, I won't hold it against you -- but you'll be missing something important.

If you have the chance to only read one novel this year, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY should be that book. It's sad, amazing, heartbreaking, and hopeful, all at the same time. I dare you to read it and not become so immersed in the story that you lose track of time and your surroundings. You'll cry, several times, while reading this story. You'll have no choice but to think about your actions, and wonder what type of effect they have on other people. And, in the end, you might also find the need to say "thank you."

Now, on to the story...

When Clay Jensen finds a package on his front porch, he's excited. A package, for him? With no return address? What could it possibly be? What Clay finds is a shoebox full of cassette tapes, each marked as "Cassette 1: Side A," "Cassette 1: Side B," etc. Of course he rushes to the old radio/cassette player in his dad's garage to check out these mysterious tapes.

And soon wishes, wholeheartedly, that he'd never picked up that stupid package from his front porch.

What he hears when he inserts that first tape is the voice of Hannah Baker. Hannah, the girl he'd crushed on for longer than he could remember. The girl he went to school with. The girl he worked at the movie theater with. The girl who had changed, drastically, in the last several months. Hannah Baker, the girl who committed suicide.

Clay soon realizes that these tapes aren't just a suicide note, aren't, really, even a clear-cut rendition of why she did what she did. Instead, these are thirteen reasons -- thirteen people, to be exact -- who created a snowball-effect of events that led Hannah to believe that suicide was her only option. But why is Clay on that list? How could he possibly be one of the reasons that she killed herself?

As the day goes on, Clay becomes obsessed with listening to the tapes. And what he hears frightens him, disturbs him, and, in the end, leads him to realizations that he never would have expected. As Clay listens to the role that thirteen people, including himself, led in the ultimate death of Hannah Baker, his view of the world, and himself, changes drastically.

You will love this book, because you won't be able to help yourself. You will feel what Clay feels. You will, in a very strong way, experience the highs and lows of Hannah's life right along with her. And there is nothing, in my opinion, that could speak better for the authenticity of a book. Read THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. And then, if you're like me, you'll read it again. And, hopefully, none of us will ever forget it. ( )