What an unbelievable book. If you haven’t read it, you should. If your thinking about reading it do it now.I don’t know about you, but I love getting stuff in the mail, especially getting packages. Well so does the main character of this story, Clay. But Clay would rather have not received this package.Hannah Baker. Clay has had a crush on Hannah forever, but he never had the guts to really tell her. Now he never will. Hannah committed suicide. But before Hannah killed herself she left something behind. Seven cassette tapes. Seven tapes that tell the story of the thirteen people that caused Hannah to feel that she had no where to turn.Each person has a story within the tapes and it is your responsibility after you listen to the tapes to pass it onto the next person. But what did Clay do? How could he be one of the people responsible for her suicide, he will have to listen to the tapes to find out.This is one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read. It is right up there with Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes. This is definitely one of those books that makes you look at the way you treat people and how fragile we are as humans. I cried, I laughed, I felt.Suicide is the third leading [b:cause of death|6541|Cause of Death (Scarpetta Book 7)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165603739s/6541.jpg|2408] in people ranging in the ages 15-24. If you know someone who has talked about committing suicide, please don’t take it lightly. You might be the one person they are reaching out to. ( )

When Hannah committed suicide, she left tapes naming thirteen people who contributed to her death. The night Clay receives them, he walks the town, listening and learning.

A powerful, disturbing, beautifully written novel. But somehow it just didn't grab me. Perhaps because I find first-person narrative irritating. ( )

I did not find this book to be nearly as dazzling as everyone else seems to think. It wasn't a bad book but I think it's highly overrated. I gave it three stars because, being a victim of school bullying myself, I could totally believe all the little nasty things the kids at Hannah's school did. That part of the book was very real to me. But I had two major problems with the novel.

Number One: Of oourse I felt sympathy for Hannah; she had a lot of problems, most of which were not her fault. But she was also a petty, whiny, vindictive witch. Her thirteen tapes are, as a friend of mine put it, the ultimate "you'll be sorry when I'm dead." Very childish.

Number Two: I know from experience that when a person is so depressed that they're at the point of ending their life, they simply don't have the energy to do something as elaborate as Hannah's scheme with the tapes. Some of Hannah's other actions preceding her suicide make a lot of sense -- like, simply sitting there and allowing a boy she loathes to sexually assault her, that's exactly what an extremely depressed person might do, because they become extremely inert and apathetic. But I simply could not buy the literary device of the tapes, without which the whole story collapses.

In spite of its flaws, the story was compulsively readable and may teach the reader a lesson about how their actions affect other people. I believe this author has promise and I will probably read his next book. I think he simply bit off more than he could chew with this one, though. ( )

Asher's book was a very quick read, but extremely intense. Thirteen Reasons Why is an extremely well written, fascinating book. The characters, the story and the format is very strong. It's an excellent book, but I don't know if liked it. Just like the two Gail Giles books I've read, it's more realistic than I'd like and deals with issues that no one wants to address. I do know that I'll never read this book again, but I don't think I'd have any problems recommending it. It's intense, emotionally draining and quite interesting. I'm not sure I understood what I was going to read before I picked it up, but I'm glad a read it. Suicide is a serious and heartbreaking topic and Asher treats it with respect and without glossing over the tragedy. ( )

I read this book in one sitting. I started it last night while I was making dinner and was up later than my usual 9:00pm bedtime because I just had to finish it. It is that good.

Hannah Baker can't take it anymore. Her life, in general, has been altered forever by one stupid rumor started by one stupid person when they were in the 10th grade. From that one rumor, there came other rumors plus many more, and poor Hannah never stands a chance to redeem herself. She holds 13 people responsible for her decision to kill herself. She records 13 audio tapes, describing each person and how they were linked to her and her fateful decision.

This book should be required reading for teens. I think every one of us who has read this book could relate to Hannah on some personal level. I know that I did. I felt her anger, shame, sadness and hopelessness. It was frustrating to hear her reaching out for help---and never receiving any. Poor Clay--he would have helped her, if only she had asked him. They were friends, but there was more there -- Hannah wouldn't let him in. Although Clay blames himself for Hannah's death, she reassures him on the tapes that he is not to blame.

"Clay, honey, your name does not belong on this list. You don't belong the same way as the others. One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. And that's you, Clay. But you need to be here if I'm going to tell my story. To tell it more completely". (pg 200)

One by one, Clay listens to all thirteen tapes in one evening, while walking his neighborhood, following a map that Hannah slipped into his locker only days before her suicide. The map highlights places where things happened to Hannah that she can not forget. She doesn't want the 13 people on her tape to forget, either.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time....I will never forget it. ( )