By Judith Hernandez

Sometimes books written for young adults tend to be superficial, leaving its audience entertained but not really intrigued or fulfilled. This is not the case with the novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.

Hitting the New York Times best-seller list back in 2011, this read is still noteworthy.
It is about a boy named Clay who gets a package from his dead classmate, Hannah Baker, after she committed suicide. The package is a shoe box with seven cassette tapes, on which she recorded 13 reasons why she committed suicide. Every tape is dedicated to a person who was instrumental involved in her decision to commit suicide.

Clay listens to the tapes, realizing how many secrets his community holds. The plot unfolds as he discovers the real reason for Hannah’s death. The story is really good in many ways, but it also has its flaws. Hannah is a likable character, but she seems to be overly dramatic and too sensitive.

Not everyone will like everyone else and sometimes people do some mean things to others. It is just a part of life, and not a reason to assemble a big project before committing suicide. She should have reached out to a potential friend instead of mailing him a box of tapes.

The story focuses on the recipient of the tape package, Clay, who had a crush on Hannah. He did not know that she was suicidal, he thought nothing was wrong.

Clay develops as a character, as he learns about people in his school and in his town. When he finishes the tapes, he decides to send them to another person, so that they can learn and benefit from Hannah’s pain.

By the end Clay looks at his classmates differently. He realizes that they too are isolating themselves, and learning from Hannah decides to reach out to others, so that they will not suffer the same faith as Hannah.

This novel is well written, and compelling. The gripes about Hannah’s character are small, and in the end this was a very enjoyable, and educational book.