Let's talk Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.” - Thirteen Reasons Why follows Jay Clensen after he receives a series of tapes from Hannah Baker, a girl who just two weeks before committed suicide, explaining what tipped her over the edge and why everyone listening had a part to play...

Just like usual, I started watching the Netflix original series long after everyone else but when I finally did... OMG!!!!!!!!!! So naturally I just HAD to read the book too. 

I read the book while on holiday in Spain and it took me about 2 days to finish. Not because it is a long book, it's 288 pages!, but because I needed time after every chapter to process what had happened and how it was making me feel. This book hit very close to home and resembled my own school experience quite a lot. Not everything was a replica, but the themes explored and, more importantly, the characters feelings were extremely relatable which led to an incredibly emotional reading experience.

Jay’s writing was simple yet exceptional! There was no need for fancy words or elaborate sentence structure, the characters and the plot did the talking and drew the reading in adding even more emphasis on the “I know exactly how that feels” tag.

The issues raised in this book are quite adult and I defiantly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone younger than 14, however Asher defiantly softens them down in the book compared to the series and for that I would say 13+ with adult consent.  

I believe this book is one that everyone should read, especially young adults! Although it has received a lot of criticism for “glorifying” suicide, I believe the message behind this book is too powerful to discourage reading.