Juvenile Fiction
Penguin
December 27, 2016
Audiobook
288
The #1 New York Times bestseller and modern classic that's been changing lives for a decade gets a gorgeous revamped cover and special additional content.
You can't stop the future.
You can't rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package 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. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.
Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.
WrensReads Review:
Play. Side A.
This is a story about the aftermath of bullying and sexual assault of a dramatic girl.
No, not me, Hannah; though I related to her on so many levels. Let’s just not take in the factors of our long, curly and wild hair that dramatically got cut short, or our big eyes and lips, our average build or the fact that we are so white we are paper.
Let’s take in the fact that even though we went through a lot of the same stuff in high school, our lives ended up drastically different. There were many list that I made the prize on in high school. I had so many back stabbing friends that I really didn’t have many friends to begin with. I was sexually assaulted on many different levels, but thankfully I don’t take the cake on that. I had dark thoughts, but I thank the stars everyday that I never went through with any of them.
Why? Because the mess that I would have left would have been too heartbreaking for me. To know that I caused just one person grief would be enough for me to feel down right ashamed.
Don’t worry guys, though my mind isn’t bright I am not as dramatic as I used to be. I have a little more sense than I did back in high school. The reason I am kind of spreading out my dirty laundry all over your computer screen is because I want just one person to realize and understand: I get it. You are not alone.
I watched the binge-worthy Netflix adaption of this show before the book.
But in my defense, I didn’t even know this book existed until some random check-out lady at Stein Mart was comparing the two. Talking about how the show did it better with the addition of the other kids on the tapes but the book was more realistic in the sense that anyone would have listened to all of those tapes in one night.
Honestly? I think they are both pure knowledge and depth.
I’m serious when I saw when I read the book, it was like hearing the story for the first time. No, the Netflix adaption didn’t really change the storyline, they added to it. Nothing was really that different. But this book is so powerful that it’s something everyone should be reading to learn about.
Whether it be to learn to pay attention to those around you or to learn that no matter how lonely you feel you are not alone, it’s worth every word. Hannah could have had so much going for her if she didn’t give up. But no young lady (or man) should ever have to go through the horrible bullying or sexual assault she did. No person should ever experience something so cruel and horrendous.
If this is you, know you aren’t alone. A 2015 study shows that 1 out of 5 girls are raped and 1 out of 71 boys. The suicide rate is at a peak in history right now too. It’s disgusting. If you don’t want to talk to a parent or gaurdian or someone you trust, 1-800-273-8255 is a number you can call to talk about a loved one who you think is a danger to themselves. Or maybe it’s you who is a danger to yourself. Don’t want to talk on the phone? There’s a chat. Don’t want to talk to someone you know but don’t want to talk to a stranger? There are so many people here on Goodreads that have found comfort in books because the outside world is too hard to handle for the moment. Talk to us. Talk to me. I have had those dark thoughts. I can’t promise to get you out of them, but I can promise to sit right there with you until you are able.
Read this book. Learn from this book. Share this book. You are not alone.
WrensReads | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
