I'm not gonna lie, I DNFd this..
Nothing against the author, writing style or content, I just wasn't feeling this.

Maybe I'll pick it back up again in the future but for now, it's not something I will be continuing with..

I decided to read this story as I have heard a lot about it, both good and bad! Many mixed reviews, also because of the series on Netflix which I have not yet watched so cannot compare to the book.
13 Reasons Why is easy to read, contains short chapters and is extremely fast paced you have to keep up with it. The story is told over one long night and I must admit it kept me going too, I didnt want to put it down. Another story I have recently finished within a day.
I did however find it hard to keep up with how it kept switching from Clay's character to Hannahs character throughout, but it is a well thoughtout story which would appeal to young adult readers.
The message within this story is a strong one and does lead to suicide being involved which may make those younger readers realise how just how important actions and words towards others are even to this day. I enjoyed reading this and can now watch the series to compare. I awarded 5 stars and would highly recommend to all of you if you haven't read the book already.

Gripping and moving, Thirteen Reasons Why was an experience which I raced through, needing to find out more. Although it was filled with interesting anecdotes and characters, the main theme of revenge was unpleasant to read, and is a negative representation of people suffering from depression and mental illness. Although I am glad that this book (and Netflix show) has started debate and much needed dialogue, there are many better books available for a teenager wanting to start reading about mental health.

I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in an exchange for an honest review!

I have to admit that I first started reading Thirteen Reasons Why a long time ago but only just returned to read it properly after watching the now infamous TV show.

With such a difficult issue as teen suicide a book like Thirteen Reasons Why is always going to divide opinion between those who think talking about such topics glorifies suicide and those who think doing so serves as a good prevention aid. Personally I believe Hannah's story falls somewhere in the middle.

Without turning this review into a big old comparison between the book and TV programme I will say the pacing is increased for the show. We do see the same heartbreak and devastation caused by Hannah's death and we're still guided through what leads her to suicide.

I often found myself wondering how nobody saw the signs and how things escalated to the point where Hannah sees no way of living. I guess this is the devastating truth about depression and mental illness - it's often easy to ignore whats right in front of you. Especially when you're busy and young yourself.

Whilst I felt bad for Hannah and truly believe mental illness should always be taken seriously, it was Clay I genuinely empathised with. It's particularly difficult when faced with Clay's devastation over Hannah's death and her tapes.

I would have liked to have seen greater consequences for the characters who commit some pretty horrific actions.

I'm glad I found the time to go back and read the story because it definitely gives more insight into the events and helps bring traumatic issues into the spotlight.

3 Stars in my Sky!

After all these years I've never come across a book in marginally like this. I have to say the format and style was pretty unique and that something you don't say a lot in YA. I feel like everyone should give this book ago, it doesn't matter if you've heard the negative reviews. Find out for yourselves why Hannah did what she did and her reasons.

I couldn't stop reading thats how good the writing was, he really got into the mind of Hannah and to read that I have to say was pretty hard for me (one of the reasons it took quite long).

One thing I'm trying to get around is; does it really glamorise suicide? For the most part I don't think so. It would be more of a suicide prevention book as the book deals with the reaction of people around Hannah as well as how she got to her position.

It's important book, it's hard hitting but bare in mind if you have suffered/are suffering from any of the topics it would be a good idea not to read it yet. Mental Health is important.

I think I must be one of the last people to read this book. There has been hype surrounding this book since I first got into reading and it was one of the first books I ever read a sample chapter of back when it was first popular. More recently, though, with the success of the TV adaptation, the hype surrounding this book has been so crazy I felt like I had to read it to see what all the fuss was about. I mean, surely all those people couldn't be wrong, I was obviously going to love this, right? Sadly, not.

I am one of the apparently quite few people who did not love this book. In fact, I really disliked this book. I had heard some negative things in the midst of all the love so I didn't go in with very high expectations, however I was sadly still disappointed.

This book is obviously about the thirteen reasons why Hannah decided to commit suicide. You would think, given that premise, that Hannah would be the kind of character you would feel compassion for and just generally like. Maybe I'm just heartless but I couldn't stand Hannah. She was probably one of the most annoying main characters I have ever read about and I just couldn't bring myself to feel compassion for her. Of course it was horrible that she felt the need to commit suicide, but I really didn't care about all of her problems.

I found Hannah's reasons for committing suicide completely ridiculous. I do feel quite heartless for saying that but it is true. There were a few 'reasons' explained in the tapes that were understandable and I could definitely see where the harm was cause but the majority of them seemed unreasonable. It just seemed to me that the ultimate reason for Hannah committing suicide was 'life is hard sometimes and people can be mean'. I could completely understand horrific bullying reaching such an outcome but I know a lot of people who would wish they were treated the way Hannah was rather than what they are dealing with. Maybe I missed the point but it seemed completely unreasonable to me.

While I understand they are essentially what makes the story what it is, I really did not like the idea of the tapes. These tapes that Hannah was essentially threatening people with beyond the grave, as well as Hannah's suicide in general, seemed almost like revenge. It felt to me like she was trying to get back at all these people for the things they had done to her by committing suicide and making sure they knew their part in it. It was uncomfortable to read about and, in my opinion, provided a very unhealthy representation of suicide and mental illness.

The one redeeming quality of this book for me was Clay. Clay was the only reason I didn't DNF this book. I found him and the way he handled this situation he was thrust into fascinating. I really felt for him throughout the book and thought the way he was so invested in the tapes and following Hannah's story said a lot about him as a character. I highly doubt I would have finished this book if it hadn't been for him.

Overall, I was incredibly disappointed in this book. For still being so popular over 10 years after first publication, I expected the hype surrounding it to be deserved. I definitely did not expect to dislike it as much as I did. Like I said, maybe I just missed the point but this book was most definitely not for me.

13 Reasons Why by Jay asher.
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 one day to find a mysterious box with his name on it, outside his front door. Inside he discovers a series of cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush. Only, she committed suicide two weeks earlier. On the first tape, Hannah explains that there are 13 reasons why she did what she did - and Clay is one of them.
If he listens, Clay will find out how he made the list - what he hears will change his life forever.
A very good read with good characters. Found it a little slow in places. but then I couldn’t put it down in had to find out what happened. 4*. Netgalley and penguin random house UK children's.

Did you know it is actually a book?

I wanted to write about the series for a long time, and now I bring you the actual book in which the series was inspired.

I really recommend everyone to see the series, parents, teenagers, bullies or someone that experiences what is written in this book/tv series.

As a parent, I have to admit I didnt had these kind of things back in my school, and I was in fact a popular girl but i always looked out for the “new people”, organized parties for everyone. I know that for other people High school was pretty much awful, for me it wasn’t at all, one of the best times ever.

Now as a parent, this tv series showed me what can go wrong in high schools nowadays and how different it become and I really felt afraid for my little RJ, but I think every parent would feel like me.

I really recommend the book and the tv series.

This is a heart wrenching read which had me sobbing. I found I had strong feelings for Hannah Baker and can imagine this book relating to lots of secondary school children. This book sends some strong messages about people's actions and encourages them to really think about behaviour and the consequences to another person. I think this would do well as a class read in secondary school.

My friend asked me to watch the TV version.
I watched an episode and then worked on finishing the book.
I just feel it wasn't for me. Nothing really connected with me and the POV character has so much "Oh they say I''m good guy. I'm not!'
The subject matter is worth talking about though.
I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Everyone knows what this book is about, everyone has heard about the TV show based on it, and how sucessful it has been. (I was still living under a rock, and kept myself from watching until I was done reading this).

"I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell youthe story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of of the reasons why."

A few days after Hannah Baker's death, Clay Jensen received a package full of audiotapes. And while hearing these tapes, Clay's world take a full turn.
He gets to know the details that got to her depression.. first kisses gone wrong, being joked on classes, shoved back by the ones she used to trust.. Reading this book got me emotional, as some situations sounded quite familiar.

I guess the main issue older readers (such as myself) have with this book is the fact that Hannah gets to emotional about things that aren't important at all. But I guess we were all like that as teenagers. And this book deserves to be read in a "teenager state of mind", to be fully understood.

Definitely a eye-opener, I would recomend this book to most teenagers. Not only to the bullied ones, so they know that they're not alone, but to everyone else. Because silence hurts too. Help someone. Show them a smile. You might be saving someone else's life.

This book was mind blowing and very insightful at the same time. It forced me to see things from a different perspective and I'm so very glad that I did read this book. It was uncomfortable to read for certain parts but I'm assuming that was the point. Very well written!

Thirteen Reasons Why is a very engaging book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I am not quite sure if I would have read the book before I became engaged to the Netflix series but I am glad I did. I have a feeling that I would probably have missed out on this great book otherwise.

Jay Asher's writing aesthetic is very engaging and his use of dialogue and character development was excellently written. I was also very found of his plot device and the framing of his chapters which urges the readers to become gripped and become totally engrossed.

Some of the subject matter is truly horrific and at times I wonder are teens this self obsessed. At first glance, they seem like everyone is close but as you ponder your way through the book, you realised that the teens really have no interconnection with each other. They co-exist in their own private worlds but no one really knows each other.

I do not know if this is a plot device for the book or if this is a reflection of modern teen society today. I hope it is the former because if it is the later, the world is in a very sad state of affairs.

Overall, this is a gripping read and would recommend this book to anyone. It's paced extremely well, the shocking ending and conclusion are fully engaging and one of the better young adult fictions that transpires through all age ranges. This is a true winner and it has piqued my interest in Jay Asher's writing which I am going to start reading.

A compelling read.
There are plenty of arguments for and against the content and I'm not really sure where I stand on those, but as a piece of literature I really enjoyed it.

: I will start with confession, I requested this book, because I knew the TV Series are out, it can’t be bad if it’s on telly right? And guess what, I was right. I loved this book.
This book is a quick read, because it is tiny and really gripping. This book carries two stories at once, the story of Hannah and another one of Clay. This novel is filled with feelings and regret. I loved Hannah’s character in this book, yes, even though she is dead, she is still the main character of this book. I loved her courage for this confession and the secrecy and originality of all this “business”. The palette of characters is really wide in this book and offers a great variety of personalities to choose from. The characters are very realistic, just like ordinary school kids, which most of us faced in our lives. The whole story is told by Clay and Hannah, but that is sufficient to showcase the feelings and powerful meaning of this novel.
I absolutely loved the message of this book, and I think that Jay Asher done a great Job, by highlighting suicide and its causes. I loved the way he showed, how small and to some, unimportant actions might influence young people and what it can lead to. I loved the difficulty of relationships which Jay Asher was portraying in this book, and how it changed due to particular actions. The narrative of this book is flowing smoothly in this novel, there are no much twists or turns, but every chapter has a great cliffhanger, which creates suspense, makes you wonder of what is waiting in the next side of that cassette. One thing that made it difficult for me, was the merging of these two stories, I would’ve preferred that Hanna’s stories would be uninterrupted by Clay’s commentary and thoughts.
The language of this book was easy to read and understandable, and the chapters are reasonable length, so it is easy, quick and very powerful read. The ending of this novel is well thought throw and shows to all of us, that life goes on. So, to conclude, it is very amusing and extremely deep book, full of friendships and teenage relationships, and I think this book is absolute must read to all the school goers (and others as well), as in my opinion, most of them can relate to this book and learn few great things about life as well.

I enjoyed it. I wanted to read this before watching the series on TV

A difficult book to review as I worked in a school library and I would have to think twice about putting it on open shelves. Whilst it tackled a serious topic I think that by using suicide as some sort of revenge it it may give young people a strange validity for taking their own life rather than encouraging them to deal with their problems and talk to someone about their feelings. I have very mixed views about it.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Wow! An incredible book with a lesson for every one who reads it. This definitely gets 5*'s from me.

I had been wanting to read this book for a long while because of the Netflix series (which I'll be watching soon) but also because I'd heard plenty about the book. I actually really enjoyed it and I wasnt sure I would.

This book worked for me because I liked the characters. I instantly liked Hannah and cared about her. I genuinely wanted better for her because she got dealt a shit hand. And I liked Clay. O kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and to find the flaw in his apparent nice guy act but he was genuinely this nice guy who wasn't perfect but wasn't malicious with his niceties.

I respected the book for highlighting suicide and the warning signs to look for. It sounds like the fault for suicide is trying to be passed onto others and in some ways it was other people's fault for putting Hannah on the path she was but I felt this was more about explaining that suicide didn't occur for a single reason and there is no easy fix to help those contemplating suicide but there are signs to look for.

I also liked that a lot of people on Hannah's list are people who many would like and get along with. They weren't all horrible mean people bullying her or anything like that but the simple acts of normal people who to one person can be taken in one way but seen by that person as another. It makes you think about how your actions can affect others and that really is an important thing to remember. Our actions affect not just us.

There were bad guys in this book. People who deserved a comeuppance but then the minor revenge in this book was nowhere near enough.

I think the book was well done. These are only my immediate thoughts so I will need to take time to stew but it really was a quick read which hooked me immediately.

I was late to discover Thirteen Reasons Why, but it is worth the wait.

So poignant and soulful, it shows how every 'insignificant' wrong adds up to something unsurmountable, and how often we do not take the time to consider if the joke/prank actually hurts someone.

Brilliant book, thoroughly recommended!