Thirteen Reasons Why
By: Jay Asher


All is going well for teenage Clay Jenson, until he returns home one day to discover a box addressed to him waiting on his front porch. Inside he finds 7 numbered cassette tapes from his crush Hannah Baker, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. While listening to her recorded tapes he comes across his name, along with 12 others that Hannah believes is responsible for her suicide. Clay continues to listen to all 7 tapes throughout the night, anxiously waiting to find out where he plays a part in his crush’s suicide. Using the recordings as a guide to take him throughout the town to find out where the events took place, he never even imagined what was waiting for him to discover. Not only is he trying to find out where he played a part in Hannah’s death, but also the 12 other people and the secrets they have hidden. Never will he look or even think about himself and the 12 others the same way ever again.

I never would have thought of picking up this novel if it weren’t for the title; it’s an eye-catcher. I didn’t find out it was a mystery book until I was a few chapters in. I’m a huge realistic fiction reader, but this book changed my appreciation for mystery novels! This book really kept me on the edge of my seat and Jay Asher does a phenomenal job of keeping the reader interested and never wanting to stop reading! He does well with combining genres such as mystery, realistic fiction, and even a little bit of comedy. This book demonstrates and explains the real world that teenagers might experience throughout their high school life. If you’re a reader like me who likes to read books that you can easily relate to, this is the book for you.