Release Date: October 18, 2007
Pages: 288
Rating:💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Clay Jensen returns home to find a strange package with his name on it. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker – his classmate and first love – who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains there are thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. All through the night, Clay keeps listening – and what he discovers changes his life... forever.
I was writing this review when I started reading other people's thoughts and feelings about the book.
Now, instead of a review, I'm going to write a ramble. I'm not going to explain why I gave this book 5 stars.
Instead, I'm going to take up this space to talk about suicide.
*this is not a pity post. seriously. I am not looking for attention, just trying to express my opinions*
I'm going to leave a series of reviews throughout this post that I think you should go read. I enjoyed reading all of them, and I think they all raised valid points.
Review 1 : Emma
This book was always going to get hate. It deals with suicide, rape, abuse and so many other sensitive topics. However, I think the main hate came from the Netflix show.
That show. I have no words to describe how much I hate it. I started watching but gave up because it was too hard to get through.
I refused to watch it until I read this book because I'd heard how graphic and insensitive it was. But man, I did not expect it to be that bad.
Yes, the book is graphic. The book goes into details. But the book does not carry on when it is not necessary. The TV show does.
When I was watching the TV show, my main problem was that they dramatised the book. They added more drama, more action, more things to go wrong.
You know what I would have liked. An adaptation that stuck to the book. An adaptation that didn't add a court case, a lets-hate-Clay-club and a million other things.
An adaptation that didn't make the suicide more dramatic.
Can you believe that?
They made a suicide more dramatic. They literally looked at a young girl killing herself and thought 'you know what this needs? Drama!'
Review 2: Another Emma
I loved this review. I really did. It says everything I want to say about this book.
I think the TV show did this book wrong. If the TV show had never existed this book could have been a suicide story that had no stigma around. But because Hollywood can't leave anything alone, they ruined this book as well.
Onto the most important part of this review.
Do not read this book if you are depressed or suicidal. I've been struggling with depressive tendencies for 8 years now, and this book almost sent me to a darker place. (And when I say depressive tendencies, I don't just mean pretty-girl-crying-in-bathroom. I mean can't look in mirrors, hiding at home and skipping school, self-harming, pulling away from friends). This book is a suicide success story (how sick is that to say) and if you might relapse don't read it.
If you have suffered from abuse of any sort please get help. Seriously. Don't hide or wait another day because things might be better. Get help now. I know the media makes talking out hard these days, and you don't know what consequences might occur but you need to speak out. Here are some places to go:
* www.thehotline.org
*1-800-799-7233
If you are having suicidal thoughts, talk to someone. Your mum, dad, auntie, uncle, grandparents, friends, neighbours, teacher, counsellor, boss, even your cat. Talk it out might seem hard at first, but eventually it will get easier and they will help you through it. Even if it is just talking to your pet or your reflection, talking it through helps your brain put everything in order and try to come up with a solution. If you don't want to talk to someone you know here are some links:
*List of international suicide hotlines
*http://afsp.org
If you want to self harm, do something to take your mind off it. I have so many tips and tricks that I do, but every person is different. For example, I can't listen to music through headphones when trying to resist the urge, but that's what helps my friend. However here is list of things that might help:
*visit www.harmless.org.uk
*talk to a friend
*listen to music
*do something with your hands that requires attention (tidy your room!)
*hold an ice cube, or rub it on the area you self-harm on
*get out and go to a local cafe/ Starbucks/ Costa
Final bit of advice: message me on Instagram. I have a mental health Instagram which I use to document my recovery. I'm literally always on it, so please, if worst comes to worst (or you just want to chat, message me on it.) I'll leave a link here.
So there we go. Good book, bad TV show, lots of advice. I'll see you next time!
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