Nina ♥'s Reviews > Thirteen Reasons Why

Good review, it makes me even more curious to read the book, really.

I found it surprising that you mentioned your high school wasn't like that - I had imagined it to be an adolescent thing, not an American adolescent issue.

Read it. Your opinion may differ from mine. I would love to see what you think. ;)
Well, I don't know about high schools in every place, but this book gave me insight to American ones. I mean, I have been to an American high school before, and I’m glad to say that it was nothing like this. And it's nothing like high schools in where I live now. There is no popularity here--simply because we all hang out together--or drugs, alcohol or...you get the point.

I loved your review. I have also read this book (but I gave it 1 star) I was in one of my groups and I was having an argument about this book, people just didn't get why I hated it!

Hey! I just read your review now. I agree with you 100%. My best friends told me to read it because it was SO good and amazing, and I thought why not? Not to mention the description of the book was really tempting and so I read it. But now I wish I hadn't. The ending was just pathetic. I just kept reading 'til the end because I was waiting for a REAL reason, for something so horrible to happen that it had made Hannah want to commit suicide. But it never came. I was so irritated and disappointed. So it's good to know someone's agreeing with me, I’m tired of arguing with my friends about it too! :D

You really think people only commit suicide because something horrible has happened to them? Think again. Especially when you're a teen, building up a positive self-image is essential to becoming a functional adult. For Hannah, this is basically what is ruined with the snowball effect of the rumor mill AND the consequences of her own (in)actions.

If the only way you can sympathize with a character is only when they are a victim of their surroundings. If the only way you see suicide as a plausible ending when they've been (mentally, sexually, physically)abused or any other "horror" you can think of, I think you are mistaken. Despair, loneliness, helplessness, emptiness.. it can can come in different ways (and some more serious than others). And while one person may work through their problems, another cannot.

Besides, I don't think the author meant to make Hannah the blameless victim. She's just as much part of the problem as the rest of them are.Besides, what else has she done than confront the people with their own actions? I don't condone her actions, but I don't feel she was that out of line either. As for pulling Clay and Tony into it: I think she genuinely wanted them to know, because they would have taken her seriously. And as Tony said, she probably thought Clay would have wanted to know the truth. Because she probably thought him to be a good and caring person. And I think, knowing it, will make Clay a better person. From now on, he won't ignore the warning signs anymore. If she hadn't included him on the list, he might have lived in blissful ignorance, closing his eyes for everything disturbing and thinking he has no part in any snowball effect as long as he doesn't act. Now where's the positive message in that? This book has its flaws, but I think it served it's purpose well enough.

As a teen, I've struggled with suicidal thoughts, and for far less serious issues than Hannah has struggles with. When you feel unhappy about yourself and like you don't have anything to add to the world, you don't need a horrific incident to trigger it. The reason I never went through with it, is cos I felt I still had something to live for, even if it wasn't there at that moment, it could still come. I still had hope. Hannah obviously didn't.

I'll give you 13 reasons why I think Hanna was being utterly ridiculous:

1. Justin Foley: this whole began with she & Justin kissing and Justin telling his friends that they had gone further, which gives Hanna a bad reputation at her new school. I don't hate Hanna for being kinda depressed about this, but that is NOT how would handle the situation if it was me. I'm a tough-love kinda person. I don't like weak characters. And believe me, she was pretty weak. Besides that's NO reason to commit suicide. It just shows that you need help.

2. Alex Standall: the boy who put her down as the "Hottest Ass in the Freshman Class," I gotta say, Hanna takes everything way too seriously. Come on, some girls were even jealous she was on the list. I'm not saying that's a good thing, it's pretty shallow, but it just says that that's no reason to commit suicide either. She could've just told the principal of the school. Is that so hard? Or is she still worried about her "reputation?" If that happened to me, I would've slapped Alex right across the face. If I was angry. Or I would've just laughed at his face.

3. Jessica Davis: She was jealous of Hannah due to the fact that Hannah had been put on the “hot list” and Jessica herself was on the “not list.” So she abandoned Hannah as a friend.
Your friend left you? MAKE A NEW ONE. DON'T COMMIT SUICIDE.

4. Tyler Down: Again, some creep watches you sleep? CALL THE POLICE. That's absolutely NO reason to commit suicide either.

5. Courtney Crimsen: I'm still trying to figure out exactly what she did to Hanna that made her be in the cassettes. All she did was ask her to go to a party with her (mainly because she needed a ride). But oh no, Hanna's just got to get her panties in a bunch and make a big deal out of it.

6. Marcus Cooley: I admit, what he did to her was very mean. Especially on Valentine’s Day. The date was a joke, obviously, and Marcus thought that Hanna knew that too, but of course, she takes it seriously. I'm not blaming her on this one, though. I didn't know it was a joke either. And Marcus realizes that maybe she hadn't known it was a joke so he goes to their meeting place, just in case. When he finds her there, he tries to force her to allow him to touch her in a sexual manner. Kudos to Hanna for doing something brave for once and pushing him off of her. But she said in the tapes that he didn't trust Marcus, because he hung around douches like Alex. So why go on a date with him? It's just like she wants to be miserable.

7. Zach Dempsey: He tried comfort Hanna after Marcus left the diner, but since someone did something nice to her for once, she just had to be a total bitch to him. So he felt bitter, and stole her paper bag notes of encouragement. Hanna herself refers to this as "How pathetic." It is pathetic. Pathetic to feel depressed about. Pathetic enough to commit suicide for. So he stole her notes. “SO WHAT?!” I wanted to scream at her. If she wanted encouragement, she could've just talked to one of her classmates who wrote notes to her in the past. Again, not a good enough reason to commit suicide.

8. Ryan Shaver: He stole one of Hanna's poems, and published it. Do I really need to say it again? WHY COMMIT SUICIDE OVER SUCH A TRIVIAL THING? Even if she was upset, the poem was anonymous, for heaven's sake. Talk about being a drama queen.

9. Clay Jensen: Like I said in my review, why even send him the tapes if he wasn't one of the reasons Hanna killed herself? All that did was make him blame himself, instead of realizing that Hanna just gave up.

10. Justin Foley (again): This where I start hating Justin. He let his friend, Bryce Walker, rape a girl at a party. And so did Hanna. God, she needs to stop being so self-righteous. They are BOTH idiots. They BOTH ruined that poor girl's life. Now here's where she has to feel depressed.

11. Jenny Kurtz: a cheerleader who helped hook Hannah up with Marcus. She was giving Hannah a ride home when she hit and knocked over a stop sign. Jenny refused to report it and, when pressed further, kicked Hannah out of the car. Later that evening, a senior citizen was hurt and a student from their school died in an accident due to the missing stop sign. Only thing I have to say here: Why didn't Hanna report it? Huh?

12. Bryce Walker: The whole time I wanted to scream at Hanna: "THIS GUY RAPED YOU, AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN FIGHT BACK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

13. And last…poor Mr. Porter: All he wanted to do was help her. And just because of some poor advice he gave her, she just gives up on everything.

See? Practically ALL of them she could've stopped. Yeah, they did some horrible things to her, but did she do anything about it? Did she even try? Nope, she just gave up. Which makes her a pretty flat/weak character.

You have a point, though. I didn't really say this is a bad book (I gave it 3 stars). But there are some very wrong messages in this book. Like I said, committing suicide and blaming people for is just stupid. All she did was make them miserable. I mean seriously, would you like to be blamed for someone's death?

I guess I could believe (a little) why Hanna committed suicide…if Jay Asher's portrayal of Hanna's character wasn’t just so ridiculous. I mean, for God's sake she almost sounded cheerful in the book. Basically, all Jay Asher teaches teens who have problems/bad life is to commit suicide.

So, I ask you. Take a good look at all 13 reasons why she committed suicide, and tell me which one was worth it?

I just didn't feel remorse for Hanna.

This book gives people who commit suicide a bad name. After I read the book, I felt like Jay Asher was making fun of those people with real problems. The message is all wrong. The whole characters are compete IDIOTS in my opinion.

I’m sorry you went through stuff that made you commit suicide. But everyone’s different. Maybe that's why I didn't like the book. I've been through way, way worse things than Hannah, trust me. And I'm still alive.

I think the problem is that you're looking at the events as individual things. I think it was a combination, like the snowball effect. Also, Courtney told her friends that Hannah had sex toys in her drawer. That's why Hannah was mad.

The last teen suicide I remember is Tyler Clementi. He killed himself because his roommate showed his friends a tape of Tyler having sex with a guy. Then there was another case of a 13-year-old killing himself and no-one knew why. I think there's more to suicide than we see. Even more than Hannah noticed herself. Where were her parents? Where were her friends? Hannah was so wrapped up in feeling sorry for herself that she never tried to open up to anyway. And she never had anyone to open up to -- unless we count Clay.

But some people also attempt suicide for the attention. We don't know how Hannah killed herself. We don't even know where the funeral was. Maybe she didn't really mean to die, but rather just to scare people into thinking she wanted to die because of them.

Suicide is selfish at times, but for all the 13 reasons why, we're never given the big picture. That's why I don't think you can take every individual point and ask if it's worth killing yourself over. If you're bullied once do you kill yourself? Now if you're bullied every week for an entire year? I think someone might think about it.

But that's just my two bits.

look, i have not read the book, but, i agree with Nina's response to the book. you don't kill yourself for those reasons. i mean, where were her parents in this whole situation? you go tell them, close friends or family, school teachers or other staff. you ont kill yourself from the listed things some of the things she did were pretty pathetic selfish and careless in my opinion. what she let happen to others..? think how that affects you or others! but you have to handle the situation overall with confindence and maturity and look on the bright sides of your life and stop feeling sorry for yourself then u are seeking for attention.

i will read this book eventually and then maybe will have a different response to this book but for now of what i've heard that is my opinon.

@Cory: I'm not looking at the events as individual things at all. It has nothing to do with the snowball effect, either. Honestly, if Asher took everything they did to her, made it ten times worse, it still wouldn't be a realistic book to me.
As for her parents...really, where the hell were they? Maybe the reason I don't like this book very much is because I don't relate. I'm not saying my life is so much more glamorous--hardly. In fact, worse things have happened to me (minus the rape part), and sometimes I get depressed over the tiniest things (being a teenager can be so hard sometimes), but my parents always know if there's something wrong with me. So again, where the hell were her parents?
The only believable reason would be that she must've done it for the attention. Though that would be very OOC. Hanna doesn't seem the type.
I think none of those reasons are worth killing herself for. So if none of them are...
I don't even think she was bullied that much. Try those overweight people who suffer and are tormented on a daily basis. Next to them Hanna just seems like a whiny kid.
If you wanna read a good book about real problems, read Speak.

@Nina: You have to handle the situation overall with confidence and maturity and look on the bright sides of your life and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

You pretty much nailed it!

:)

the only reason the teacher passed out that list was because of the note, no one probably thought of Hannah's sudden Haircut. A lot of people get sudden haircuts, and some people are not that strong, they don't know what to do. THe book was good, but I see what your saying.

I think you're being a little to critical of Hannah. I understand a lot of your points, but you're talking about what YOU would do to handle the situation. Hannah is not you. People handle situations differently. True Hannah wasn't bullied, but rumors like the ones that were being spread about her can be just as bad. People she didn't want touching her, were touching her. People she didn't know were talking about her and looking at her. Pretty much objectifying her. She felt alone. She couldn't get close to people because look at what the people close to her did. When you feel that alone, all those little moments seem significant and bigger than they really are. I was made fun of all throughout middle school, and yes I thought of killing myself to escape it. People were thinking Hannah was easy, no one was taking the time to get to know her, others were using her, she was being objectified. I can understand why should would want an escape from that.

Obviously no-one in Hannah's class took the suicide conversation seriously so they probably didn't care much about the handout. It's not like they would have thought, 'Oh, Hannah got a haircut, maybe she wants to kill herself, I had better ask her about that'. Only Tony knew that she was 'giving away her possessions, and I don't think it say hes in that class. Yes, Hannah left an anonymous note...anonymous. And I don't think Mr Porter was a trained counselor, he was an English teacher or something who was filling in.

I read in Crash into Me one of the characters said that it's not just what happens to people that makes them commit suicide, it's the way they see things. There are people who go through horrible things and they still don't kill themselves, whereas others go through less traumatic things and they do. One of the main reasons people do commit suicide is they don't believe they have power over their lives. It's easy to say, 'tell your parents', but people who are depressed are in a mindset where it won't matter, nothing will ever change it, especially if their parents are tuned out like Hannah's were. It's not logical, but then again, neither is suicide. Hannah isn't supposed to be logical.

Everyone knows that feeling of ostracism and isolation. I'm glad I've never had to feel that for very long, but I can't imagine how much it would hurt to feel like that every day for years. At highschool, acceptance is THE most important thing in your life. It's what most teenagers base their happiness on, rightly or wrongly.
From what she said in the book, Hannah wasn't accepted at her old school either. So starting at puberty, Hannah was never fully accepted at all.

When you listed all her reasons, you kept saying 'thats no reason to commit suicide'. You're right none of those reasons are, and Hannah didn't commit suicide for any one of those reasons, she committed suicide because of how all these thing changed her view of life. Her view of the world was twisted and distorted to mirror the treatment she received from the people she most wanted acceptance from. It's easy to trivialize them when you take each one of them on their own and I'm sure if only one of those things happened to Hannah, she would have been totally fine.

You said maybe the reason you didn't like this book is because you couldn't relate, but saying that Hannah was childish and dramatic is pretty insulting to people who go through this. I'm glad I didn't go to a school like this and had acceptance from my friends, but that helps me understand how crushing it must have been to no have those things.

@Nicole and @Nick: That's precisely why I don't like this book. When I read a book, I try find something in the MC that represents me, or is like me. There were none with Hanna. I'm not saying that Asher should write a book based on me, I'm just saying that he could've made Hanna a bit more strong and confident, not so weak and simple-minded. What I'm trying to figure out is what Asher wanted to prove while writing this book. That it's okay to commit suicide whenever you feel lonely or used? That there's not one good person in the world and that they're all cold, unfeeling assholes? Yeah, great lessons for teenagers, thanks Asher.
Books about teen problems are just not my thing, sorry.

"You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything."

"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."

I'm sorry, but did you really really read this book?

He's trying to get us to see the unknowing damage we can do to someone. We can say or do something, go home and not think about it ever again, while that damage permeates through their entire life.

He's also trying to get people in Hannah's position to understand that there are people(like Clay and even Tony) who would give anything to help them.

@Nick: I agree with that, but I don't think being put down as the "Hottest Ass in the Freshman Class" or being used to go to a party leaves much of any damage.
And I did read the book. Which was a waste of my time and excitement. Sorry. :/

@Nick: I'm in 100% agreement with you. I didn't even like Crash Into Me all that much.

@Nina: This isn't really a book about teens with issues. If you want that try anything by Patrica McCormick or Willow. I understand about your inability to relate with Hannah -- I don't relate either -- but I think you've taken Asher's message out of context. Once again, in real life people have commited suicide for very petty reasons, or often no reason at all. It's called clinical depression. You could ask Sylvia Plath and Jane Sexton all about it. Unfortunately they're dead.

I'm just saying. I'm not trying to change your opinion anyway.

@Cory: I didn't know she had mental disorder. That explains everything about her. -.-

so, i see your point, but people take things the way you would never expect. some are strong and some are not, suicide can and is being commited over things you think is tiny but is not to the person herself-himself. depression is what leaded her to suicide, and for a 15 year old its common. look, people find me insane since i get upset over nonsense and cut myself and I DO consider...you know... and it may be silly to others, but it makes sense to me. she wondered 'what if a student never came back' thats a serious thought, and i find myself in the same situation... so think twice

Nina - I actually really enjoyed this book. And I understand what you're saying.

But it depends on what's going on. You said yourself that you don't go to an American high school. You said it's different where you are. And maybe that's why you didn't like it so much - you're not facing the issues Hannah has. But where I go to school, boys are constantly voting girls "best ass" and three guys attempted to feel me up today. And it's depressing because you know they just like to mess with you and you really don't know what they think. And Hannah honestly didn't have any say in all of it. The attention, as you mentioned, can be great...when it's used in a way that respects your wishes and your body.

There's a point in this book where Hannah mentions her school life, her home life, and her privacy had been stripped away from her. And, yeah, she may have been exaggerating from your point, seeing as you haven't been in the same position as her, but even to me, I can't imagine having such happen to me. It IS the snowball effect that makes her suicide realistic. One little thing pushes me off the edge - just imagine not knowing who you are because nobody gave you the chance to?

@Alyssa: Schools in my place might not be like what Hanna describes, but that doesn't mean I don't have any problems. As I said before, I've had worse than what Hanna had to deal with. As for the snowball effect, I don't think anything actually happened to her so bad it would leave an impact on her life and what happens to her later in life. They were all petty and trivial to me.

Now I'm reading 'cut' I think that is what you're looking 4

@Selin *MCR FAN FOR LIFE!*: By who?

I think Selin is referring to Ellen Hopkins or Patricia McCormick. They both write books about teens with issues. Frankly, I don't get the hype surrounding them. They're second rate Laurie Halse Andersons. And I don't even like her all that much.

I've tried reading Crank and Speak but couldn't finish them. The were too depressing. :(

Very much so. I didn't like Speak much, but I felt bad for Melinda.

I'm talking about patricia McCormick. It had been a while since I myself stopped cutting, but this book started it all again...so, its up to you if you really wanna read it

I haven't read the book yet,but i agree withyou,Like it's said there's no proplem that doesn't have a solution,she just couldn't find it......
Please guys,i need some suggestions for some books to read,i'd be realy grateful if yu helped :)

uglies
cut
ithaka
troy a novel
the umbrella academy

Yeah, I see what you're saying. But to me it seemed like she was overwhelmed to the point of wanting to die. I think that committing suicide is ofter rather selfish in all situations, especially Hannah's. But then there's the fact that a lot of teens attempt/sometimes do commit suicide because of these exact reasons.
There are obviously multiple ways of looking at this- but I mainly agree with you. Even if I did find the book okay. :)

@Anna: I agree with you. And I know a lot of teens commit suicide for the same reasons. My problem is that Asher could've portrayed Hanna's feelings and problems in a little more realistic way.

i think it's stupid so many people argue about the reasons that Hannah commited suicide wasn't good enough. I think that everyone has there own level of self esteem and as much you may say her issues were nothing well it varies for everyone. You may say they are small things but fact is things get to people. When everyone is trying to bring you down you feel worthless. I think Jay Asher wasn't going for the most extreme situations which made the book more powerful. She didn't need to grow up in an abusive home with alcholic parents being raped etc. She was a normal highschool kid with a normal life. Goes to show people need to think of their actions and words before they act on them. You never know who or how bad you're going to hurt someone. And to say you don't kill yourself for those reasons is dumb. YOU may not feel as if that is something to act on but fact is people do. So have your opinion on the book but don't try and tell the world that she didn't have good enough reasons to take her life.

I also think a lot of people feel like Hannah going through highschool. Weak and like they don't fit in.
"What I'm trying to figure out is what Asher wanted to prove while writing this book. That it's okay to commit suicide whenever you feel lonely or used?" People do commit suicide it's a serious problem. He showed the simple things we may all do day to day that may be killing someone. He's showing how easy it is to make someone hate themselves..

Lets just all agree that all people are different. Some are really hurt by bullying and the things that happened to Hannah. Some, on the other hand, are stronger.
To some people, this is realistic because they've either seen people experience this, or have themselves.
To others, such as myself, I think that she could have toughed through it, because things could have been a lot worse.
We can't say that we are right, because everyone has a different view on such a vast subject. Ridiculing other people's opinions isn't going to change anything.

Okay, not to get all technical and smarty-pants on you, but I think I might be able to explain both sides.
Some people, like Anna said, see that things could be worse by using downward comparisons (that term will be on your exams so please right it down). This is, again pretty much what Anna said, where no matter what someone is experiencing, they make themselves feel better by focusing on other people who have it worse.
Some people, like Hannnah (book-Hannah not comment-Hannah) use upwards comparisons and see what people have that they don't. Coupled with a feeling of lack of power that depressed/ostracised people typically have, this makes people feel so so so much worse and can ultimately lead to suicide.
Unfortunately, lots of teenagers pretty much always focus on what other people have that they don't (myself included) which makes them feel helpless.


Sorry if that was boring, I had class yesterday and it made me think of this :)

I love your review :) I agree 100% :) Thanks for writing it!

ok, heres my edition of 13 reasons why on bookrix. its not literally the same story line, no not at all, but its about another girls path to suicide. i didnt finish it yet. but if anyone comments it i will continue on writing


heres a link:

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Even though I still loved this book, I do agree that she didn't have really a good reason to kill herself. :)

Still imdo not agree

I really do except you're opinion, and I respect you for saying what you think even if others slam you for, it so I'm not commenting on your opinion. I'm just going to say, sometimes people are blind about suicide. You can drop a thousand hints- even really obvious ones, like "I wish I were dead" Or, "I'm done with this" or repeatedly doing ANY of the warning signs, and no one hardly ever notices. Unless you actually tell someone you're suicidal, people usually don't suspect. That's all I wanted to say.

i agree with you actually. i liked the tapes, but a lot of them just were repeating reasons. & clay's part wasn't interesting enough. he just simply walked around town while listening to them? i found myself a bit bored yet i wanted to see when clay's tape would pop up.

@nina. ty for your great review. i completely agree. i was so psyched to read this book but feel like it could have been written alot better as well. i feel like her 13 reasons are a typical week of high school for tons of kids..minus the rape.

Those stupid thing that you say happen to everyone affect people differently, especially if they have depression like Hannah most obviously has. I should know since I've had depression for almost 7 years now and trust me, people miss the signs, like cutting, even when they're staring them in the face. A hair cut is not some big gigantic sign for suicide. People change their looks all the time. As for his portrayal of her "shallow" emotions and reasons, they're not all that shallow if you actually take into account her depression.

One. Your Opinion is respected.

two. and I don't want to sound mean, but The teacher didn't pass out the flyer until after Hannah left a anonymous note, (not that changes anything o_o)

Three. The Mr. Porter thing was the last thing to happen and he didn't know what Hannah was getting at until it was to late. (also I do not know if you were just writing things in random order or what)

Four. This is a book. and reality Kids can be pretty stupid when it comes down to noticing warning signs of suicide.

Five. The way Jay made the characters seem like in the story, my first thought was they weren't looking for a reason to Hannah's behavior because she invited in all that. She never once came out and said she was sad or really showed it until the haircut, and just because you get a sudden haircut doesn't mean you should automatically claim that person is suicidal, or depressed. It's just a haircut?

and Finally. Not everyone copes with things the same way, not everyone is strong. Though i respect your Opinion, I do not agree.

Lizzy wrote: "Those stupid thing that you say happen to everyone affect people differently, especially if they have depression like Hannah most obviously has. I should know since I've had depression for almost 7..."


Totally agree.

I agree completly.

I totally agree with you Nina. I thought she was like some total outcast, but she seemed pretty well-liked by her peers. Ok, so they were a little condecending and were using her at times...that's all bad, but it is no excuse to kill yourself over that!

i haven't read the book yet, so are you just saying that you thought the reasons were unrealistic for someone to commit suicide?

I agree with some of the points in this review, but nonetheless I think that there was still a lot that could be taken away from it - a lesson.