Thirteen Reasons Why

By: Jay Asher

Narrated by: Debra Wiseman, Joel Johnstone

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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 explains that there are 13 reasons 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 first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself - a truth he never wanted to face.

©2007 Jay Asher (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

“[Hannah’s] pain is gut-wrenchingly palpable.... Asher has created an entrancing character study and a riveting look into the psyche of someone who would make this unfortunate choice. A brilliant and mesmerizing debut from a gifted new author.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review and Editor’s Choice)

“Heavy but compelling.... Asher’s novel asks us to look at how petty cruelty can deal crushing blows.” (Miami Herald)

“It is a brilliant debut that will leave readers feeling a sense of remorse for Hannah, guilt for Clay, and hope for the lasting lesson of the story.” (Bookazine)

Heartfelt

Both narrators did exceptionally well being me the listener into the pain and the confusion always left behind when someone we care about or know commits suicide.

The book also forces us to feel the sorrow Hannah endures when she tries to reach and feels no support in return.

Overall the book was great and had some really great life lessons in there with regards to warning signs and giving those who may need it the ears to listen.

Amazing

I really loved this book, i struggled to finish it because of how eerie the tapes sounded, but overall its a great book

it's a really great book

I really like it. I wanted it to never end. I hope you enjoy it

Absolutely Incredible, Haunting.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone that cares about other people. It is a story that will stick with me for years. It makes me wonder how many seemingly insignificant things I may have done or said to influence someone and never even realized it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I can't pick a single favorite. The author made me empathize with Hanna and Clay. I won't give more info than that because it would ruin the full impact of the story.

What does Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Both narrators did an incredible job with the the voices and the reading. I will be looking into other books read by them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were far too many heart rending moments to pick just one.

Any additional comments?

Simply, One of the best told stories I've ever read.

A Must Read Story

wow. The book was made to be read aloud. Kudos to the actors for making the characters so real. heart wrenching experience. Definitely a story that changes your life.

Good, but not great

I finished the Netflix original series and then decided to read the book (I know- I'm awful. Book before movie) because I related to it so much and I thought it was such an excellent depiction of what it's like to be a woman growing up in today's society. I was surprised to find that the book fell flat in a lot of places where the series did not. I was Not a fan of the woman who read for Hannah. She made it sound like Hannah was vengeful more than anything else, which was not the point of the story, and which I think is a dangerous way to portray a suicidal person. "Have problems with people? Commit suicide. It's the ultimate revenge." Eek.


The story itself was just less powerful than the one told with the TV series. Good, but not great. I thought that the TV series did a better job of portraying the objectification and sexualization of Hannah as the reason for Hannah's decision, rather than revenge, and I felt that Hannah was much more relatable in the television show. However, these both may be due to the poor performance of the voice actress. I wish I had read the book on my own instead.

This is one of those rare cases where I thought that the film was better than the book, which is always a bit disappointing.

i love this book , it's so deep and raw

Everyone should read this book ! It battles depression and self harm and autodistrucktion and why we should communicate more and appreciate people more while they are around before it's to late. Narration on point. Big praise to Jay Asher for writing this book and helping into creating the series version on Netflix.

Makes you really think!

I loved it. It was immersive and so relative. It really makes one reflect on how even the littlest of actions can affect another. A must read/listen. Honestly this book was meant to be an audio book. It compliments the storyline so well being read aloud.

Interesting but hard to embrace personally

Narration was fine. Easy to listen to. Topic of the story held interest because I wanted to know her reasons. I personally have a hard time appreciating the depths of such choices and this particular story seemed weak.

Thought provoking...

This wasn't a great book...but it's a book that makes you think. It's a book that will spark some great discussion. I'm honestly surprised by the people who dislike the main character or think her reasons for committing suicide are so stupid or small. It's not really a list of 13 reasons why she commits suicide (despite the title) but rather her running down a list of 13 things that eventually led to her suicide and she admits that many are small things...but without the small things the bigger things wouldn't have happened...at least that's her perspective on it.

I like that simultaneously we are hearing Hannah's story through her tapes and the reactions of someone who cares for her as he listens to them. She was not as alone as she thought...but it's too late to tell her that obviously.

Suicide is a hard subject, especially when it involves young people. I would recommend this book for kids and parents to listen to or read together because it's very thought provoking and I can see it as a conversation starter...a way to open the door to talk about something difficult. Not just suicide, but about bullying, about being kind, about how the small things matter.

A good short listen if you like books that make you think and don't mind the heavy stuff.