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)

Listen to this with a young mind

It is too easy to dismiss this as a mean-spirited suicide note. Instead you must read/listen to it with a young mind to feel the weight of too many heavy situations happening too quickly...and to a person not yet equipped. Though there is finality in her decision the saddest part of this story is that the tapes are pleading for understanding and help.

a headline is required.

If your going to listing to this book bring tissues because the roll of toilet paper will hurt your eyes

good but the netflix series is better

so this is well written but i say the netflix series is better due to the better pacing mostly, makes the story a hit more fluid.

Fantastic book, awesome performance

What did you love best about Thirteen Reasons Why?

It has substance

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thirteen Reasons Why?

Many were memorable. No spoilers.

Which character – as performed by Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone – was your favorite?

Clay and Hanna, of course

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Thirteen Reasons Why is probably one of the most talked about TV Series of the moment and it was in the public’s eye since Netflix released their very controversial Original Series based on the amazing book with the same name by the bestselling author Jay Asher. I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about this book until a few weeks ago when I was browsing Netflix. After I saw the highlight, I wanted to see what the book was like, and boy, what an amazing story I got treated to… So, this is a short review for the audiobook version, not the for Netflix Original Series.

I would like to give a word of advice to those who watched the series, please, if you want to understand why the producers chose to tell a different story, adding to the one in the book, check out this short documentary Thirteen Reasons Why – Beyond the Reasons and everything will make sense. Now, lets get to the review!

Jay Asher in Thirteen Reasons Why tells us the dramatic, riveting and mesmerizing story about a teenage girl, Hannah Baker, who committed suicide because she couldn’t take it anymore. But, the brilliant part is that she has recorded a few cassette tapes giving 13 Reasons for her action and those tapes are now making the rounds between those who she thought were responsible for her pain.

The story follows Clay Jensen, Hannah‘s school mate, who has received a strange box, containing the tapes and now he needs to know why Hannah is dead and why he is on the list of persons responsible. Clay is a nice guy, he doesn’t remember saying or doing anything wrong to Hannah and takes to the streets of the small town as he listens to the voice of a dead girl who was alive just 2 weeks ago…

What could have happened to drive her to do such a thing? Why the tapes? Who is responsible? Who else knows? Could it all have being prevented? I found the answers to all of these questions in the 6 hours in which I listened to the audiobook. Hannah‘s story is one that will mark you for life, really, I know that it’s fiction, but it will make you think twice before you say of do something to someone, because you won’t know if you could start a snowball effect that could ruin his or her life…

Narrators Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone give life with passion to Hannah Baker‘s story. Debra is Hannah and Joel is Clay, they interact with one another throughout the book, as Clay listens to Hannah‘s motives, he walks the streets, he treks to all the spots that Hannah mentions and he realizes that their paths have crossed more times than he had thought before.

Debra and Joel deliver a perfect performance for Thirteen Reasons Why! Although the book is mainly focused on the interaction between Hannah, a beautiful, special, quiet and good girl which at times becomes aloof and dispassionate and a guilt stricken, bookish, nerdy, Clay, both narrators give their very best, making the listener see everything clearly in his mind’s eye with surreal vividness.

They carry us from the first love, to the first kiss, to bullies, to best friends, to stupid rumors, to sleepovers, to traumatic events and at last to redemption. They read, they act and most important of all, they care about the characters they bring to life! Both distinguish themselves by being extremely talented with different voices and accents, wrapping this tragic story in complete immersiveness for those who listen. I experienced Thirteen Reason Why in one sitting. I pushed play and couldn’t stop until the last word…

Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that should be read by teenagers and adults alike, its deep, serious, it addresses many of the problems with which young adults are strugleing every day and yes, I think that we could save someones life just by doing something nice for him / her or by not being mean just because we can be. This book has a message, a very important one: Take care how you treat those around you!

I could write until tomorrow on this subject, but this is a review, so I’ll end by highly recommending Thirteen Reasons Why, the book, to everyone!

Please vote Yes below if you enjoyed this review and find more of them at theAudiobookBlog dot com.

Thank you,

Victor

Everyone Should Read This Book!

Where does Thirteen Reasons Why rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the top for me, especially since the format of the book has Clay, the MC, listening to Hannah's tapes. I felt like I was having the experience with Clay, and I loved both of the actors performing the text.

What did you like best about this story?

This an important book to read for anyone who has a teen/teens in their life. I was a teen once (and only once, thank goodness), but I’ve spent the past eleven years working in a high school. The difference is that now, as an adult, I can look back on all that made me miserable in my teen years and know that there is so much more to life than the volatile ecosystem that is the American high school. Many adults expect teens to just get this, but how can they? They have not lived beyond this experience yet, and without a guarantee that life will get better, some teens make the same decision that Hannah makes.

What about Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone ’s performance did you like?

They simply were Clay and Hannah. That's all there is to it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Everything affects everything.

Complex and thought provoking story

Any additional comments?

An interesting premise of one persons behavior can create a profound ripple effect on others. The book is so fast paced that is doesn't allow the reader to become overly emotionally about a teen suicide.

Clay Jensen is a sympathetic, likable and relatable character. Hannah Baker is a bit frustrating making empathy for her difficult. Hannah's many reasons for her suicide seem a bit weak given that through her narration she seemed to have such a strong and clear understanding of her own actions and motivations, the actions and motivations of others and how it all affected her. Oddly, she seemed a little too well adjusted to turn to suicide.

Sending tapes to those she held responsible for her suicide felt a little more like a revenge story than a story of a spiral down into utter hopelessness. The tapes made her as petty and manipulative as some of those who wronged her.

Flaws aside, the story is compelling and will keep you interested until the very end.

Love this story, don't like this Hannah

I love this story. I've loved it for years. However, I did not connect to the woman who did Hannah's narration. She seems too old, too cynical, or both to be voicing a distraught high school junior; personally, I always imagined her voice to be higher or softer than this. Her Hannah just didn't have much personality beyond being angry. The man who narrated Clay was just fine; he captured Clay's confusion and anger and sadness well. But, like the woman who voiced Katniss in "The Hunger Games" (which I only listened to for one disc before I got sick of it), this woman was just not a good fit for Hannah. Maybe if this is re-recorded at some point, they'll cast someone younger.

Awesome

It made one of my friends reconsider suicide. Thank you!
Jay Asher is a awesome writer

Thirteen Reasons to Love This Book!

I love this book! I have the physical copy on my shelves. I love the book, I love the voices that's in the audio book and they way it was read, to the new show they made based on it.

Everybody needs to read this book!

Amazing story! So much emotion. Excellent performance. I loved that they used two narrators. It really made a very high quality performance. Such a powerful book that deals with important issues that many young people face. I wish I had read this book when I was a teen.