The Novice Writer: Book Review: 13 Reasons Why... By Jay Asher

Book Review: 13 Reasons Why...

Disclaimer: This book shall not be passed on or suggested or read by any faint-hearted person, especially the one suffering from suicidal tendencies. This book may act as a catalyst to their suicidal attempts or may give them a reason for it. If you still insist on reading and giving it a shot then do read it with your friends or family member. Although the book is in no way responsible to promote suicide and neither does it give any hints to promote such acts. This post is not responsible for any illegal attempts done by any individual. I assure you that, I am in no way responsible to promote the blame game and any mischevious act that leads to the death of an individual by any means. Wishing you a safe life and a bright future.

You only live once, make the best use of it! Dying is not a solution, it is just an escape to face any problems.

Warning: The book contains socially unaccepted acts like rape, taunting, blaming, shaming, and suicidal attempts amongst other aspects which are portrayed in the novel to spread the awareness of such dormant events occurring in a teenagers life.

This first book by Jay Asher is remarkable for its technical elegance in weaving words from Hannah's tapes with Clay's reactions and memories. Occasionally there are stumbles in meaning and tone, but the suspense is wound tight as we wait to find out who is next on Hannah's hit list. Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Young readers may find the combination of thriller and morbid teenage melodrama in “13 Reasons Why” addictive, though parents should be aware that it contains startlingly naturalistic depictions of rape and suicide.

They contain Hannah’s descriptions of 13 traumatic events that led to her decision to kill herself, each addressed to the schoolmate or adult who caused that particular trauma. She’s left instructions that this box is passed from one tormentor to another, and Clay is late in the list, so most of the other people she accuses have already heard the tapes before he receives them.

Reading a young-adult novel in one sitting, it’s easier to suspend your disbelief regarding Hannah’s copious misfortunes, which include broken friendships, a fatal auto accident, and sexual violence.

Most of us have had such suicidal tendencies at some point in their life, especially, in their teenage years when things all go haywire. Hannah's character is just set with that emotional turmoil a teenager goes through when they are faced with rumors, heartbreaks, and as a person who is always objectified and bullied. I too had such thoughts running through my nervous head-quarter. Briefly, never seriously. Yes, there are times in our life when we hit the rock bottom and everything just does not go the way we expected it to go and to add fuel to the downfall we have our frienemies always with us to hit hard in our stomach. To make things worse our friends - the ones who we trusted to be there in our thick and thin start to leave us, for pretty obvious reasons - "Why the hell would anyone spend time with a person who has grown melancholic and is always a part of some of the other rumor and or prank?" Yeah, NOBODY! Human Nature.

But then with all the mess around you, you always have that one person, that one avenging angel who is ready to hear each word that you spit out, ready to analyze every story you have buried deep within you. The only thing that you need to do in such a situation is - JUST OPEN YOUR EYES. SEE. I am sure you will have that person right in front of ready to take it all and share the ever so heavy burden on you and do incredible things that would set you free. In this novel, Hannah had Clay, there was a point when she even realized that she could open up and trust her soul with him. But she just refused to do so, due to the same old rumors and heartbreaking events that traumatized her at first place. There is a statement made by Clay as well saying that she could share her thoughts with him, she could walk up to him anytime and speak up about all the things she had been through. And this was said exactly when she had the perfect time to throw it all out. I would call that very incident of she refusing to open up in front of Clay - whom she knew to be the perfect guy ever (as mentioned by her multiple times in her tapes). According to me, this is where I would pinpoint the downfall that must have led her to take such grave decision.

Am I projecting my own experiences onto this book? Maybe. But, when you write about something as sensitive as suicide, I think that possibility is always out there.

This book encourages that line of thinking.

Let me tell you, emotionally wrecked teenagers: when you are dead, you are freaking gone. You will never grow up. You will never see your parents again. You will never have another moment that makes you feel happy or special in the here and now. You are gone forever.

But life will go on for those around you. They won't be sorry when you're dead. Or maybe they will be, but you know what? They'll still be alive. They'll still have a life. You won't. They'll get to move on. You never will.

But Hannah Baker kills herself. And it's a dramatic, redemptive, cataclysmic act. Hannah Baker sends the tapes, and she becomes the still point of the turning world. She is Clay's Lost Lenore, the beautiful and romantic and unknowable girl who will live on forever in his memory. Hannah Baker kills herself, and she makes all those people who ever hurt her sorry.

We can learn a great deal from this novel for instance:

Learning to help the people around us
Think about the consequences of our actions
Rumors shouldn't be taken seriously and shouldn't be so damaging that a person feels the urge to kill themselves
Stand up for the truth rather than just going with the flow of lies.
Don't be scared to raise your voice against the wrong deeds (when Hannah witnessed her ex-best friend being raped as she peeked from the closet)
Speak up and share your feelings with the one you love, I am sure they will help you.

A majority of readers would have learned these life lessons from the novel but the fact that Hannah Baker was dead and these all morals come to us from her suicide note blurs the true essence of it. Hence, it seems downright pathetic to most of the readers who can not just get past the fact that it is Hannah who teaches these lessons, who is dead right at the start of the novel.

Hannah dies, and she becomes every romanticised suicide cliché: the omniscient, omnipresent avenging angel, the tragic heroine. And I'm sorry, but that's not how suicide works. As much as Asher pays lip service to the fact that Hannah Baker Didn't Have To Die, well, she kinda did. Because didn't her suicide work out just great for everybody? The rapist was exposed, the peeping tom was exposed, every person who'd been mean or unfair to Hannah was exposed and made to feel so, so sorry. Everyone learns an Important Lesson, and it's all thanks to Hannah and her decision to kill herself.

But we need to understand this...

I think this book captured a certain feeling very well and I disagree with those who thought Hannah wasn't realistically suicidal. It's true that nobody kills themselves because they get stood up, and nobody kills themselves because some douche groped their ass, and nobody kills themselves because of a mean rumor... but each of these is a little bit more added to the weight that is crashing down on someone.

People like to look for clear-cut reasons that make sense. They want Hannah to give a good reason why she killed herself. But, in reality, it so rarely is one big reason you can point to. Most of the time, the little things all build up, day after day, one small thing after another, until the little reasons all blend into a single feeling of hopelessness.

That is what this book is about. And it's also about taking responsibility for your actions and understanding how your small selfish acts can affect someone else.

But perhaps this is to read Thirteen Reasons Why too rigorously. It is not a moral polemic but a clever sleight of hand. What it manages to do very effectively is ask its teen readers to think carefully about how being part of a herd can mean trampling weaker, peripheral members. The book has been a huge hit in the United States, with young readers hailing it as both a warning and a manual for how to get through the high-school jungle. Young British readers will inevitably have to spend some time mapping the landscape of the book on to their own parish interests. Chances are, though, that the references to diners, driving and cheerleaders will add an exotic tang rather than detract from a story whose message is universal.

Should you suggest this book to a person who has suicidal tendency?

NO! It will only lead to severe depression, anxiety, and paranoia. I know you are willing to share this book with them just because they realize that they are not alone and things can be worked out if discussed. However, AND I CANNOT MAKE THIS CLEAR ENOUGH, this book will in NO WAY help them. As after reading about a successful suicide, they will only push themselves further to the edge and reading the book in general with its negative connotation and emphasis on depression will only make it validate their depression even more. They will also feel that help is not possible, seeing as when Hannah asked for help she did not receive any, your friend will be detoured even further from asking. If you still think it might be helpful, then I suggest you read it together and make sure they understand that this is one of the worst possible scenarios and let them know that you are there for them at all times to talk about anything. Primarily, you should advise an adult about the situation to ensure your friend's safety, depending on how far they have gone, a book will not help to bring them back from where they are at. I hope everything works out, honestly.

~Jay Mehta