Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Debra Wiseman (Narrated by), Joel Johnstone (Narrated by), Joel Johnstone (Read by), Debra Wiseman (Read by)

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(Compact Disc - Unabridged)

Reader Rating: (277 ratings)

Detailed Rating: "Emotional" See All

  • Publisher: Listening Library, Inc.
  • Pub. Date: October 2007
  • ISBN-13: 9780739356500
  • Sales Rank: 272,838
  • Age Range: Young Adult
  • Edition Description: Unabridged
 
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Synopsis

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the 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.

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...compelling reading

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Biography

Jay Asher got the idea for Thirteen Reasons Why at a museum. While taking an audio tour, he was struck by the eeriness of the voice in his ear–a woman who described exactly what he was looking at, but wasn’t there. Jay lives on the central coast of California. Thirteen Reasons Why is his first book.

Customer Reviews

all it took was one person...by Ashley_13

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December 04, 2008: One person was all it took. One person was all it took to get the "snowball rolling". All it would have taken was one person to care. Not even Clay, the one out of thirteen that didn't push Hannah to sucide, the one person that really did care, didn't have the guts to befriend her.

I felt as though I was one of the thirteen. I almost felt as though I could hear Hannah talking to me. I was hooked from the begininning.

In other ways I don't feel bad for twelve out of the thirteen. This was just the wake-up call they needed.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius" for TeensReadToo.comby TeensReadToo

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November 18, 2008: I don't often write introductions to my reviews. In fact, the last time I can remember doing so was with the wonderful PUCKER by Melanie Gideon, which I read in 2006. However, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, the debut novel from author Jay Asher, is the type of book that begs an introduction. So if you'd like to skip down to the third paragraph for the "meat" of the story, I won't hold it against you -- but you'll be missing something important.

If you have the chance to only read one novel this year, THIRTEEN REASONS WHY should be that book. It's sad, amazing, heartbreaking, and hopeful, all at the same time. I dare you to read it and not become so immersed in the story that you lose track of time and your surroundings. You'll cry, several times, while reading this story. You'll have no choice but to think about your actions, and wonder what type of effect they have on other people. And, in the end, you might also find the need to say "thank you."

Now, on to the story...

When Clay Jensen finds a package on his front porch, he's excited. A package, for him? With no return address? What could it possibly be? What Clay finds is a shoebox full of cassette tapes, each marked as "Cassette 1: Side A," "Cassette 1: Side B," etc. Of course he rushes to the old radio/cassette player in his dad's garage to check out these mysterious tapes.

And soon wishes, wholeheartedly, that he'd never picked up that stupid package from his front porch.

What he hears when he inserts that first tape is the voice of Hannah Baker. Hannah, the girl he'd crushed on for longer than he could remember. The girl he went to school with. The girl he worked at the movie theater with. The girl who had changed, drastically, in the last several months. Hannah Baker, the girl who committed suicide.

Clay soon realizes that these tapes aren't just a suicide note, aren't, really, even a clear-cut rendition of why she did what she did. Instead, these are thirteen reasons -- thirteen people, to be exact -- who created a snowball-effect of events that led Hannah to believe that suicide was her only option. But why is Clay on that list? How could he possibly be one of the reasons that she killed herself?

As the day goes on, Clay becomes obsessed with listening to the tapes. And what he hears frightens him, disturbs him, and, in the end, leads him to realizations that he never would have expected. As Clay listens to the role that thirteen people, including himself, led in the ultimate death of Hannah Baker, his view of the world, and himself, changes drastically.

You will love this book, because you won't be able to help yourself. You will feel what Clay feels. You will, in a very strong way, experience the highs and lows of Hannah's life right along with her. And there is nothing, in my opinion, that could speak better for the authenticity of a book. Read THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. And then, if you're like me, you'll read it again. And, hopefully, none of us will ever forget it.


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