13 Reasons Why

"13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher is about a girl named Hannah who committed suicide. Hannah created 13 tapes to be her suicide note, and each tape is dedicated to 1 person. Hannah then sent the tapes to the first person on the series of tapes, and they must pass the package on, in order. Clay, a boy who had an immense crush on Hannah gets the package full of tapes, and the story follows Clay's reactions to the tapes.

I find this book very strange because of the topic the author chose. Yes, suicide is a very uncomfortable topic, and many people struggle with their suicidal thoughts. Why did the author choose to write this book? To make the reader uncomfortable. For example, one tape is about a classmate who once watched Hannah in her bedroom. Hannah then records herself watching the the person through their bedroom window and discusses all the things in their bedroom. This part is very uncomfortable because  you never know if you're being watched and it proves that suicidal thoughts can lead to a complete desire for revenge.

Another reason why this book is very strange is because Hannah created a map. Each time you listen to a tape, the number of the tape will point to a certain spot in their town. Hannah states in the tape that you, "may" go to all these places so you can "experience" what happened. By creating this map Hannah makes all the classmates on the tapes, absolutely obsessed with her death and, who caused what and why. I think that Hannah wanted these people to regret what they did to her and to be angry at other people whom had caused her harm, and also obsess the victims of the tapes.