interesting take

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, YA

Review: Thirteen people are included in Hannah's taped narrative of the events leading up to her suicide. The book is told from the perspective of one of the recipients of her message. However, Asher made an interesting choice in writing this book. Rather than writing the book from the perspective of one of the people who arguably drove Hannah to commit suicide, Asher puts the narrative in the hands of Clay, the one person who Hannah says bears no responsibility at all, but is just incidental to her story. But it makes for an interesting meditation on the repercussions of suicide, which typically focus on the guilt of those left behind. But Hannah herself makes it clear that Clay doesn't really have anything to feel guilty about. The depth of his feelings for her are what drive this book; unfortunately, although I did enjoy the book, this isn't quite enough to pull it off.