Checkpoint #3: Book Recommendation

Thirteen Reasons Why is an exceptional novel written by Jay Asher. As most of you know from my previous posts, this book follows a box of cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, explaining why she killed herself. It not only explains why she killed herself, but how her feelings and the impact of others effected her. The book is set up like a conversation between Hannah's voice on the cassette tapes and Clay, who is listening to the tapes. Right away, it lets the reader be able to see not just the impact of actions of other characters on Hannah, but also the impact of Hannah's reasons and story on Clay. It really helped me to understand the message of the book, which was to focus on making a good impact on others. Hannah explained this meassage through stories that she told about herself, which allowed Clay to respond to these stories and also learn this lesson.

"You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have...is now."
(Asher, 124).

I think that this book is an amazing book. It contains suspense and is, in a way, a sort of mystery. Thirteen Reasons Why is based on a very serious topic, that even some characters in the book can't even bare to mention, which is suicide. Yes, this book brought me out of my comfort zone. I had never even thought about reading a book like this simply because of the topic. However, I am glad that I read this book. Not because of the topic, but because of the lesson. I learned a lot- not just about people in general- but my personal impact on others. Thirteen Reasons Why really pushed me to think about my actions and the way I could impact others. This book is also very relatable for most teenagers because many experience emotions that make them sad, umcomfortable, or angry. I recommend this book to everybody, because I feel that everybody should learn this lesson, and face the harsh reality of our society today.