YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher will be our 4th GBR for July 2017.

Please read at your own pace, and hide any spoilers ☺ You are welcome to join at any time during the month ☺

Happy Reading Everybody!

Pre-Reading Questions -

Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

Anybody read anything else by this author previously?

I watched the series on Netflix and I thought it was really good.

I have seen the series but I feel like it's really problematic for a number of reasons, mainly for the blaming of suicide on other people. I honestly hope that the book is better, because the show was somewhat boring

I read this book freshman year of high school and thought the concept was rather interesting but was a bit uneasy about how Hannah made tapes and gave them to people. That was unsettling to me. I'm wanting to re-read it to see if my opinion has changed any, and also as a refresher before watching the Netflix series.

For me it would be a re-read :) I think the last and also first time I read this book was about one or two years ago. I look forward to reading it again.

I'm super nervous to start this today because of the subject addressed in the book. However my mom bought me another copy after I owned it before and I'm going to finish it this time!

Excited to start today! I just grabbed my copy of my shelf and stuck a bookmark in it!

I saw this on Netflix and a friend told me the book itself was pretty good. So excited to finally read it!

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Date Changed. Restarting October 1st AND 12th 2017. Happy Reading ☺

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Finished, i have mixed feelings about this.

65% completed so far. I second your mixed feelings

I plan to start reading this tonight. I wonder what I will think about it?!

(view spoiler)[ I don't really like Hannah I feel. Like, yes, she should not have suffered like that but hurting Clay? Doing this to all these people; they deserved it (some of them) but she shouldn't have killed herself because of them I guess I don't know. It's also that I don't like reading books when I know the ending. We all know Hannah is dead so whatever is the ending, its nothing like her coming back or anything and that makes me sad lol. (hide spoiler)]

Daph wrote: "I plan to start reading this tonight. I wonder what I will think about it?!"

Have you watched the show?

Sierra wrote: "Finished, i have mixed feelings about this."

How was it buddy? lol

This is where it gets hard for me to explain. I will not be rating or reviewing this. It was okay, but i personally hated it. I will not be watching the show either. There are many reasons why i dislike this book so much.

Sierra wrote: "This is where it gets hard for me to explain. I will not be rating or reviewing this. It was okay, but i personally hated it. I will not be watching the show either. There are many reasons why i di..."

Oh wow! That bad was it? I'm almost done and while I don't LOVE it, I don't hate it. Still, though, I don't think its good enough for a show

To explain why i dislike it so much i'd have to talk about my past. I mean others might think its good but to me its just something i dislike a lot and with id rather not have read it.

Sierra wrote: "To explain why i dislike it so much i'd have to talk about my past. I mean others might think its good but to me its just something i dislike a lot and with id rather not have read it."

Ohhh ok. i'm nearing the end right now and starting to hate Hannah

Completed...Didn't like it much though. Hannah's reasons for (view spoiler)[ she allowed some things to happen to her. If she did not let Bryce touch her, then Mr. Porter would not have said: Move on. Then maybe he could have actually helped her. So honestly, she gave up on herself and it WAS NOT fair to Clay (hide spoiler)] To be honest, I don't think I am going to watch the show either. There is going to be a season 2 but I don't want to follow up with this kind of story. (view spoiler)[ She died so what else is the story about? Even though she shouldn't have died (hide spoiler)] I actually read and discovered Jay Asher way before Thirteen Reasons Why. What Light was a really nice, feel-good book. I truly enjoyed it and I love the cover. Its also a change from 13 reasons.

I am planning on reading What Light this year in either nov or dec not sure yet.

Sierra wrote: "I am planning on reading What Light this year in either nov or dec not sure yet."

You should!! It is such a cool book. I was attracted to the cover lol because I am a huge jude-by-the-cover person lol. It was so sweet and christmassy and stuff (it was set around the holidays)

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Reading from the 20th of July 2018

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First tape: (view spoiler)[ I'd heard so many people talking about this before I read it, and it's not what I expected at all so far. (hide spoiler)]

Third tape: (view spoiler)[ Hannah has been through some bad stuff, I can definitely see what Jay Asher meant about the snowball effect. (hide spoiler)]

Fifth tape: (view spoiler)[ That's really horrible! I really don't think that Clay is responsible though... . (hide spoiler)]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ This was an intriguing and compelling read, though not what I was expecting. (hide spoiler)]

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Reading from the 12th of January 2019

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Checking in -- will be starting soon

Pg. 7- I remember reading this in middle school because my mom read it first and said it was amazing and after I was done reading it I thought it was amazing too but now going back and rereading it I don't feel like it's amazing. I'm not as in love with it as I was in middle school. I just think it's okay.

To Cassette 3

So this book has had a lot of hype, and everyone was up in arms over the Netflix series, which I never saw. Part of me gets it and thinks "what a great idea to help teens see how their actions, even small ones, can affect others." Which is true but another part of me is very bothered by the idea that this girl, (view spoiler)[ because she is dead, is now viewed as a wholly reliable narrator, whose version of events must be taken as true. It must be true because it killed her and now everyone else is guilty. That does happen to teens sometimes, absolutely it does and adolescents in particular need to understand that how they treat others does matter BUT suicide for vengeance is petty and idiotic. A supreme example of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Yes, many of the things done to Hannah so far were absolutely wrong and should not have happened. But this hugely premeditated payback designed to make everyone who may have wronged her in the slightest feel guilty about it disturbs me. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but I do hope that idea is not allowed to stand unchallenged. (hide spoiler)]

To Cassette 4

Well, I can see why the book is so popular. It's like a traffic accident -- Clay couldn't look away and the reader can't either. And yes, these kids are being horrible to this girl... almost to the point where I'm not sure I buy it. Courtney (view spoiler)[ being a fake friend and a user, sure... but why she decided to brag about whatever she apparently made up in Hannah's drawer for Peeping Tom, makes basically no sense whatsoever. No idea what she gains from it at all -- most bullying gives something to the bully; they don't do it just because they're the designated mean kid. But most of this stuff is yes, people are jerks, but I'm not convinced it's ALL their fault you're planning suicide. And again... suicide for vengeance is stupid. Since obviously she isn't going to be around to find out how it affects the student body if she never comes back. No, people shouldn't be horrible and hateful but sometimes they are. It isn't everyone else's job to make me happy either though. The things Hannah's talking about isn't really the systematic, vicious bullying that really does drive some kids to suicide to get away from it. And as obnoxious as a lot of these people are, I'm still becoming more convinced that the primary issue is Hannah's. (hide spoiler)]

Ryn wrote: "To Cassette 4

Well, I can see why the book is so popular. It's like a traffic accident -- Clay couldn't look away and the reader can't either. And yes, these kids are being horrible to this girl....."

I have to admit this comment made me laugh a little bit but anyways I totally agree! When I read this in middle school I totally bought into that Hannah was the victim and everyone else is the reason she committed suicide but now that I'm rereading it I realize that those people did do some bad things but Hannah did have a part in it and I'm going back and rewatching the show too while I read and it has made me realize the same thing that Hannah did have a part in it.

To Cassette 5, Side B

I'm glad it's not just me. Actually I felt a little (just a LITTLE) better that (view spoiler)[ she didn't accuse Clay of anything. And maybe she did really feel like she had no one to turn to and everyone was bullying her, but it doesn't really come across that way. I used to teach middle school; the few (and it really is very few) kids that are bullied viciously and extensively by everyone; it's obvious it's happening. Hard to stop but people know it's going on; it's also hard to hide. I don't get that impression here, and lines like "I tried, but you pushed me away... *Hannah's voice*: You should have tried harder," really, REALLY bother me. It's obvious she was crying out for help in her own way and the people around her were missing the signs. So maybe the book is good in that way because maybe it could clue teens in to what to look for and just a general better attitude of "be kind." But even with the rumors, what I'm getting from the other people is that Hannah wasn't hated, and if she had been friendly, people would have responded. I'm not trying to blame her for the problems she was facing, but it continues to concern me that everyone takes at face value this supposed right she has to blame everyone else. (hide spoiler)]

fin

I've had a lot of issue with this novel as I've read it. As someone who has worked with many teens and seen the impacts of suicide firsthand, as well as working with teens who were dealing with suicidal feelings, this book made me really leery for two reasons: 1. A narrator who seems perfectly "right" blaming everyone else for her choice to take her own life and 2. Another MC who buys into this guilt, and quite obviously several other minor players who shoulder the burden of guilt for her death as well.

So the ending actually worked pretty well for me. We see (view spoiler)[ not only Hannah owning her own decisions by the end, both to permit Bryce's actions and to take her own life, and we see Clay rejecting the guilt of her death -- at least some of it -- by tossing the map and straight up saying No, you chose this yourself, and you didn't give the people who would or could have helped you a chance. With that said, the rest of the book can shift more easily to being a topic opener for discussion and a sobering reminder to readers to be kind to the people around them. I like that Clay went after Skye. It isn't our responsibility to save everyone around us from themselves but it is our job to be the kind of people we'd like to have inhabiting the space around us. (hide spoiler)]
Well done, Mr. Asher. Although I may possibly recommend it with the added extraction of a promise - "You have to read the WHOLE thing, okay?"

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Date changed. Restarting February 14th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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Starting this one now!

2%
I should note, that the first time I read this, there was no show, nor was there any talk about a show. I loved it then, and I'm curious to see if I'll still love it now

(view spoiler)[ Only 8 pages in, and already vastly different from what the show decided to do (hide spoiler)]

12%
(view spoiler)[ It's so interesting reading this back and remembering how I felt about certain characters. Justin becomes my favorite character on the show, but it's easy to forget that his origin story is to be a huge jerk (hide spoiler)]

16%
(view spoiler)[ Ugh. These guys are so gross. If they know the list is just a joke, they should know it doesn't give them the right to put their hands on her (hide spoiler)]

23%
(view spoiler)[Wait. There wasn't a funeral for Hannah? That seems strange to me (hide spoiler)]

30%
(view spoiler)[ This is so weird to me. Like you know the guy is there taking pictures. Why would you keep playing to keep him there instead of calling the police? This other girl is mental (hide spoiler)]

41%
(view spoiler)[ This is the weirdest fundraiser I’ve ever heard of lol (hide spoiler)]

59%
(view spoiler)[ I’ve been on Hannah’s die for everything so far. But I always start to find her a bit questionable when it comes to Zach. He’s just a kid. It shouldn’t be his job to reach out to you after the class discussed suicide. And even if he did reach out, I feel like Hannah would have found a way to spin it into something negative, just like she did with him sitting in the booth after Marcus (hide spoiler)]

61%
(view spoiler)[ I’m sorry, but Clay thinking “maybe a therapist would have helped, Hannah” actually made me laugh. I don’t think it was meant to be funny, but it came off kinda sarcastic and I thought it was funny (hide spoiler)]

67%
(view spoiler)[ I feel like the world needs more people like the man at Rosie’s (hide spoiler)]

80%
(view spoiler)[ This is the tape that really gets to me. I couldn't even begin to imagine the guilt Hannah feels for this (hide spoiler)]