Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher tells a heartbreaking tale of hopelessness and raw emotion through the lives of various teenagers. In his debut novel, Asher reveals the importance of reaching out to others and recognizing those who silently beg for help. He also shows how seemingly insignificant events can build up into unexpected consequences. In addition, Th1rteen R3asons Why expresses the need to feel a sense of belonging and honesty.

One narrator of this novel is Hannah Baker, a teenage girl struggling to adjust to life in a new town. The catch is that Baker committed suicide two weeks prior. Instead of writing a suicide note, Hannah leaves seven audiotapes and a map to be given to 13 individuals. Through these tapes, she explains how each of the 13 people is somehow connected to or responsible for her tragic end. Each person must listen to these tapes, visit the specific places on the map, and then send these items to the next person on the list in order to fulfill Barker’s final request.

The other narrator of the story is Clay Jensen, a classmate and friend of Baker’s, who spends one exhausting, emotion-filled night listening to tapes haunted by her voice. He learns the truth behind Baker’s desperate situation and feels her desire to end the rumors that taunted her until her final days. As Clay listens to the audiotapes, he begs Baker to not kill herself, although he knows it is already too late.

This novel has real heart and raw emotion, and the subject of the book is painfully believable. The story of fictional Hannah Baker’s suicide is all too similar to that of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant who committed suicide after relentless bullying at her Massachusetts high school according to abcnews.com. Although the idea of a tragic teen suicide may not be new, the premise of this novel’s storyline, seeing events through the eyes of a ghost, is fresh and haunting.

The characters of the novel are realistic and easy to relate to. One does not have to feel suicidal to understand Baker’s feelings of loneliness and desire to belong. Her voice shines through her narration, and the way she describes her situation speaks to readers and transforms her into a real person. Clay’s caring, good-guy character is believable as well as Courtney Crimsen, the social-climbing, shallow girl who is also one of Hannah’s “13 R3asons Why.” Their situations and behaviors are familiar to those in real life making this novel relatable and memorable.

Through , Asher puts yet another face with teen suicide through the story of Hannah Baker, but in a fresh, innovative way.  Each audiotape Hannah leaves behind haunts the characters of the book, as well as the readers. These characters and their situations come to life as the novel progresses and remind readers how important a sense of belonging and self worth is. This all too real novel impacts its readers long after being returned to the Rosie section of the library. By Rachel Boyd <[email protected]>