As expected, Thirteen Reasons Why was a powerful book. I watched the TV series before reading the book and I actually think the series was better, hence the four stars. I'm not sure if I would still feel that way if I had read the book first, which is why it's not lower. There are many things about this book that I did not like, but I absolutely loved the idea.

I loved that the book was broken up into tapes instead of chapters.
I loved how Asher used italics to signify that Hannah was speaking.
I loved how Asher used symbols you would find on a Walkman throughout this book.
I loved Clay. His character is inspiring and easy to relate to.
Hannah's character was beautifully developed to represent a struggling teenager. Not just a teenager... anybody who has contemplated suicide. The way they think...
I loved how every single character in this book is twisted with the others, just like real life.

The theme isn't suicide awareness, not the primary theme anyway. Yes, it's a large part of the book, but it's also the cliched part of the book. No, the real theme in this book is The Snowball Effect. The actions of other people affect everyone else in ways that are often unknown. Things build up. And then they explode.

I loved the theme and how Asher conveyed it.

It may be harsh, but the following phrase is how I would describe this book: an exaggerated suicide note. I say this because that's all that was covered. It was Hannah's story told through a headset after she already died. I pictured the characters from the TV series because I could not develop images of them on my own with Asher's descriptions. I did feel as though the character descriptions were strong enough. It was like a near 300 page narrative; very little dialogue.

However, I would be lying if I said this book did not get any emotional response from me. I am not a stranger to suicidal thoughts and Hannah's character was developed in an accurate fashion, from my experiences anyway. Specifically, after reading Clay's part in the story, his tape... I felt so angry. How does Asher have a right to write about his? Has he had experience with suicide or seriously close death? I tried looking it up, but didn't put too much effort into it because I realized that it didn't really matter. He got it right, so it doesn't matter if he's felt it personally.

No wonder this book won awards and was made into a series. It covers a very real issue in a candid way. Well done, Asher.