13 Reasons Why may have very well given me my definition of a good book; 1) You know what you are getting into from page one 2) It stands out from your usual 3) Page turner which instantly translates to, can't-put-it-down and 4) Everyone around you knows it is good from the severe case of hand clasped over mouth syndrome you get while reading it. Another one of my unofficial good book standards, when the bus conductor reads with you from the corner of his eye and says, "Inaonekana hiyo kitabu unasoma ni nzuri" translation, "Looks like you have a good book there." Jay Asher you might as well set up base in Kenya.
After basically shoving down your throat how good this book is, I guess it is about time I told you what it is all about. Meet Hannah Baker, well if you want to get technical you can't because she is dead.She committed suicide and tells you why, gory details and all. This is heard through the ears of one Clay Jensen who may just be one of the reasons why.
The ending is the beginning and it is not pretty. Energy is negligible, drained from Clay it's safe to say he is a mess. With such a jolly, good start you can't help but turn the page. It then progresses to the more traditional beginning; the Clay before the package, excitement upon delivery and it instantaneously takes a turn and you know it's down hill from here.
Before you get used to the swing of things you may get understandably confused. This is not your average type of book. Hannah narrated her ordeals on to casette tapes; so there is her voice, Clay whose nerves are just all over the place, his thoughts and flashbacks are no different, the pausing , stopping and playing of the tapes and of course regular real world dialogue. But it's the new age format that makes it so good.
It is complete drama and suspense here with numerous curve balls. I would like to give you a hint of nearly everything but I would like to keep Sir Jay here in business.
Enter star of the moment, Hannah. She is hurt and could not be more blunt about it. Just reading it has your heart pounding, eyes welling up as if you have something to do with the whole thing. To lighten the mood , if that is even possible, she cracks a joke and that sets the dark ball rolling. She morphs from being a regular ol' teenage girl, new kid in town to being a hurt violated being. In the beginning, there is a dash of hope which you are also holding on to which eventually fizzles out.
Clay, Clay, Clay. Like every girl who is into Y.A I have a top fictional guy list. I did not expect for him to be on there, but, ey, he earned the spot. He is a mama's boy and the apple of his mother's eye, studious, you will definitely not find him at a Saturday night party red cup in hand, predictable, cautious and sensitive. He comes across as clear and transparent, an open book. The tapes however change that.
No question about it, I like this book. It sailed it's way up to my top 10 favourites. But what did I really like? That I could go on the website if I really wanted to scare the living daylights out of me, Jay Asher retweeted me (just thought I'd slip that in there), how the idea came to the author, the eeriness of it all, how societal the situation is of course the list is infinite but the ending is a homerun. It's fueled with such a hope you cannot hold the suspense against anyone.
Have a good one!
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