Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

It took more than 7 months since publishing to the day this book appeared on the bestsellers list of NYTimes. The book is strange in many aspects.


"Thirteen reasons why" is a story was told by 2 parallel storytellers, one on the way to find the truth about the death of a girl and the other is that deceased girl. At least, it's how it looks like from the beginning of the story, the day a mystery shoebox-sized package appeared against the front door with Clay's name scribbled on the wrapping.

Have you ever thought of "the other side of a story"? Have you ever wonder yourself what other people re-tell your same stories? Have you ever guessed what that boy/girl thinks about you in a particullar party in which you did wear a funny outlook? And have you ever thought about how your victim of picking-up at school suffer from your joke?

And have you ever asked this question "what if..."?

And what would you have done once 7 audiotapes appeared on your porch from a deceased girl who accused that if your were listening to the tapes, you were one of reasons why her life ended?

Runing away? From what?

Listening to the tape? For what? For making your life more miserable like hers? Or just to know? Or to make something better?

It's your choice. But once you start, you can not stop. The problem is the starting is not the day those tapes appeare on your porch. It was someday in the past... And you know that, you can not change what happened in the past...


I like the ending of this book and I like this whole book in common. It's more coming-of-age story than a romantic love story at the coming-of-age period of some teenagers in a small town. The story starts with a death of a young girl and close with hope for other lives. Even though it's like a very long journey from living to death, from ignorance to awareness about life, love, acceptance and - more important - self-awareness, the whole story is actually lasted some hours from the minute the box appeared to the end of the last tape. Somehow, I think that this story does not come to an end but actually is just the starting of a very new life for Clay. It likes the moment he opened the wrapping he also opened the door of his life, a life which is not bliss by arrogance anymore, but definitely happier.

I don't know if there is any publishing house in VN has the intention translating this book into Vietnamese or not. However, if you have the intermediate level of English, this book will make not much dificulty at all. The only problem reading this book is that you may feel a little bit confuse at first since you have parallel storytellers in stead of a traditional single storyteller one. However, after you make acquaintance with the characters, the whole book is really intrigued.

Highly recommended, especially for people with "what if..." problem and teenagers at the coming-of-age turnabout.