Thirteen Reasons Why Jay Asher's Book Failed to Impress Me

As your English teacher, it's really hard for me to write a negative book review.  As a person (which, surprise!  your teachers are people too!) I tend to be very critical of what I read and quite a bit of a book snob.  So in this review, I have to balance the two.  I want you all to learn that it's okay to not like a book, but that you must have critical reasons to back up that opinion.  It's true that I want you all to be reading, but I need to set an authentic example for you all.  Authentically - I didn't like this book.  If I weren't reading it to review it on the blog, honestly, I probably wouldn't have finished it.  So let me lead by example and tell you exactly why I didn't enjoy Jay Asher's new book.  

Thirteen Reasons Why Jay Asher's Book Failed to Impress Me:

#1:  The book is about suicide.

Suicide books are immediately depressing and I don't like feeling uncomfortable throughout the entire process of reading a novel.  Losing a student, family member, or anyone to suicide is probably one of my greatest fears, and I'm not comfortable reading through a story that is one long suicide note.  The basic premise of the story is a young man who receives thirteen cassette tapes that a young lady named Hannah recorded before taking her own life.  The entire novel is the main character listening to the tapes and hearing her reasons for committing suicide.  It gives me the creeps.  

#2:  The book has very little interesting language.

I'm a poet at heart and love to be taken away into the depths of my imagination with language.  The narration in the story was boring and basic.  Easy to read, but no imagination!

#3:  The narration is confusing

The narration goes back and forth between the tape and the main character's reactions to the tape. Sometimes he is thinking about himself, sometimes about the tape, and overall it creates a very distracted and confusing effect.  Maybe you'll like it, but I wanted to just hear the tapes without the main character's thoughts getting in the way.  Maybe the author could have alternated back and forth, but the mixing of the voices was irritating.

#4:  The characters are one dimensional

I love characters that I can really imagine, characters that I can relate to and remember from my own life experience.  The characters here?  Superficial and flat.  

#5:  There is no real emotion experienced

The only thing I remember feeling throughout the course of this novel is depressed.  Not even for a good reason! 

#6:  The climax is disappointing

The whole story we are waiting to figure out why the main character has been chosen to listen to the tapes.  I won't ruin it for you, but I will tell you not to get your hopes up.

#7:  The entire book takes place in 24 hours

Now this has been done before and can be an interesting way to tell a story, but for me, it just dragged the story out even more.  254 pages to describe a 24 hour period felt like an unrealistic way to tell the story.  I read 100 pages in an hour just waiting and waiting to figure out what was going to happen.  Like I said in my earlier point, when I finally figured out what I was waiting to find out, I was disappointed.

#8:  Some of the chapters seem unnecessary

...and unbelievable.  I don't totally believe that each of these stories really happened to the narrator in the time span that she claims.  It's really convenient that they all overlap into one another.  Instead of believing the story, I kept imagining the author contriving the stories to make them fit - it just didn't feel natural.

#9:  There is no thematic development

The great things about To Kill a Mockingbird and Julius Caesar and all of those other "boring" books we make you read in English is that they are timeless.  They bring up issues and situations (themes, essentially) that resonate with the readers no matter what stage in life or place in the world they may be.  Those books make you question things that you previously believed and have the potential to shape your outlook on life.  This book?  Nada.  It was a story that I will soon forget.  

#10:  The cover deceived me

After looking at the cover and reading the synopsis, I invented a way cooler story in my head than was actually contained in the book.  I don't like to be disappointed like that!

#11:  Too. Much. High. School. Drama

Now I know.  I graduated high school a long time ago.  I'm a dinosaur.  Normally, however, I can handle reading Young Adult books that deal with high school issues and be entertained, compelled, and really care about the characters.  But holy cow.  The parties, and boys, and girls, and popular kids, and football team being jerks to the new girl in town - it was just too much to handle.  Not to mention, that kind of drama doesn't actually happen in high school.  It's only in the movies, which leads me to my next point:  

#12:  I feel like I've read this before...

Every other chapter or so, I felt like I had heard the same scenario before.  In a movie, in another book, on TV...Where's the originality, Asher??

#13:  I just finished The Book Thief.  

Seriously...there's no comparison.  It's hard to read another book after you've just finished the best book of your life.  Sorry 13 Reasons...you just didn't measure up!

So there you have it folks.  I challenge you to pick it up and prove me wrong!  More importantly, I challenge you to read everything with a critical eye.

Happy reading,

Miss Cordes