Thirteen Reasons Why to Read "Thirteen Reasons Why"

Why hello few and beloved readers! Reader? Whatever. Word'll spread... whether it be today or in twenty years. Haha.
So I've just finished my high school's "One Book, One School" book. It should be kinda obvious from the name, but I'll explain it anyhow. Everyone in the school is required to read a certain book. This year, it is the lurvely realistic fiction, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
The book is about a high school junior named Hannah Baker, who has recently committed suicide. In the days following her untimely death, she records some cassette tapes (which are acknowledged as outdated in the book) stating the reasons why she chose to end her life.
The main character of the book is Clay Jensen, a classmate of Hannah's who had a crush on her. It's actually a dual-narrative, with Clay describing his reactions to the tapes and Hannah in italics narrating the tapes.

Anyway, the book is heart-wrenching, and my heart always wants to believe that the dead person will come back to life, or not actually be dead (of course, reading Inkheart just made this worse, lol). Spoiler: she doesn't.
It makes me think about how so many teenagers kill themselves. I can understand why, and sympathize. It's not as if I've never thought about that. But I realistically know I'd never do that to myself, for a number of reasons. I mean, when things are at their worst, they can only get better, right? And I don't want to be part of some depressing statistic of people with potential who took themselves away from becoming what the could become.
So it's written by a man, obviously, but as a female, I found that he did a good job of making her thoughts real. It's not at all impossible to write a first-person book as someone of the opposite sex, and probably a good writing exercise. The whole thing feels so real, from the actions to the thoughts of the characters.
Hannah Baker gave people many chances to pick up on her plan, but I think people need to realize that others aren't always going to get their hints. There are so many reasons not to kill yourself, and while Hannah had reason to, the reasons not to were stronger. Don't let small things tear you apart. It's important to talk to people, important to talk to anyone, if you're thinking about that.

Now, as the title alludes, I'm going to list thirteen reasons why you should read this book.

13) So many people can identify with Hannah. It could be you, or it could help you understand the actions of the suicidal.
12) The scenarios are realistic. The behaviors of the students could really happen.
11) Suicide's the second or third leading cause of death among teenagers. This obviously needs to be addressed.
10) I believe that seeing Clay's reactions could convince at least some people out of killing themselves.
9) Suicide's a delicate issue. People don't want to address it because "oh, so and so would never do that". Or because it's awkward. But they could, which is heartbreaking.
8) The emotion in the book is enough to move anyone, and I think it's important for adults to see things this way.
7) The recording-reaction dual narrative is fascinating.
6) It shows you how the smallest things can affect people. You never know where your actions will lead.
5) With a map on the book jacket, you can follow along easily, which is really cool.
4) Hannah was not a stereotypical picture of a suicidal teenager. You don't have to be. She took her life in the book, and there's no going back.
3) The book is for everyone. I think between most people, there's some way to identify with Clay, Hannah, or both. Female and male points of view, different personalities... it's for a wide audience.
2) While the book is not for kids, I think teenagers and adults alike can gain something from this. We all need to be able to see things from another point of view.
1) It's a really freaking good book.

Anyway, have you read this book? Planning on reading it? Thoughts? Anything I should read next?
In a few days, my next book should be read, maybe sooner. I've actually read Cirque du Freak's book 7 between my two posts, but this is long enough, so maybe when I finish the series I'll review it.

Welcome and Everafter

Hey! I'm Kara. I have another blog, http://musingsbykara.blogspot.com/, and this is my second blog. I read a lot. On this blog, I'm going to be talking about books I've read. I would say review... but I love almost everything I read, so the ratings would all be 4 and 5 stars.
Anyway, I read at least a book a week, sometimes more, so I'll probably post for each of those.
The last book I finished was Everafter by Amy Huntley. It's about a girl who dies, Maddy. Maddy finds herself in a dark, empty place, and pushes around until she sees these glowing objects. They're the objects she lost in life. When she imagines doing whatever the object was used for with it, she is transported into the scene of when she lost it. The one thing Maddy doesn't know how she lost is her life.
It was incredible. It started out a little boring (first chapter, maybe?), but got much better. You will want Maddy to be able to live, and the end is heartbreakingly bittersweet.
I think this is an interesting interpretation of what happens when you die, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Other books I've recently finished:
Freshman by Michael Gerber
The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Other books about what comes after death:
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (Everafter is about a teenager, this is about an old man)
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (her book Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is good, too)
Everlost, Everwild, unreleased trilogy by Neal Shusterman

Anyway, I could list books all day. Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?
Also, what are some of your favorite books, and are there any you'd like me to review?

Until next time,
Kara