Book Review: Jay Asher – “Thirteen Reasons Why”

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker – his classmate and crush – who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face. (Source: amazon.com)

Can you personally feel sad and sorry in a physical way for a fictional character? After this book, I’d say yes. A hundred times yes.

If I was to do my review in a conversation with someone, using words, then I’d first have to find the ability to speak again. Because this book left me absolutely speechless. It’s about ignorance, about ignorant people who rather turn their backs on other people and their problems instead of trying to help them to prevent them from doing something stupid. And after having read it, I have to admit that I totally get why Hannah killed herself and I could easily picture myself in her place in the past and even today.

I loved the way Jay Asher wrote this book – it changes from Hannah’s narration through her tapes with the first person narration done by Clay. It gives the story speed, but not too much to be confusing. And in some parts, him speaking and Hannah speaking mixes after only a word or a few words, and the reader can basically hear the desperation in Clay’s words, see his from sadness distorted face in front of them. Asher makes the reader feel sorry for Clay, and me, personally, I felt like hugging him through the entire book, even if he’s nothing but a fictional character – but you really just have to love Clay. He’s one of the most likeable characters I’ve ever read about, and learning about Hannah’s story partly from his point of view makes him even more likeable, because it’s like the reader himself is experiencing what Clay is going through. It’s a total different kind of narration than what most authors do, but for this kind of story, there couldn’t have been a better one. It gives it an even deeper meaning and leaves the reader with a bad aftertaste after each chapter, because I bet there are a lot of readers who can empathize with either Clay or Hannah, or maybe even both.

Bullying itself is the most horrible thing in the world. I know what I’m talking about, because it happened to myself during schooltime. But what happens with Hannah’s story is – in my opinion – way worse. Due to rumors being spread about her because she does not behave the way her schoolmates – mostly boys, but there are also girls doing her wrong – a snowball effect kicks in. One rumor leads to someone’s action, that leads to another action, to another, and so on. And all the while, Hannah is misunderstood, seen as someone she just isn’t. She is never given the chance to explain things, to show people who she really is. And at one point, after more and more bad things happen to her – betrayal, utilisation, sexual harassment, abuse – she just gives up.

The most horrible thing is that there were changes about her that were there, for everybody to see and notice, and still, nobody did ANYTHING about it. Which pretty much sums up the kind of society we all live in. Why bother with other people’s problems when we have enough of our own? Why realize that maybe there’s more to someone who used to be extroverted and suddenly stops connecting with anybody around him/her? And even when Hannah turns to a classmate who’s done her wrong, saying out loud for the first time that she needs someone to appreciate her, to notice her, he ignores it.

The end was absolutely devastating, and I rushed through it despite the fact that I already knew the end, all with tears in my eyes. For the one and only, the last time, Hannah decides she wants to live after all. That she does want to give someone the last chance to help her, to rescue her from giving herself up. She turns to someone who knowingly deals with problems, who knows about inner struggles and who’s job it is to help.

And she’s let down again.

At the end, Hannah says “I am sorry.” But in my opinion, someone who has committed suicide should not apologize to anybody they’ve left behind. Maybe that’s harsh towards those people. But to be honest, if those people were really connected to the person who killed himself/herself, if they cared enough, in my opinion, they should notice at least some changes, or signs that something isn’t right. And if they know that that person might not be the most stable in the world, the alarm bells should at least slowly start ringing in their heads. And if they didn’t…well, for me, these people then don’t even deserve any explanation or an apology. And for all the people out there who’ll shout “Damn hypocrite!” at me now: I’m not taking myself out of this. I do not see myself as a good friend, and personally, I have a problem with not only dealing with my own problems, no matter how they pile up, but also with other people’s. I have never learned real empathy when someone tells me their grandma died, or someone in their family is sick, or even not big things, like them losing their job or being dumped/dumping somebody. But nevertheless – at least that’s how I feel it is – I try to be there for them. I assure them that I’ll leave them alone if that’s what they need/want, but that whenever they need something/someone to vent, I’ll be there to listen to them ranting. I may be the worst giver of advises, but I see myself at least as someone who, even if she struggles with what’s thrown at her through other people’s problems, does NOT turn her back on these people. Of course, in reality, only my friends can really estimate if what I just said is total crap or not. But fact is, despite my flaws and helplessness with other people’s struggles, I am not a bad person. Different to all the young teenagers in this book who make me massively angry and horribly sad at the same time.

I don’t even know, nor do I want to know, the dark figure of how many young people kill themselves every year due to similar things that were described by Jay Asher. Or due to ignorant friends in someone’s life. Because it’s a heartbreaking thing to think about, that there is enough ignorance, backstabbing & loneliness in this society that people still have reasons to end their own lives.

And the most scaring thing?

That it can happen to everyone of us.

Because that’s our society.

And that’s the saddest thing to think about.

Thank you, Jay Asher, for your phenomenal, heartwrenching and emotional book, for a real insight into the depths of the world we live in. And here’s to the hope that one day, your book will make a difference for all the people who struggle with their lives, and make them see that one way or another, there CAN be a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it’s just someone calling their name in an empty hallway.

 

Book Review: James Dashner – “The Maze Runner” Trilogy

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run. (Source: amazon.com)

It took me a hell of a long time until I finally decided to give the series a shot – mostly due to the fact that in a few days, the 1st movie is going to be released here in Germany and I was intrigued (which has absolutely nothing to due with Dylan O’Brien playing the lead role, of course not…), so I figured starting with the book first would be a good thing. However, I had heard and read very different opinions; people being disappointed of the 2nd and 3rd book, complaining about the main character’s attitude and the multiple deaths of characters they had grown close to. But after all, it was announced as something between “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent” & “Lord Of The Flies” – three of the things I love to pieces, so curiosity got the better of me and I finally started the series 6 days ago.

And hello, am I glad I did. This series is a GEM.

#1 The Maze Runner

As probably everybody who has read this book, I was into the story right away. Of course, the choice of words was weird at first, words I had never heard before, but I soon grew used to “shuckface”, “slinthead” and all the likes. After all, it was easy to imagine what the characters were saying. Plus, I clicked with Thomas right away, despite the fact that I’m female. His insecurity, yet his curiosity, and his will to find out the truth were very intriguing. Moreover, each of his characteristics made me like him the instant he showed up. He’s a character that people can identify with – I myself can imagine being taken completely aback if I’d ever been thrown in a situation that he’s been thrown in, with all my memories and past being wiped out. And also all the other characters were so well-written that you can’t help but feel with them – even with Gally.
The fact that the truth behind the “Maze” is only revealed in the last pages of this first book might be something that annoyed people – I, however, liked that way of approach done by James Dashner, because it somewhat reminded me of the series “Prison Break” and its 1st season. Everyone had a feeling they’d break out, and they had to wait until the very last episode of Season 1 to see it happen. And after it was clear that the “Maze” wouldn’t hold the kids’ future any longer, it was clear for me that they’d leave, and from that point on it was impossible for me to put the book away. The way it was written was highly entertaining and just the way I like my books to be.

#2 The Scorch Trials

The 2nd book thankfully picked up exactly where the 1st one left off – something I thought was a good move. With what the kids had to face, it would’ve been highly illogical to let time pass between the escape and the “new start”. For me, it was also very interesting as to how the characters would develop from now on. We have Thomas, who had regained some of his memories due to one very stupid deed in the 1st book, and who grew more and more confident of himself and the place he starts to take over in the small group of kids. The reader feels how he gets stronger, how he knows what he wants, despite the fact his past still is a mystery to him. And the reader also feels with him as his thoughts about who to trust and who to mistrust keep him in a constant inner agony. To some people (according to the reviews on amazon and from a friend of mine), that was somewhat annoying – the constant reminder of the horror Thomas had to go through at the end of the 1st book, and the whining over and over, his seeming inability to let things go, to move on; but I, personally, liked it. It made him very human to me, struggling with himself and the people he’s closest to – something I can very well relate to (although not in that exact way as he experienced it, of course).
But the character I grew the closest with, the character I started to like more than anyone else, about who’s life I was in constant fear – that was Minho. I utterly loved his development since the 1st book, I absolutely enjoyed the change James Dashner has put him through – willingly or not. The snippy comments, the “Dude!” outbursts, the constant sarcastic/wry remarks – it was the thing I mostly enjoyed about “The Scorch Trials” over everything else, over the story, the chills and the suspense. Had James Dashner only broached in very small glimpses what kind of boy Minho is, he played it out very well from the moment that he took over a bigger role in the whole story in this 2nd book. And I have nothing but praise for that.

#3 The Death Cure

All in all, that might be the weakest book of the three, up until a certain point closer to the end. I understand why people kept complaining about the “downfall” of the series with every book, and I have to admit, partly, it annoyed me, too, how the characters of Thomas and Teresa behaved. I understand a lot of the younger readers thought of them as maybe some kind of Katniss & Peeta from the “Hunger Games” series – what with them ending up happily ever after at the end of the series, – and that constant discussions and fights were nothing they wanted to have. The whining and moaning of Thomas didn’t stop in this book (I’m not gonna lie about that), and without bringing in more spoilers than I already have, they are increased with every new shock, terror and task that Thomas and his friends have to face. But let’s be honest: this is the last book of the series, and every reader who expects it to sugarcoat things, to go down easily just doesn’t understand book series like that. Because at the end, “The Death Cure” surely does everything else but sugarcoat, and somewhat even exaggerates with using brutality. The long journey of Thomas, Minho, Teresa, Newt and everyone else is finally coming to an end, and I, personally, wouldn’t have wanted it any other way than how it was done by James Dashner. It was the right way, and I loved it.

Resumé: Of course (especially in the 2nd and 3rd book) there have been turns in the destiny of Thomas and the other Gladers that were so numerous that they hovered at the edge of illogicality for me (the countless times they are able to escape certain captures or deaths are mostly to be named here). But in the end, when I think about it, they kept the story going, kept it flowing – just when the reader thinks “Now it’s over for them, definitely!”, they come out of it, almost unfazed, only to be thrown into the next mess when the same thoughts come back.
Of course there have been deaths throughout all three books that shook me hard – and I won’t be shy to admit I shed the one or other tear over the people dying; that’s how close I personally grew to the characters. But in the end, if I am honest, they were needed to put the characters through a development that was credible and entertaining (minus the whining), to keep them interesting enough that the reader wants to know how they deal with it. Especially the last death in the final book was hard – although part of me kind of knew what would happen, because I’m just that kind of a realist – and sometimes, things are just too good to be true.
Of course not everything in this series was perfect. There are barely perfect books out there.

But all in all, to me, James Dashner came VERY close to “perfect” with his “Maze Runner” series.

Well done.