“You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret… is to press play!”

Thirteen reasons why is the most recognizable young adult book I’ve ever read. My emotional journey while reading this book went from feeling very touched to getting goose bumps and ending in tears.

While writing these lines I’m listening to Hannah Bakers 13 tapes, and I’m feeling queasy again. Do you remember situations in your life you feel very uncomfortable in? Although you haven’t done anything? Or you just think you haven’t done anything? This is the feeling I have right now.

Hannah Baker is just a (fictional) teen girl until the day her whole life turned upside down. It started with a simple rumour but things just went their own way. To give you a clue of the plot here is some short summary of the book of Jay Asher (from Amazon):

When Clay Jenson plays the cassette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he’s surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He’s one of 13 people who receive Hannah’s story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah’s voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah’s voice and Clay’s thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions. Hannah, herself, is not free from guilt, her own inaction having played a part in an accidental auto death and a rape.

This book is sad, thoughtful, heartbreaking, and emotional at the same time! Hannah Baker gives you the idea of what can happen if rumours go their own way and what they can do to you. Hannah Baker just wanted to get her first kiss. And after getting her first innocent and sweet kiss, the boy who kissed her, tells everyone that a lot more has happened – that Hannah is a hoe. And this is only the beginning of something which ended in a suicide.

After finishing this book I thought a very long time about the story, about Hannah Baker and her life. And I reminded myself how often I talk(ed) about other people in school and how often I was hurt by rumours about me. And today I still feel weird thinking about it. Does not anyone gossip about someone else once in a while? Do we ever think about the consequences? What we do to this person? Why do we forget so fast when we get hurt by rumours or foolish talk? Words can be said so fast but you can never take them back. Also when you want to. So I’m asking myself why are we always so careless about what we say? And how it affects other people?

I just can recommend you this awesome book by Jay Asher (check out his blog). It doesn’t take a very long time to read – but it does take a very long time until you can forget about that sad girl named Hannah Baker.

- Nina