Before I go any further, I'll try to do a quick little summary of the plot for those of you who haven't heard of it...
There's this high schooler, Clay, who comes home one day from school to find seven cassette tapes lying on his front porch; on the tapes is the voice of Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide very recently. He listens to the tapes, discovering there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Even crazier, he discovers he himself is one of the reasons.
It's totally enthralling, and a page-turner that's not just a "page-turner" for the sake of being put on a cover so people will buy a book. It's totally heartbreaking and does have a lasting impression (though I did just finish it an hour ago, so I can't really judge its "lasting" impression, I suppose), but I just know it will linger in my head. I had gotten it a few months ago, and for some time it had sat lined up with all my other "to read" novels on my shelf; when I was cleaning, I had to take all the books off to dust, and I cracked open the first page, started reading, and...well, here I am, writing about how great it was. So, I meant to read it, just...not now. I'm glad I did, though. :)
(I wasn't able to get an autographed copy, though that would've been amazing!)
So, that's all. :) I'm sure many of you have heard of it and probably read it, but I still just needed to blab about how great it was (because, honestly, how can you resist that plot and the mystery of it all?). Five out of five stars, no question. Mr. Asher is a fine writer.
I'm still trucking onward with my other books (both the readings and the writings), and I'll keep you guys posted if I have some breakthrough with anything or something magical happens (not yet querying, though, so I can't imagine anything yet). ;)
Any of you finish great books recently? Have any of you read Thirteen Reasons Why? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
