Taking on the topic of teen suicide in your first novel is pretty brave. It's not something people like to talk about. It doesn't exactly make for a cheerful conversation starter. Schools shy away from it, until it has to be addressed to the entire student body after it's already too late. And chances are, if you attend high school, the topic will be addressed at some point. By the time you graduate, even if you aren't aware of it, at least one person you know will have contemplated ending his or her life. It's a scary thought. And I don't write these things to make you feel uncomfortable, only to point out that Jay Asher is doing the Young Adult Fiction audience a favor by broaching the topic. But the book has a lot of mature themes, not just suicide, so if you're under the age of 14, I'd recommend holding off on reading it for a little bit, until you are absolutely sure you'll be able to get through all of it.

Now that my warning to you is out of the way, let's get down to what I actually thought of the book: I loved it. Despite what can be pretty depressing subject matter, and several passages that are very hard to get through, the book is an amazing read.

Although the story is told from Clay's point of view, it is really Hannah's voice that narrates via her tapes, with Clay providing the appropriate reactions to her stories, and I think this is the best choice that Asher could have made. If we were eavesdropping on the thoughts of any of the other members of Hannah's list, I don't know if the book would have made such a big impact. Clay is someone who even Hannah says doesn't belong on her list, and it's incredibly easy to be sympathetic to his plight. He doesn't want to listen to the tapes. He doesn't want to know the secrets of all of these other people. And he doesn't want to think of himself as partially responsible for Hannah's ultimate decision. But he just can't stop himself from listening to what she has to say. His overwhelming desire to know why overrides his fear and his disgust of everything he hears.

This is a book that will make you think. Every action has a consequence, and Hannah's list of reasons demonstrates that perfectly. It starts with a seemingly insignificant little rumor, but that rumor leads to her achieving an undeserved reputation, which leads to another rumor, and everything snowballs until she feels her life is out of her control. At first, she is snarky and sarcastic while directing comments to the people she knows are listening. But not every story she recounts is a negative. And her attitude does soften as she nears the end of the tapes. Her experiences with Clay (remember, he doesn't belong on the list) are mostly positive, but by the time she reaches his point in her story, it doesn't matter. I think it would be impossible to finish this novel, one that ultimately stems from a single rumor that grows into so much more, and still look at gossip, or contribute to any rumor mill, the same way.

This book acts as one of the best public service announcements I've ever seen. The pages just scream for you to pay more attention to what's going on around you, to treat people with respect, to not be so quick to believe everything you hear, or for that matter, to judge. Even though parts of the book are difficult to digest, I do think everyone should, at some point, read it. I cannot recommend it enough. It's a must.