I'm currently doing a personal "A-Z Book Challenge" where I have to read a book by authors in alphabetical order. For my first book I picked was 'Thirteen Reasons Why' by Jay Asher (sometimes titled 'TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY').

I bought this book purely on the recommendation of several other people. I had a slight idea what it was about but quite a few of my online friends said what a good book it was so I decided to buy it and find out for myself!

The RRP is £6.99 for the paperback although I paid £4.89 on Amazon.co.uk.

The blurb on the back certainly intrigued me:
"Clay Jensen returns home to find a strange package with his name on it. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and first love - who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice explains there are thirteen reasons why she killed herself. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

All through the night, Clay keeps listening - and what he discovers changes his life... Forever."

Clay and Hannah are the main characters and the narrative flips between Hannah's voice on the tapes (always in italics) and Clay's thoughts at the present and of the past events. Even with this split it's very easy to stay with the story and not get confused.

The book definitely gripped me as I really wanted to find out why Clay and other characters were on the tapes. Asher made me feel for some of the characters while also hating others. And, even though there wasn't much description of the characters and places, I could imagine them perfectly in my head. The book sucked me in completely.

Towards the end I felt moved by the book and it really reminds you that every little action, every little word you say can make a big difference to someone. I think the book is very reflective of how real teens feel these days and of what happens in many schools.

There's a good Q&A section with the author at the end of the book which describes his inspiration ("his"! Up until the end I'd assumed the author was female as he seems to do so well at being inside Hannah's head).

I would say this is more of an older teen fiction book but, as an adult, it definitely entertained me and made me consider aspects of my own personal life.

Here's a link to the official website for the book: www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/

The ISBN number is 978-0141328294 for those who need this to order it or look it up at a library.

Finally, so that the title of this review isn't misleading, here are my thirteen reasons why I think you should read this book:
1. It's very engaging.
2. It's well written.
3. It will create some good discussions amongst your friends if they read it too.
4. It's a popular book amongst teens and adults.
5. It will help you spot the possible signs of suicidal thoughts so you can look out for your friends and family.
6. The Q&A section at the back is a great insight into the writing process.
7. It will move you.
8. It's a bit different; I've not heard of any other books that use tapes as a way of telling a story.
9. The characters are believable.
10. It's cheap to buy on Amazon!
11. It will make you analyse your own life a bit more.
12. It will remind you to think carefully about your actions and words.
13. Because I said so! Lol!