Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
★ Top 25 book of 2007 · #13 on Best Books of 2007
Clay Jenkins finds a box of cassette tapes left by Hannah Baker, a classmate and crush who died by suicide two weeks earlier. Her recordings name thirteen reasons for her choice, and Clay is on the list.
Best for: Teen readers who want a heartfelt story told through two alternating voices
Thirteen Reasons Why is #13 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar.
What Thirteen Reasons Why is about
Clay Jensen comes home to find a mysterious package in the mail. Inside are seven double-sided cassette tapes, recorded by Hannah Baker, a classmate and his crush, who has recently killed herself. On them she names thirteen people and events she blames for her death, and she has arranged for the tapes to be passed from one person to the next. Clay is the ninth to receive them.
The story alternates between Hannah's recorded voice and Clay's own point of view as he listens, knowing that he is somewhere on the list himself. Along the way he begins to worry that another classmate, Skye Miller, may be struggling too. Jay Asher's 2007 young adult novel draws on his own experience of a close relative's suicide attempt. It is somber, suspenseful and emotional, about how actions affect others, guilt and responsibility, and the importance of reaching out. It deals directly with suicide, so readers should be ready for that.
Thirteen Reasons Why on the Best Books of 2007
Thirteen Reasons Why came out in 2007. Of the 53 books first published in 2007 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #13 on our Best Books of 2007 list.
Why it made the list: 1,237 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (88 ratings); 66 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2007 list
- There Is a Bird on Your Head! Mo Willems, #11
- City of Bones Cassandra Clare, #12
- Eclipse Stephenie Meyer, #14
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie, #15
See all Best Books of 2007 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2006 Best Books of 2008.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 1,018 want to read it, 66 are reading it now and 153 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.7 out of 5 from 88 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 87 | 55% |
| Reader love | 17 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 87 | 20% |
Questions about Thirteen Reasons Why
When was Thirteen Reasons Why published?
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher was first published in 2007.
Was Thirteen Reasons Why one of the best books of 2007?
Thirteen Reasons Why is #13 on BookWard's Best Books of 2007, out of 53 2007 books that cleared our data bar. 1,237 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (88 ratings); 66 are reading it right now.
Why is Thirteen Reasons Why on the Best Books of 2007 list?
1,237 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.7 out of 5 (88 ratings); 66 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2007
- Dog Days Jeff Kinney, #1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling, #2
- The Titan's Curse Rick Riordan, #3
- A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini, #4
- Rodrick Rules Jeff Kinney, #5
- The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss, #6
See the full Best Books of 2007, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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