In the book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (2007), the dead live on when Clay Jenson receives a package on his doorstep from the one and only Hannah Baker.

She’s kind, clever and eye-catching – but she killed herself two weeks ago.

Jenson is changed dramatically when he receives this package containing a map of his town and seven labeled cassette-tape recordings.

Baker gives 12 people 13 reasons why she committed suicide.

“I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why,” she says.

Baker leaves individual starred maps with her listeners because she wants them to follow as they listen along. She wants every person to walk in her shoes, to feel the way she felt.

If the listeners don’t want to pass the tapes along to the next person, in attempts to hide their role in her suicide, Baker threatens to release a second copy of the tapes (which she left with a classmate).

I love this book because it shows that all individuals are fighting their own battles. Even when you think you know a person, you probably don’t know everything.

Jenson was unable to stop listening to the cassette tapes and I was unable to stop reading. We both waited eagerly, wanting to know his contribution and who received these tapes before him and who will receive them after him.

­­This book changed the way I look at life. It made me cry, it made me laugh and after I finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This story was so captivating because it told a side of the story that readers seldom hear.