Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher. A girl commits suicide, but before killing herself she records seven audiotapes, which she sends to the people whom she blames for her decision to take her own life. It's a serious subject and a clever premise, but I found the prose to be full of high-school histrionics that were just over the top. Clay Jensen, the protagonist of the book, cries multiple times during the night in which he listens to the tapes, which seems excessive when you're reading it. Plus, the book switches back and forth between italics and normal type, and each switch represents a change in point of view, and I found it constantly irritating. Grade: B-