College Students! discussion

Has anyone read this book??

I'd love to talk about it.

Is that the one with the tapes?

Yes!

Oh yeah I've read it. I really liked it.

I honestly couldn't put it down. I needed to find out where Clay fit into all of this and who the others were.

*SPOILERS*

Did you feel like maybe she was really alive somewhere? lol I just kept holding out for the fact that maybe she really didn't do it.

Oh I know. I was like what did he do!? Oh yeah for a while I hoped but I then I kind of gave up on it.

Jamie! I thought the same exact thing!!! I kept waiting for Clay to show up at a place on the map...and there she was.
I really really liked the premise and idea of the book. It made me think a lot of how good people are at hiding things from others. It stayed with me for along time.
I just didn't like the writing style of the book. YA books aren't really my thing.

As I was reading the book, I was always wondering what he did that made him be on one of the tapes. I really wanted to see the reactions that all of the other people had/would have when it was their turn to listen to the tapes. Sucks that we didn't get to see those reactions.

I agree Adriana! How interesting it would have been to know all the other peoples reactions! Would they have felt bad or thought they weren't guilty of anything?

I thought the book was really good. I liked the idea of an author touching on such a sensitive subject. I remember when I was a (younger) teenager there weren't many books that came from the victom's POV. The ones I read were a friend or family member's reaction to it.
The thing that kept me reading was wanting to know who was next on the tape. Even though I didn't know any of the characters, I still wanted to know what they did.

Jamie- I think some of the people would feel guilty, like Jessica, the teacher, and the peeping tom, but I think some would think it's just a load of bull. Two guys especially.

I've been meaning to read this book since it came out. Seriously. I was afraid that it wasn't going to be as good as I hoped... that it would let me down. As someone who has attempted suicide, I was afraid it wouldn't cover the emotions well enough.

Sure, I wasn't crying at the end (or maybe I did cry a little, I don't know) but it still was heart-wrenching. I bought it Monday, finished it on Tuesday. Really, really easy to read, and I don't know if he's just a good author or if it's because of how much I related to it. I loved the juxtaposition between Hannah and Clay... That was genius.

I'm definitely going to try to get more people to read this book... it's such a beautiful story and a very creative layout.

<3

*Spoilers!*
I just read this book too.. read it in one day! It was amazing!

It exposes how our actions cause a ripple affect and can hurt other people more than you think.

At the same time, Hannah was depressed. At the end she wasn't thinking rationally (pushing clay away, the hot tub) and I really really liked how the author had Clay's voice there to show that.

loved this book.

Ashley--I agree with you. I feel like when people are suicidal they tend to act more recklessly than they once would have..putting themselves in dangerous situations like with the hot tub.

I always think about that idea of everything I do has a ripple effect on other people. Scary thought. But I also try to think of it in good terms--like the movie Pay It Forward.

I love that movie...

I love Asher's inspiration for this story... Such an odd inspiration, but it worked perfectly.

<3

Oh I loved Pay It Forward!
And that's very true! I think Hannah already had the mindset where she only noticed the bad. (Not that I blame her! But good things were happening too)

Caitlin wrote: "I love that movie...

I love Asher's inspiration for this story... Such an odd inspiration, but it worked perfectly.

<3"

Ya I read that, it was audio tapes at a museum? How creative to think about that and turn it into Hannah's story.

I agree with you all about his inspiration for the story. So creative to come up with that whole idea from that. How he weaves everything together is amazing.

My sister is reading this now and says that it is really good.