Review | Thirteen Reasons Why Season 1

For those who have never heard about it the story follows Clay Jensen, a high schooler whose crush, Hannah Baker committed suicide. One day, he receives a box full of tapes recorded by Hannah explaining why she did this. Each tape is about one reason - one person - and since Clay has received it, it means he's one of the reason.

I first read this book when I was in high school. It was actually the first book that kept me reading all night. I just couldn't put it down. I needed to know the reasons, I needed to understand why the life of a regular girl turned so wrong so fast. 

Before I say anything else, you need to know this book isn't about justifying suicide. It's about preventing it. I think the message behind it is good : Small things matter. And you never know what's going on in another person's life. 

Now we can move on to the actual review.

Is it a good adaptation ? 

Yes, without hesitation, yes. It's very different from the book but it kept its essence. The main difference is that we don't only follow Clay but also the other persons on Hannah's list. We learn their backstories and get to hear the story from their perspectives. 

There were some times where the exact same line from the book was said in the show and that makes me (and every bookworm in my opinion) happy. 

However, I didn't like the fact that they tried to make some characters more likeable by modifying small things. They should've sticked with what really happened. 

On the contrary, they made Clay less "perfect". Some of his lines made me smack my fronthead thinking "Clay would never say that" but when I watched the show with my brother, I understood why they did it. To quote him "I would have thought the same thing [Clay said], I wouldn't have understood this reason if I wasn't hearing Hannah's point of view". 

This Clay is more relatable and helps you understand Hannah with his own ignorance.

Anyway, you get the point : They managed to mostly stick to the book while adding another dimension to the story.

Which one is darker ?

When my friend (Hi Sam) first asked me, my  answer was the book is darker. I thought about it a lot and my answer stays the same. I think they tried to make the show darker by adding graphic scenes but what Hannah did in the end of the book (if you've read it, you know what I'm talking about) is a lot darker in my opinion. 

Is it a good show ?

Yes it is ! The actors are generally good, the soundtracks are beautiful and oh my gosh, the feelings ! It was so hard not to sob watching it because this show is a firework of emotions. 

It's gripping (I binge watched it) and I'm sure you won't regret watching it.

Finally, I want to say that suicide is a touchy subject to tackle and I know that for a lot of people, Hannah's reasons aren't good enough or not believable enough but I think you can't judge someone's reasons for feeling low. 

If you're feeling depressed or suicidal, no matter what your reasons are or even if you don't have any reasons for feeling this way just go talk to someone. Talk. Get help. But do not stay isolated. I know it sounds cliché but you are not alone.

Have you read/watched 13 reasons why ? What did you think ? Tell me in the comments !