Thirteen Reasons Why

 

 




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Chapter Book:  Yes    Genre: Fiction

Asher, J. (2007). Thirteen reasons why. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN: 978-1-59514-171-2. $11.25.

     Thirteen Reasons Why is a very haunting tale about a young lady who commits suicide after being rumored about and bullied by her peers. However, before she commits the act of suicide she leaves behind thirteen reasons why. The author Jay Asher said that the inspiration of this writing came from one of his very own family members who were the main character’s age. The story takes place in a town that is a composite of the two cities where the author grew up in and around California (p.296).  Although this story is labeled fiction, it deals with a very non-fictional problem that plagues a high number of teens today.

     Imagine that you wake up and begin to start you daily routines. You’re off to work or school, you step outside you door, and there is a package addressed to you with no return address. You open the package with excitement only to learn that someone you know has committed suicide and left you all of the details as to why they did it and is forcing you to share that information with others. Well that’s what happened to young Clay Jensen. One of his friends, a girl he very much admired but could never express his feelings to name Hannah Baker did that very deed. She left Clay several tapes naming the people she felt was responsible for her decision and demanded from the grave that he share those tapes with them. 

     While reading Thirteen Reasons Why I began to remember that this time last year one on my students committed suicide after being bullied on face book. I cannot help but wonder if he felt like Hannah, alone, scared, misunderstood. I looked back in my memory to see if he showed in telling signs and the only thing I remember is that the week before he committed the act, he cleaned out his locker. Although there were no illustrations in the book, the author very vividly describes every scene. I have very mixed feelings about the book however, I thought it was very well written and unfortunately it is a subject matter that we must give attention to. I would recommend this book for teens 14 and above with a lot of group discussion.

     After reading Thirteen Reasons Why if you are interested in books that deal head on with teen disorders you might find Winter Girls interesting by Laurie Halse Anderson. This story is about eating disorders and its deadly affects. So many of our teens suffer in silence but hopefully after reading these books we as adults will be brave enough to ask why and how can we help.

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