Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why is Jay Asher's first novel. I don't remember where I first heard about this book, but when I saw it at a book fair a few weeks ago I knew that I needed to add it to my collection.

My roommate actually read it a couple of weeks ago and at ten one night she started texting me. This wouldn't be so abnormal except that Katie is usually ready for bed by then. She told me that she'd gotten the book at work (I had been talking about reading it and she works at Barnes & Nobles). She was still 100 pages from the end and it was intense. So what's it about?

Hannah Baker committed suited, and now Clay is hearing her story. He receives a shoebox in the mail containing seven tapes, each side marked with a blue number, 1-13, the last side blank. Each side tells the story of a person who somehow contributed to the downward spiral of Hannah's life and her ultimate decision. The instructions given: listen to the tapes, then rewind them and pass them on to the next person on the list. If the instructions aren't followed a second set of tapes will be leaked to the public, if they are then the secret stays with those involved.

There were parts of this book that were really hard to read, and the whole idea of why she made the list in the first place was enough to put my stomach in knots. But that being said, I think that this is a book that people should definitely read. It's one of those books that really makes you think. Many of the people on the list knew that they were in some way causing Hannah harm, but not all of them did. Some of them thought that what they did was funny, some of them thought it was a joke, and much of it revolved around a reputation...a reputation that was given to Hannah because of rumors. I think that in high school rumors become part of everyday life, and kids don't always know what is or isn't true, but they continue to pass on what they've heard. Not only that, but even those stories that are true often get twisted around until they no longer are and probably should have never been shared in the first place. When I finished the book last night I text my roommate to tell her. I think that, emotionally, it effected her even more so than me because she has had to deal with many suicides and attempts from people she was/is close to.

As we talked about the book I said that I could see it being a good book for high school students to read. It would probably be very controversial to teach because of the sensitivity of the subjects it covers, not only suicide, but rape as well. I think that there would certainly be merit to teaching it, and if I don't ever teach it I do plan acquire another copy of it and have both of my copies available in my classroom library.

So to wrap this post up, I would like to encourage you to check out the books website, http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/ I recommend looking at the 13RW project (the link on the far right at the top).