I have been dying to read this book for the past few months! One of my classmates presented it during a book talk last semester, and I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to read it! Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a must read! Check out the list of awards it has received over the past 5 years it has been in print:
New York Times Best Seller
Publishers Weekly Best Seller
Best Books for Young Adults (YALSA)
Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers (YALSA)
Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults (YALSA)
Barnes & Noble - Top 10 Best for Teens
International Reading Assoc. - Young Adults' Choices
State Awards - Winner (voted on by students): Florida, Kansas, Kentucky
If the list of awards isn't proof enough, just take my word for it! The novel Thirteen Reasons Why is written from the perspective of high school student, Clay Jensen. Clay receives a package, with several cassette tapes, from an unknown sender. The cassette tapes are the personal confessions of why Clay’s classmate and crush, Hannah Baker has committed suicide. The worst part is that the reason why Clay has received this package is because he is one of the thirteen reasons. In order to determine what role he played in Hannah’s suicide, he has to listen to all of the tapes and Hannah’s torturous tale. The instructions are simple, listen to all of the tapes to hear your part of the story, continue listening in order to determine who will get the tapes next, then send them off and wait. As Clay listens to Hannah’s heart-wrenching story, Clay begins to realize, he is not on these tapes because of anything he did, rather than what he didn’t do. He also begins to realize how many small events in Hannah’s life all worked against one another to perspire into something much larger than Hannah could handle.
Though this is a very sad story about a troubled teen, I loved the raw truth and emotion that spewed from the pages. There were times where I laughed, but mostly cried while learning about Hannah’s downward spiral and ultimate depression. Though this book would be much better suited for older teens, I feel that it is a must read. Many teens struggle with depression, bullying, social pressures, negative life events, etc. and could truly benefit from hearing this story.
Before reading this book, I would complete an activity with my class that promotes openness and understanding of one another. I would play the line game, where students have to cross the line of a give situation pertains to them. Examples could be related to the story like, “Who has even felt betrayed by a friend?” or “Who has ever been treated disrespectfully by a member of the opposite sex?” and “Who has ever felt depressed or alone?” I feel that this activity would allow students to get to know one another even better and will allow them to be sensitive to the issues that they face as individuals. I think it would also be interesting for students to generate their own list of thirteen reasons why…their life is precious. Rather than completing response journals, paper and pencil style, I would set up blogs where students could react to each of the 13 reasons and respond to each other’s posts. In addition to several other resources, students could listen to the “tapes” online through the Thirteen Reasons Why Website.
Other web
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I really enjoyed watching this Q & A with author, Jay Asher, so I figured I would share it as well!
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