Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Genre: Contemporary

Honors: Kirkus Editors Choice

Review: Hannah, a high school student, chose to end her life and has left behind a legacy in the form of audio tapes mailed in a shoebox.  Clay, one of the thirteen recipients of this shoes box, finds the tapes on his doorstep a few weeks after Hannah’s death.  He spends a heart-wrenching and powerfully emotional night listening to Hannah describe the reasons she chose to end her life.  Hannah describes each event that led her to choose this extreme act and almost vindictively blames those around her for her death.  The tapes evoke emotions ranging from guilt, anger, sadness, and empathy, and leave the reader wishing Hannah had asked for help, that she had found a better solution to her problems.  

Opinion: As I read through this book I kept thinking about all of the events or “reasons” Hannah described leading up to her suicide.  These events were very unfortunate and difficult to handle, but none of them seemed like a reason to end one’s life.  As an adult reading this book I was left feeling like this young girl has just begun her life, high school is just small part of the journey, it gets better.  I wanted her to get help, to talk to her parents, to get a different perspective on her problems.  Maybe this is the author’s goal; to show how narrow life can be for teenagers. To demonstrate how powerfully peer interactions affect the self-esteem of adolescents.  I only wish there had been a better portrayal of the adults in this book. I know there are adults within the teen community they do care and are willing to help.   

Ideas:  This book would be powerful to discuss in a health education class.  A discussion could revolve around the consequences of one’s actions.  People often do or say things and do not think about the possible unintended consequences of their actions.  This will also be a good opening for a frank discussion about teen suicide and may even inspire some teens to ask for help.   It can be an introduction to resources for teens contemplating suicide, especially anonymous telephone lines and chat rooms.  These need to be made available to teens, to show them that there are other options.