Thirteen Reasons Why
Asher, Jay, 2007.
Thirteen Reasons Why.
New York: Razorbill.
304 pages, hardcover.
$17.99
ISBN 9781595141712.
Format: book
Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars
Plot Summary
Clay Jensen finds a package small-sealed package on his front porch, opens it up, and discovers a series of cassette tapes numbered with nail polish. There is no return address. Unsure what they are for, he carries them through the yard out to his dad’s garage, the only place at home that has a player for them. He pops the first tape in and hears the voice of Hannah Baker: a dead classmate, the girl he really liked, and the friend who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
Cassette 1 - Side A: Hannah Baker here about to share the story of why my life ended, and ”if you’re listening…, you’re one of the reasons why.” Ensuring that her listeners at least listen to the point that they played a role in her decision to commit suicide.
Each listener is then instructed to pass the tapes on to the next person on the tapes, which ensures they listen beyond their role to the next person.
How could Clay possibly have played a role in what happened to Hannah? Listen and find out…
Critical Evaluation
In Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, he offers readers insight to every thought that passes through Clay’s head from this opening scene: Clay at the post office, mailing Hannah Baker’s package to the next person on her list, number twelve of the thirteen reasons why she committed suicide.
Mixing first person narrative from the voice of Hannah Baker with Clay Jensen in third person, Asher allows readers to see the panoramic view of these two teens, what they are experiencing, seeing, and feeling, which grips the reader with an intensity that makes it nearly impossible to put this book down.
Asher’s use of some morbid humor by Hannah eases the anguish of hearing her story and partially dulls the intensity of the traumatic events that led to her final decision. Readers feel a compassion for Clay, who struggles with the idea that he could somehow have led to Hannah’s death. Readers are experiencing a mix of emotions, from being upset about what Hannah experienced, to anger that she didn’t get the help she needed to keep her alive. A few believe once resolved to it, Hannah wouldn’t have changed her mind at the end, making it unfair for number thirteen who has to live with the tapes.
Thirteen Reasons Why is an addictive debut novel, one that I hope Asher can complement with many more equally intense books in the future.
Reader’s Annotation
My name is Clay Jensen and I arrived home to find an unmarked box of cassette tapes, addressed to me on the front porch.
My name is Hannah Baker, and if you’re listening to these tapes then you are one of the reasons why (why Hannah committed suicide two weeks earlier).
Information About the Author
Jay Asher was born in 1975 and raised in California, graduating from San Luis Obispo High School in 1993. He married in September 2002 and his son, Isaiah Nathan was born on 12-11-10.
It was during a six-month stint in Wyoming that Asher came up with the idea for Thirteen Reasons Why. For most of his life, he has worked on or around books including independent booksellers, bookstore chains and public libraries. His tastiest award yet for writing was his first, when he won a year’s supply of free fruit smoothies, one for every day. Yum!
(Asher, 2011).
Genre
Fiction: Issues – death/injury
Read-Alikes
The Eyes of van Gogh by Cathryn Clinton
Blood Brothers by S. A. Harazin
Curriculum Ties
Thirteen Reasons Why ties both to a healthy study on communication skills, and the impact it can have to one’s overall health and well-being when they choose to stay silent for too long, as well as psychology and the ability to make rational decisions when in a state of crisis.
Booktalking Ideas
1) opening message from Hannah Baker sharing “…if you are listening…”
2) inside Clay’s head trying to understand what he did that could possibly justify his receiving these tapes
Book Trailer Links
Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 12 and up / YA
Challenge Issues
teen drinking, drunk driving, hit and run, sexual situations, rape, suicide
First, I would share some of the recommendations used as part of the selection process, including reviews from resources as noted below. Next, I would point out the value in allowing these types of materials to be optional reading as teens grow ever closer to adulthood and making their own decisions. Finally, following our school district’s policy #KEC, after explaining that our school district’s philosophy is that no parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for children other than their own, I would refer the parent or community member to the building principal, so that he/she can file a written complaint to begin the process of review.
Awards
#1 New York Times Bestselling Novel
ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Association of Booksellers for Children “Best Books”
South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award, 2010
Florida Teens Read, 2008
Georgia Peach Honor Book Award, 2009
Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice
California Book Award
International Reading Association’s “Young Adults’ Choices” Finalist
Why Title Included & Selection Tools
Thirteen Reasons Why provides fantastic insight to the minds of teens, both male and female and how a series of events can lead to an extreme reaction: suicide. I’ve had to purchase four copies of this book, in a school for 250 students as it is that popular, and I still can’t keep a copy on the shelf.
Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, New York Times, Chicago Tribune
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