Suicide
happens. Everyone wants the answer to why their loved one or friend made
that irrevocable choice. The author, Jay Asher, wanted to know what kind
of despair could lead someone to take their own life. His quest for
understanding became Thirteen
Reasons Why. Hannah prepares for her suicide and seeks to explain
to the characters in her life, what role they played in her choice. She
makes a set of seven
cassette tapes with her
reasons why. As the audiotapes make their way from person to person, you come
to understand that it wasn't just the awful things people did that made a
difference but what the people in her life didn't do, that influenced her
decision.
The book spent 130 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller
List. As the author met with teenage audiences and read blog comments
about the book, he began to realize that adolescents were focused on the
bullying and just general snarkiness that is part of every teenager's life, not
just the suicide. As Hannah says in the book "In the end, everything matters"
(Asher).
Teens live their lives just below adult radar. TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY provides us with an opportunity. As Jay Asher said “Novels are a safe way to talk about things, and to let teens know that we do affect each other for good or for bad, and everyone has different issues they’re dealing with and different thresholds they can handle. It’s important to make teens realize the influence they have over others (Lodge)” At least 28 percent of students in middle school and high school admit being bullied (Simmons). At one time, home was a haven, but bullying has taken on new meaning in a society dominated by social media. There is no place to hide. Yes, we've all lived through our own version of it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't devastating at the time. By the end of Thirteen Reasons Why, the narrator, Clay chooses not to be a bystander in his own life.
Penguin Books is sponsoring the 50 States Against Bullying Tour. Jay Asher's stop in Arizona will be at Salpointe Catholic High School on December 8th, 2014. We have purchased books to sell at a discount. There are seven circulating copies and the library has ordered three eBooks. Students who have read the book are eligible to attend.
Glogster
Works Cited
Asher, Jay. Thirteen
Reasons Why. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.
Lodge, Sally. Jay Asher Headlines ‘50 States Against Bullying Campaign'. Publishers
Weekly 27 Feb. 2014: PW. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/61215-jay-asher-headlines-50-states-against-bullying-campaign.html>.
Simmons, Kate
D., and Yvette P. Bynam. Cyberbullying: Six Things Administrators Can Do.
Mobile, AL: Education, 2014. Print.
Wright, Jim.
“Preventing Classroom Bullying: What Teachers Can Do.” JimWrightonline.com.
Intervention Central, Feb. 2004. Web. 21 Oct. 2014. http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/bully/bullyBooklet.pdf
