[LM_NET] Book: Thirteen Reasons Why - YA - Gr. 8-12

[Elizabeth Fox <keokuk@CASCO.NET>]

I finished reading Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why last night.  I'm
disconcerted by it, though the book ended on a far more positive note than I
expected.  

As someone who has struggled lifelong with serious depression and attempted
suicide as a teen, I feel like Asher has helped open a much needed dialogue
on teen suicide.   

The main character of this story, Hannah Baker, moves to a new community
where rumors quickly destroy her reputation. Her story is told through a
series of 13 cassette tapes Hannah leaves as a suicide addendum.  On each of
the tapes she blames an individual for impacting her mental health (one in a
good way, but the rest are negative.)  Readers follow the "good" guy - Clay
- as he takes a nightmarish journey through the town, led by a map Hannah
has given each of the 13 recipients, and listens to the tapes.  Clay is
tortured by the tapes - he becomes physically sick listening to them -
because he felt he might have been able to save her if only he had reached
out to her more.  

Though Clay's character is rich and well-developed, one of the things that
really bothers me is that there's almost no mention of any of Hannah's
qualities, beyond her looks. Additionally, she mentions moving away from
problems in her other town, but never really talks about what they were.
There's a lack of depth to her character, and that makes her later talk
about suicide seem shallow and meaningless; she doesn't really give voice to
despair, hopelessness, or depression.  She does blame herself for causing
others' pain (a traffic fatality and a rape), but for the most part her
suicide is focused on revenge, which is one of the things that makes me the
most uncomfortable of all in recommending this book to kids.  While more
mature teens will look at this book and see how important it is to not
spread rumors, be nice to everyone, be genuine, and be aware of the signs of
suicide there may be less mature kids who will see Hannah's plotting and
suicide as something to emulate.

On the flip side, there is much to love in this book - it brings up the
topic of suicide in a way that no other YA book has, and will serve to open
dialogue of what teens can do to prevent it.  There are a couple of
characters in this book - Clay and Tony - who remind us of the virtues of
love, loyalty, and how important it is to remain nonjudgmental.

Is it racy?  Not really - the rape scene in the book is not detailed.
There's a later scene where Hannah lets a boy molest her, but it's also not
detailed enough to be strongly objectionable.  All that said, I'd probably
recommend it only to very mature 8th graders and up.

This book is one that a lot of teens will love - it has the self-absorbed,
obsessive angst like Twilight, but the message is deep.  It's an easy read,
but it's painful and tortuous: it's not a book you are likely to read
without crying.  In the end, it's a book that can't help but have a lot of
impact on the subject of teen suicide.

Hope this helps with some of the questions many of you have had about the
book; I would love to hear what others' reactions are to this as well.
Liz
Elizabeth Fox, Technology Instructor
Newport High School, Newport, OR
keokuk@casco.net (pm)
Liz.fox@lincoln.k12.or.us (schooldays only)
http://ta.gd/nhsmedia




  

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