Book Review – Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Good Morning! Here is the Monday Morning Blog!
Sorry I missed you last week. Life with work and home got pretty busy for me. Didn’t leave a lot of time to write. It was the first Monday I ever missed!
Time for a book review. Not only was it a book I wanted to read, but it is part of a research project for me on the topic of teen suicide. A pretty big topic of conversation for the audience I write for. The last few posts have been about bullying. And a lot of teen suicide is a direct result of being bullied. So, it was good for me to take the time this weekend to read it.
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There were a couple of reasons why I wanted to read this book. One, I wanted to see what all the hype is about. And, secondly, it is about teen suicide, the topic covered in the second book of The Way series called The Bully’s Way.
The book is focused on high school and social interactions within it. After reading this book, I came away with a different perspective on teen interactions. It showed how much we are truly affected by the things our peers say to and about us. It can either be an uplifting experience or a damaging one. And there is a fine line between them.
Selma’s Book Review
Book Title
Thirteen Reasons Why
Author
Jay Asher
Type of Book
Young Adult Teen Fiction
Background
The book was originally published in 2007 and is the foundation of a Netflix series which premiered March of 2017. Even as a New York Times Best Seller, due to the subject matter, it has been a controversial book. It was even pulled out of circulation at some high school libraries. They thought the subject matter of the book contributed to a rise in teen suicides. They ended up changing their minds and decided that the tv version was more of an influence.
Summary of the story
The story is told from the point of view of Hannah, who has recorded on cassette tapes how some of her fellow classmates had treated her. She has these tapes sent to all thirteen people named in her monologue. It ends up being the story of what leads up to her committing suicide.
Reactions to the book
It was a good read. Asher writes a very engaging story. I started reading it on a Friday night and finished on Saturday night. It gave me a different way to look at how influential our peer interactions can be. What one person may think is joking around another person can be devastated by it. It also reminded me how much we believe what others tell us about someone else, instead of really giving them a chance to show us who they are.
Asher runs the story back and forth between the tapes and Clay’s responses while he is listening to them. It was easy to keep track of the story, but I stumbled in a couple of spots.
I am thinking about watching the tv series to see how they tell the story. Just a note, they say it is a deviation from the book.
If you interested in learning more about the author, Jay Asher, you can follow him on Twitter @JayAsherGuy
If you are looking for a copy of the book, here is a link to it Thirteen Reasons Why You can also check out some more reviews of the book at that site. I also found the following resources and links there. We all need to be aware of the people around us. If they are in trouble, we need to get them to a safe place where they can get help.
Need to Talk? Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) anytime if you are in the United States. It’s free and confidential.
Find out how you can help someone in crisis at http://www.bethe1to.com.
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