Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - ESSENTIAL

Asher, Jay, Thirteen Reasons Why, 304 pgs. Penguin Group

Language PG-13, Sexual Content~PG-13 Violence~PG-13

HS - ESSENTIAL

There is a reason behind everything you do. You may not know what it is at the time or even later on, but there is a reason. Two weeks ago a high school girl, Hannah Baker, committed suicide. Hannah’s suicide seemed unexpected, without reason. Clay knew Hannah from school and was crushing on her. Now, two weeks later, he is still struggling to deal with the news of her death and that she committed suicide. Coming home from school, Clay finds a package addressed to him on his porch. Inside he finds cassette tapes . . . who uses cassette tapes anymore? Clay digs up an old tape player in the garage and inserts the first tape. . . . . . . .
It’s Hannah Baker . . . recorded possibly just hours before her suicide. On these tapes she has recorded the thirteen reasons why she ended her life. If you receive the tapes, you are one of them. Clay is horrified, but he must listen. Asher has written an amazing story about how our lives and choices affect those around us. It will leave the reader changed, different than when they turned that first page. This is a must read.

Allison Madsen~Youth Services Librarian-SJO Public Librarian