1. It’s Called Thirteen Reasons Why. Does that title not intrigue? (It’s by Jay Asher, and the ISBN is
978 1 59514 188 0)
2. It was one of last year’s biggest, hottest, teen titles, and still going strong.
3. It’s published (here) by Razorbill, a very cool teen imprint who has just launched an online reading community for lovers of YA fiction. Getting teens and teen librarians and writers together to talk books? Sweet!
4. It’s a wildly compelling read. Like a don’t want to put it down, read while I walk down the street kind of read. Reeally wanted to know the next piece all the way along.
5. It’s about a teen girl, but narrated part by her and part by a guy, and a really nice guy, at that. And it’s written by a man, who writes both voices. Interesting, and has appeal to either teen boys or girls, always a plus!
6. it’s haunting, told in thirteen stories, each one side of a cassette, that are mailed to the people involved, each in turn, and narrated by the girl at the heart of them.
7. It deals with bullying and rumours and how we treat others. Each of the
stories is another way in which a girl is hurt by her classmates,
broken down one piece at a time.
8. The fact that the girl commits suicide before she sends out the tapes is never sensationalized, and the other narrator feels real grief about her death. As he listens to the tapes and learns how she came to that, his opinions of everyday events changes a lot.
9. It’s a real eye-opener, and bound to make any reader think about how their actions affect others, something that is obviously sorely needed now as much as it ever was. I honestly think every teen should be reading this, it could make them better people than they are already.
10. Sometimes using a literary device like the cassettes can feel forced, cheesy. It never feels like a gimmick here, it feels like you are riding along on the shoulder of the boy narrating as he uncovers this all, and his emotions are palpable and realistic.
11. The writing? Very strong. Can’t wait to read Asher’s next book.
12. I kind of like the other device the author used, of including a map for him to follow, so that there is some action and scene changes, he runs into other people and pieces of experiencing her stories on the way.
13. I liked the mom in this story, too. She is concerned about what is up with her son, but knows he is a good kid and trusts him enough to let him go on this late-night crusade, sensing a need, even though she’s not sure what’s happening. She strikes a nice balance of love and concern and offering help versus giving him space to sort something out for himself.
In short? You should SO read this. It is a very worthwhile read for any teen and, quite frankly, any adult, too.
Also available as an ebook.
I’m getting this one today!
This sounds terrific, Alice!! So many book… gah. When am I going to read ALL THESE GREAT BOOKS??