13RW

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13 Reasons Why and Jay Asher hold a special place in my heart. For a short story, I remember when I was about in the 7th or 8th grade and I would always go to Wal-Mart with my grandma on Fridays. She would buy me one book every time we would go out (she’s the best) and I pointed out 13 Reasons Why one day. She refuses to buy and told me I had to ask my dad if I could buy it and it was just such a headache. A few weeks later I was out with my mom and saw the book. I grabbed it and told her it was for a school project just so I could read it. I have never wanted to read a book so bad, but I had to have it. Once I got home with it, I went straight to my room and hid it under my bed. I would wait until my bedtime, shut the door, turn the lights out and read a chapter of 13 Reasons Why. I instantly fell in love with this book. It made me feel so many emotions on a level I had never felt before. Empathy, fear and just sick to my stomach. It was a book that really changed my perception and caused me to think more deeply about situations.
Rereading it seven years later, I still find myself feeling those feelings and thinking deeply. It is so interesting to be able to compare my experience reading the book as a pure, innocent 12-year old vs. a more experienced and somewhat desensitized 19-year old. Though I was not as infatuated with this book as I was when I was 12, it is still such a different and impactful book. What I love most about this book is its command to make you think more deeply about your actions. Every single word and action played a part in the suicide of Hannah. This wasn’t a story about a teen being sad, talking through their problems and eventually becoming happy once more. Asher took that step and wrote Hannah to commit suicide. An action so taboo, on display for the entire YA Lit audience to read and discuss.
I think this novel is a must in the classroom. It is hard for me to understand why teachers would not talk about this book in the classroom. Like, does shoving shit under the mat make the smell go away? No. So why turn away novels that talk about serious topics like rape and suicide? It is the perfect opportunity to talk to your students about why these things are wrong and provide solutions. Teens need to be exposed to stories like these to make them think much, much deeper about their actions.

Overall, I believe that the novel does a good job of shining a light on major issues in society and interprets it in a very different way. Though I read it differently now, I still found myself clenching at the suspense as I did when I was 12. However, I didn't find myself too attached to the characters in the novel. The Netflix series does a much better job of character development and showing the degression of Hannah's mental state.

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