Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why
By Jay Asher
Background
A student suggested that we read Thirteen Reasons Why as our next book club book, explaining that it is her favorite book. Despite not fitting all of my typical criteria, I was motivated by this student’s enthusiasm. Also, there is a lot to discuss in this book - it is about the suicide of a teenager and touches on issues of community, bullying, mental health and the expectations of girls’ behavior. Because of the sensitive material, I brought it to the social workers and therapists for their approval.
In addition to the text itself, this document was required reading for any adult who was interested in participating in the book club.
At about the same time that Epsilon held its Thirteen Reasons Why book club meeting, Netflix released a popular and controversial series based on the novel. Because our students have limited access to outside media, we chose not to address the Netflix series. However, some resources for addressing the Netflix show can be found at the bottom of this page.
Reading Level
Lexile: 550
Length
288 pages
Representation
Thirteen Reasons Why takes place in a small, mostly white, middle class town and the characters are not representative of many of our student populations. The book does touch on a lot of high school experiences that seem to be universal, especially for young women. Despite being a story about suicide, the book does very little to address mental illness.
Appropriate Content
As mentioned above, Thirteen Reasons Why is about a teenager's suicide and its impact on the people surrounding her. The book also depicts sexual assault. This is not a book for all book club groups. Common Sense Media recommends this book for students age 14 and up. You can read their review here.
Engagement
Thirteen Reasons Why begins with a mystery that draws students in and the pace continues to move quickly throughout the story. You can read the beginning of the book at Barnes and Noble.
Substance
There is a lot for book club groups to discuss in Thirteen Reasons Why. The book touches on issues of suicide, sexual assault and the standards of sexual behavior girls are held to.
Summary
Summary provided by the publisher:
You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.
Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.
Book Club Materials
Thirteen Reasons Why: Book Club Agenda
Thirteen Reasons Why: Book Club Invitation
Thirteen Reasons Why: Publisher's Discussion Guide
Thirteen Reasons Why: Discussion Questions
Thirteen Reasons Why: Student Generated Discussion Questions
Thirteen Reasons Why: Netflix Series Resources
This Is What's Missing From '13 Reasons Why', Teen Vogue
13 Reasons Why: Talking Points for Viewing and Discussing the Netflix Series, JED Foundation
How '13 Reasons Why' gets suicide wrong: Voices, USA Today
"13 Reasons Why" Netflix Series: Considerations for Educators