Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

It's been a while since I've read this book, but I feel the need to review it because it seems that so many people just love it. I'm not sure why. This book made me angry. If you don't know the premise, it is about a girl who, before her suicide, has put together 13 tapes, one each for the people she believes contributed to her death. After her suicide, she has them sent to the first person and instructs that person to send them to the next, and so on.

I'm not an expert on suicide and I haven't lost anyone very close to me to suicide, so maybe I'm not the best person to write about this. But I'm going to anyway. I'll try to be as sensitive as possible. My goal here is not to offend anyone.

To me, this book condones blaming others for suicide. I don't think that's the right message. Instead of dealing with her issues, the girl looks for reasons to be upset with people. Even when she talks to her counselor, he says one wrong thing that she doesn't like, and checks that off as another reason for her to kill herself. I think in a way this book glorifies suicide and focuses on blaming others for our problems.

I think what this book was trying to do was to show that we should treat everyone with respect and we should reach out to people who seem like they may be having trouble because we never know what is going on in that person's life. I do agree with that message. However, in today's world I think we focus too much on stopping the bullying and do not focus enough on teaching people who are bullied how to deal with it. Yes, I think bullying is wrong and should be stopped. I think we should never treat people badly and should always be aware that something might be going on in their life which we can never begin to understand. As a teacher, I will always do my best to be vigilant about looking out for bullying and trying to stop it if I can. But bullying will ALWAYS exist. In school, in the workplace- everywhere. It's the sad truth. In addition to trying to spread awareness of bullying and prevention, we need to teach those victims of bullying how to deal with it in ways that aren't self-destructive.

Ultimately, I don't like the idea this book presents that others should be blamed for someone's suicide. People handle things differently, and I think focusing on the victim and helping them find positive ways to deal with things is the answer. What scares me most about this book is that so many young adults are reading it and may not be seeing the message they are meant to see. I can see that what Asher is trying to say is that people should treat each other with kindness and respect. However, what I'm afraid teenagers will see is that if they are having problems, they should quietly blame others for those problems and act out by doing something irreversible.

2 Stars

As much as I wanted to give this one star, I do recognize its merit. It can be used as a gateway for many important conversations between parents and teens regarding suicide, sex, bullying, depression, and other topics.


Teacher Advisories
Sex 3/5
Sex is mentioned and is a catalyst for what the protagonist does to herself. There is one scene that is slightly explicit.
Language 1/5
The names the girl is called are a bit explicit and I believe she uses some language herself (again, it's been a while)
Substance Abuse 1/5
Teenage drinking occurs.

Touchy Subjects
Suicide
This is the whole premise for the book. It's from the point of view of a girl who commits suicide and explores why she does it.
Bullying
A huge catalyst for why she commits suicide. The bullying comes in all forms and is done by many different types of people.
Sexual abuse
There is a scene of blatant sexual abuse, and one in which it is a bit vague whether it is abuse- regardless, sexual abuse is present in this novel.

The Maze Runner Trilogy James Dashner

Readers, meet The Maze Runner Trilogy, another book series you won't be able to put down. Be sure to allot a couple hours a day of couch time for this one. And be prepared to have some strange dreams if you are one who reads before bed.

The Maze Runner is a wonderful science-fiction, mystery, dystopic/post-apocalyptic roller coaster. Right up my alley (maze?). The first book, The Maze Runner, opens with the protagonist, Thomas, inside a box, with no memory of anything other than his name. The box rises like an elevator and a group of boys pulls him out and lifts him to The Glade, where the colony of boys has been living for the past two years After asking numerous questions and getting answers to few, Thomas discovers that the boys don't know much more about their predicament than he does and their memories are just as absent. The only thing these boys know is how to survive The Glade- and that they have to find a way out- a feat that would be easy considering it's all they have to do. But it's not that easy. Outside The Glade lays a maze with moving walls which harbor strange, part-blubber, part-mechanical and fully deadly creatures. As far as they can tell, there is no hope for escape.

If anyone has watched LOST, you know of feeling of being completely in the dark about what is going on, yet getting just enough details to keep you wanting to turn the pages to find out more. The Maze Runner does just that. When Dashner does shed light on all of the seemingly impossible things that are happening, he does so in such a wonderfully scientific way that it all seems just a bit plausible.

Though the protagonist is a 16 year-old boy, the books are actually much darker than some young adult books I've read. They get rather gruesome at times, and there are a lot of implications about how far a group of people should go in making individuals suffer for the good of society. Dashner is clearly trying to convey a message that we can't do whatever we want to people even if it will help us in the long run. It seems that he is saying that in some cases, the ends don't necessarily justify the means.

One of the things I really love about this series is that it is SO opposite of The Lord of the Flies (not that I didn't love that). Dashner must have a lot of faith in teenagers, and I'm glad he does. When these kids are left to their own devices, instead of becoming corrupt and killing each other, they create a full-functioning society with order and justice and diplomacy and a system for doing things. They're smart. They think things through and problem solve. They're kids you could be proud of.

I would recommend- no- HAVE recommended- this series to high school students (and they've loved it!). There is enough action to keep them interested, and I would hope that they could see the layers of this series and consider the message it may be giving. It has something for girls and boys. Action, love, friendship, loyalty, fighting, technology, you name it.

The rating I'm giving this series reflects my feelings on it as a whole. It was riveting. I couldn't put it down. But now that I've stepped back, there are some things that bothered me about the third book and the way it ended- but I won't get too much into that. Overall, I think these books are great for young adults- especially anyone who has read The Hunger Games. Instead of a Katniss, we have a Thomas, and the message is quite different- but it's just as dark and enthralling.

5 Stars


Teacher Advisories
Violence 3/5
There is a lot of it, and the killing seems so unnecessary, especially since kids are the ones being killed. The kids themselves, though, are the ones who are admirable and NOT doing the killing. The adults are the ones to blame for everything here.
Sex 0/5
Flirting, relationships, love: yes. Sex: no. It may be implied at the very end, but not enough that it would affect the rating.
Language 0/5
One of the things I loved about this book was the inventiveness of the kids. They have invented their whole language of slang and curse words, but they are words that don't mean anything to us. i.e "What the klunk," and "You shanker"
Substance Abuse 0/5
There is ONE scene where people drink quite a bit. And there is a drug that doesn't exist to us now that people are abusing. Not enough for me to give it a 1.

Touchy Subjects

Self-sacrifice
A big question with these books is whether people should sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Even while reading the book, it's difficult to decide what is right and what the main characters should do.
Mercy Killing
This issue comes up once and it's not a major part of the book, but still a touchy subject for many
Family
These kids all have lost their families for one reason or another.

How I would use it in the classroom:
1. Independent Read Option

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

34 years ago my brother died in a car accident, I was  a little over a year old, he was three. I don't remember much about him, save one strange memory of him standing outside the car entertaining me while my mom pumps and pays for gas. I recall the car, the sun sparkling off of the metal on the window and the smell of the summer day mingling with the smell of the gasoline. And, of course, I have the stories, of how he called me Finnie Shell for Stephanie Michelle, how he would chase me around the house, how he could make me laugh...it hurts that I only have these stories and not their memories.

2 years ago I gave birth to a tiny person, I was a little over 33 years old, she was a surprise. I remember everything about the night I found out I was pregnant, everything about the day the doctor confirmed it, showing us the ultrasound of our little girl already 5 months in the making and every moment anxiously awaiting her arrival. And, of course, I have the stories, of how she calls me Mommy and Mom and sometimes Mommy Stephanie, how she comes to school with me on Saturday Publication work days, how she makes me laugh...it hurts to realize I used to think my life was complete without her.

It's these two people, the brother I never knew and the person I didn't know who could make me, well, a better me, that I think about when I think about Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler.

From Goodreads:
"Don’t worry, Anna. I’ll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it." "Okay." "Promise me? Promise you won’t say anything?" "Don’t worry.” I laughed. “It’s our secret, right?"  

According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago. 
TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer.

This book has so much in it and it speaks honestly about love, friendship, family and what it means to grieve the loss of a loved one.

I am more than willing to believe that when you are still grieving the loss of someone you truly love that having sex for the first time helps to heal the wound, that blocking it out and drinking and pretending to have sexual exploits makes it a little easier to be alive and that when your child dies a piece of you dies and living doesn't even seem possible. I believe that each of the characters in this book acts how people act when their hearts hurt so much they can't feel it.

I like that the parents and other grown-ups in this book are ancillary to the true narrative. I do not mind that the girls sneak out of the house to hang out with boys, go to a party by lying and making up imaginary girl friends. I believe that grieving parents who are just as lost as their still alive children, in this case the very lost Frankie, don't know how to act or how to feel, I believe they ignore and believe what they want to believe. Here's what I don't like, here's the part that makes me sad and here's the part that I hope makes me a better parent...neither of the girls talk to their parents about how they feel and I believe Anna's parents, would listen and trying to help. While I don't need to know everything that my daughter is doing or will do I hope that she knows that she can always talk to me and she can always share her most personal thoughts with me. I hope that she knows that I love her no matter what.

Everything in this book is real and honest and tender and I wouldn't change a single word of it.

My niece is reading this book right now and I know that I'm going to make sure this book finds its way into the hands of my daughter and then we can have a talk about love and friendship and when it's appropriate to have sex and I hope that while I am not her peer she sees me as someone to go to when she needs to do so.

While I write this my daughter is singing "Happy Birthday to Mommy", it isn't my birthday until next May, but it sure feels like a celebration.



5 Stars

This book has now become part of my foundation and is an extension of the very essence of me...I laughed, I cried [or some other emotion] and am sad this reading is over...gush, gush, gush...


Teacher Advisories
Sex 4/5 
There are two sexual situations, neither is graphic, the first, however, is described in realistic and honest terms, some examples include talking about ripping the condom out of its wrapper, and "It doesn't hurt exactly--it's just kind of--strange." The second act involves the same couple and is describe with the same kind of realistic language, but does not actually describe the sex act. No adults find out about the sex and neither of the under age participants are scarred or troubled afterwards. This 'lack of remorse', has caused this book to be banned.
Language 1/5 
To quote the school board in Missouri that banned this book from its curriculum, there's 'questionable language' used to describe boys and sexual situations. This language may be inappropriate in a classroom setting or for church, but its definitely a norm among teenagers.
Substance Abuses 3/5
One girl talks about past exploits while drunk, and we find out that these prove to be a lie, the drinking was real. The two main characters go to one big party where there is drinking and one girl proceeds to get drunk, while the other one does drink. There is a drinking game at the party. Beer is consumed on a regular basis by people who are underage.
Violence 1/5
Arguments, yelling, walking off in anger. One girl lashes out at the other by destroying property.

Touchy Subjects
Death
Be prepared to have an honest conversation about death and dying and what it means when a friend or boy/girlfriend dies. Be prepared to cry like a little baby.
Telling lies
It's important to understand the lying and scheming in this book in context. I think it is also important to note the reasons why Anna and Frankie lie and how they atone for this, even if they aren't punished. Does a child really need to be punished to learn a lesson? Can't students read this book and understand the lessons learned without all the questions answered and the ending wrapped up in a little neat unrealistic bow?
Parent/Child Relationships
Like I said, I'd like my daughter to talk to me. I understand why Annie and Frankie did not. I also think it's important to note that these girls are making adult decisions, but they are also quite mature. If anything there is a lesson to be learned here, teenagers who act like adults should be treated like adults and should be spoken to like the mature people they are.

How this book is used in the classroom
1] Independent Read option