Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Suicide, bullying, rape, peer pressure

Year of Publication: 2007

Publisher & Location: Penguin Group

ISBN#: 9781595141712

Target Age Level: Young Adult

# of Pages: 320

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Hannah Baker has just committed suicide. Clay Jensen receives a mysterious package that includes 13 cassette tapes. After locating a tape player, he begins to listen and discovers Hannah has made the tapes. Thirteen tapes for thirteen reasons why she chose to committee suicide. Clay is one of those reasons. This compelling novel illuminates some seemingly little events that frequently happen to teenagers that may have serious consequences. Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: sensitive subject matter

Post Reading Activities: Discuss social issues that teenagers deal with such as peer pressure, bullying, stereotyping, family conflict, friend conflict, substance abuse, rape and suicide. Discuss how different people deal with these social issues. Discuss positive strategies for dealing with these issues and how to help friends dealing with crisis such as rape, substance abuse, depression, mental illness, and suicide.

Crank

Title: Crank

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Substance Abuse, Addiction, Drugs, Rape, Teen Pregnancy

Year of Publication: 2005Publisher & Location: Simon Pulse; New York

ISBN#:

• 689865198
• 978-0689865190

Target Age Level: high school, young adult

# of Pages: 537

Quality of Illustrations: none

Brief Summary: Eighth grader, Kristina Snow becomes instantly addicted to drugs after her first encounter with “the monster.” This novel is written in poem format and tells how a young girl’s life changed once she entered the fast-paced, controlling world of addiction.

Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book: This text uses many analogies, but also uses some explicit language. Readers should also be conscious of the graphic nature when describing the drug use and situations that the main character finds herself in.

Post Reading Activity: While reading this book, adults may want to guide a discussion to help teens understand the imagery and analogies used. It may also be helpful to facilitate discussions about peer-pressure, substance abuse, rape, teen pregnancy, and parent-teen relationships.