Jay Asher and me.

I went to the off site event, supporting reading and hoping the kids were going to have a great time and find some new authors and books to love. What I didn't expect was to run into Jay Asher, author of one of my favorite books-13 Reasons Why.

Recently, I reviewed Jay's book on my sidebar because it really pertains to the current problem of bullying in schools.

Listening to Jay talk was very illuminating. Turns out he started out wanting to write humorous books and finally hit with this book, which is anything but funny. It just goes to show you that sometimes you never know what life has in store. As Jay spoke, he talked about reaching out to people in his life, and asking them about what things in their youth still haunted them today. What would make you want to kill yourself? They are some interesting questions.

For any of you who haven't read or listened to 13 Reasons Why on audio (I totally recommend that by the way), it is about a girl who kills herself and the tapes she makes just before she dies. If you are on the tapes, you contributed to her decision to end her life. The boy who gets the tapes doesn't understand why he is the one to receive them, and as he listens, we travel with him as he begins to see. It is a journey of loneliness and hard decisions. It is the choice between facing the things that hurt you with courage, or defeat.

This book will make you think. It will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning.