I finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher last week. As I read, I could think of several girls in my school who have been the victims of rumors, rumors that were hurtful and degrading. They could certainly resonate with this book. However, rather than recommend this book to them, I feel the slight need to force-feed it to the rumor-mongers who started or spread these tales.
In case you don't know anything about the book, it is a suspense novel chronicling thirteen events that led up to Hannah Baker's suicide. These events mainly revolve around rumors and incidents that created a false reputation for an innocent girl.
This past year at my high school, it seemed to be all the rage to spread rumors about pregnancy, sex acts, and fights. As this book makes its rounds, I hope that students begin to consider how their words affect others. It also reminded me, as a teacher, that I need to put a foot down on rumors and crude jokes.
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