Author Talks to Minnetonka Teens About Suicide

Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why, a New York Times and international teen bestseller, will speak to teens in grades 6-12 from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at . Admission is free.
 
Asher’s debut novel is the painful and powerful story of a 16-year-old girl who has committed suicide, and after her death conveys her story in audiotapes mailed to a classmate with instructions to pass them on to 12 other students. Speaking from the grave, Hannah Baker reveals how their small and large cruelties caused unbearable hurt.
 
With 1 million copies in print, Asher’s fiction brings new perspective to the serious subject of teenage angst and harassment. Readers, reviewers and bloggers have commented that the story has raised their consciousness, and they hope it raises teens’ awareness that there are better, and less final, ways to cope with hurtful comments and actions.
 
The hardcover book was on the New York Times’ children’s hardcover bestseller list for 65 weeks. The paperback edition debuted at #1 on the New York Times’ bestseller list in its first week of sale. Foreign rights have been sold in 31 countries. A movie version is in the works.
 
Copies of Thirteen Reasons Why will be available for purchase and signing. Copies of the book, audiobook on CD, and downloadable audiobook also are available for free check out from Hennepin County Library.
 
The program is sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group. More than 14,000 comments about the book have been posted on Penguin’s website. The website www.13RWProject.com allows readers to post text, images and video and share their responses to the book via Twitter and Facebook.