This was a book recommended to me by my sister, who happens to be a school guidance counselor. In my effort to keep my finger on the pulse of what kids these days are reading, I picked this up. To say it was a tough book to get through was an understatement. A girl who is essentially speaking from the grave wants to tell 13 people the reason why each was important in her ultimate decision to kill herself. This story highlights extremely well the issues that are of grave importance to teenagers these day. It also outlines how devastating it can be to teenagers when other teenagers ostracize them, talk about them behind their backs, and spread rumors (often untrue). While this was a hard book to read, I do believe it is an important one to read. As an adult and a parent, it really slams home what kids are dealing with these days, as well as letting us know that we need to be hyper aware of kids and their emotions, to hopefully end this cycle of bullying and peer pressure so present in our children’s lives.
