Thirteen Reasons stirs controversy

I certainly didn’t see this coming when I read the novel shortly after its release ten years ago. But then I didn’t envision a Netflix series to sensationalise a touchy subject, namely teenage suicide, when the novel first came out.

Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of Hannah, a depressed teen who commits suicide. Hannah leaves behind a tape stating the 13 reasons why she made this decision. Clay Jenson is a recipient of that tape. He must listen to this tape to see what Hannah perceives to be his role in her suicide.

I can’t say I was too impressed when I read the book. I thought the book a bit superficial for such a serious issue. Teenage readers begged to differ. They found Hannah’s story opened their eyes to the problem of teen depression, which often goes unnoticed. Teens have ways of hiding their emotions.

Many teenagers who read the novel said it helped them to recognise signs of depression in other teenagers, and that provided a sense of empathy as well as a sense of power in being more supportive of teenagers. The fact that Asher’s novel stayed in print as a hardcover book for a decade shows just how important this book was to teenagers.

As far as adults go, this is a book that managed to fly under the radar – unless you were a librarian paying special attention to new YA releases. Of course, all of that changed when the Netflix series came out. Schools issued warnings to parents, child psychologists spoke about what many have perceived to be the romanticising of suicide. I haven’t seen the Netflix series, but I can only imagine how the series exploits the most sensational aspects of the book. Series and movies tend to do that.

What I do know is that the current controversy raises an important issue: namely the need for parents to be aware of what their children – even teenagers—are reading.

This is not to mean parents should be censoring children’s reading or trying in any way to sanitise what they are reading. Parents should merely be aware of their children’s reading choices to understand issues and themes that resonate with children.

Parents should find innovative ways to discuss controversial material their children might be reading.

On the other hand, parents should be aware of the recommended reading age for books. Amazon.

com often provides recommended reading ages from Library Journal.

This is a guideline for parents to decide whether or not a book is age-appropriate. Parents will often find that a book is for a younger age than they imagine. Children today are exposed to drugs, violence, moral and ethical issues long before their parents’ generation. If you think you can protect them from these issues or prolong their entry into the troubled world we live in, think again. You can’t. The best you can do is guide them as carefully as possible.

Literature allows parents to address issues that are uncomfortable to speak about on a parent/child level. Discussing characters in a novel allows children a semblance of distance from the problem.

They can actualise the issue in increments that are comfortable for them. They can lean on a character in a book to help them navigate their own issues in their own time and place, and parents can be part of that important process.