Teen’s 2013 favorite author visits Stevenson High School

Illinois teens spoke loud and clear when they selected the young adult novel “Thirteen Reasons Why” as their top choice for the 2013 Illinois’ High School Readers’ Choice Award. Readers can meet its author, #1 New York Times best-selling novelist Jay Asher, at a free public event on Tuesday, February 4, at 7 p.m. in the West Auditorium at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill.

“Thirteen Reasons Why” is a novel about a teen suicide, and the bullying and casual cruelty that led up to it. Since its publication in 2007, it has gained thousands of fans worldwide—teens who connect with the book’s message of tolerance and compassion. The Thirteen Reasons Why Project at http://www.13rwproject.com provides readers with an opportunity to share how the story has affected their life.

Asher’s visit is jointly sponsored by the Vernon Area Public Library and the Stevenson High School Foundation. The evening event is a public complement to Stevenson High School’s biennial Odyssey Fine Arts Festival, which is exclusively for students. Asher is slated to present four student workshops during Odyssey.  His presentations are extremely popular with both teen and adult audiences due to the effective way he addresses the sensitive themes of his book. For more information about the Odyssey Fine Arts Festival, visit http://d125.org/odyssey.

The annual Illinois’ High School Reader’s Choice Award—the “Abraham Lincoln Award”— is sponsored by the Illinois School Library Media Association. The honor is awarded each year to the book from that year's master list that earns the highest number of student votes. The Abraham Lincoln Award is designed to encourage high school students to read for personal satisfaction and become familiar with authors of young adult and adult books. Previous years’ winners include “The Maze Runner” and “Hunger Games.” For more information about The Abraham Lincoln Award, visit http://www.islma.org/lincoln.htm.

Copies of the book are available for purchase and signing at the event, courtesy of the Lake Forest Book Store.

This event is free and open to all. Register online at http://bit.ly/jayasher, or phone at 224-543-1485, or in person at any public service desk in the library.