There are many reasons why you should read Jay Asher's debut novel . . . but I'll save those for my review of the book, which is on my Best Books of 2007 list. In the meantime, I've asked the author thirteen questions.

When did this story first come to mind?

I once took a self-guided audio tour at a museum and thought that'd be a cool way to format a story. Instead of Chapter 1, you have Cassette 1: Side A. But I was only interested in writing humorous middle-grade novels at the time, and I couldn't find a funny storyline for that format. Years later, I was in Wyoming, driving on a dark and icy road in the middle of winter (a tense experience for a California boy), and the idea just hit me. I pulled into the nearest gas station parking lot and, for the next twenty minutes, cranked up the heater and scribbled out the book's introduction.

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Hustle over to the blog of the Disco Mermaids.

Visit thirteenreasonswhy.com

Learn more about Jay and the book in the July 2008 issue of readergirlz.

Their heads lean toward each other.
Their whispers reach my ears.
The two girls over there
fingering their notebooks,
staring.

If they would lift their tinted eyelashes
they would notice I'm staring back.
But they don't.
So I turn in my chair,
placing my shoulder out of their sight.

- from Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham, Page 158

Read my interview with the author.

Read my review of the book.