Discuss Amongst Yourselves, Ohio

On Thursday, I spoke at Timken High School in Canton, Ohio. It was my first time speaking at a school where every student had been given a copy of Thirteen Reasons Why to read before my visit. Ms. Russell, the teacher in charge of bringing me to the school, took me out to dinner the night before my presentations and she told me about some amazing discussions she's had with students about my book, as well as how other teachers were using the book in their classrooms.

Some students plastered one wall of a hallway with 13RW inspired posters...


One student created an art piece out of chalk in his art class. The room was locked when I walked by, which is why you can see lockers reflected over the chalkboard...


My first presentation, in Timken's beautiful theater, was to sophomores, juniors, and seniors...


That was followed by the most epic book signing ever...


Several students said they want to pursue careers that will lead to them signing autographs for a line which seems to stretch on forever...


Some of them also asked if was famous. I said, "If you have to ask whether or not someone's famous, the answer's probably no." But it's kind of awesome that they think I might be!

A few students from each grade won a chance to go out to Bender's Tavern with me for lunch. Yep, we took the students to a tavern! The opportunity to have some nice one-on-one conversations was a highlight for me...even if some ice water did get spilled on my lap. (Oops! Sorry, dude. I told you I wouldn't blog about it, didn't I???)


Then I gave my first ever presentation in a school gymnasium. This group was mostly freshmen, though I believe there were some sophomores, too. Once again, I signed a lot of books. And since it was the end of the day, things got a little crazy...


I even signed my first Chuck Norris photo...


Nope, that's not something I ever thought I'd do. (Chuck Norris, now he's famous!)

Just like with most school visits, I spent about eight hours on a total natural high, talking to people, laughing, almost crying (I said almost), autographing books, and then I sat down to a late dinner all by myself...


It's honestly the greatest job in the world!