BOOK REPORT

TITLE OF THE STORY: 13 REASONS WHY
AUTHOR: Jay Asher
PUBLISHED: Thirteen Reasons Why (stylized as TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY) is a 2007 New York Times best-selling young-adult fiction novel written by Jay Asher. The book was published by RazorBill, a young adult imprint of Penguin Books. The paperback edition hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in July 2011. In May 2011, a website called 13RWProject.com launched where fans of the book can record their reviews and experiences as text, photo or video. Jay Asher's book has been published in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, and Italy.
CHARACTERS: Clay Jensen, Hannah Baker, Justin Foley, Alex Standall, Jessica Davis, Tyler Down, Courtney Crimson, Marcus Cooley, Zach Dempsey, Ryan, Shaver, Jenny Kurtz, Bryce Walker, Mr. Porter, Tony
SETTING: Rosie's diner, High school, Gas station, Eisenhower Park, Blue Spot Liquor, Monet's Cafe
Pretty much everywhere that she tells clay to go on the tapes. The places are all on the map found on the inside cover of the book.
PLOT/ BRIEF SUMMARY:
Bullying by students and the stigma of suicide are themes in the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. New to town, Hannah Baker hopes to have a new life. Unfortunately, rumors, betrayal, and revenge by her peers affect Hannah's life more than anyone knows. Though Hannah tries to reveal her pain to others, neither the school guidance counselor nor other students recognize her cries for help. Before committing suicide, Hannah records a collection of audiotapes explaining the actions which she believes pushed her to make the decision to take her own life.
Clay Jensen, who had liked Hannah despite rumors he had heard about the new girl, is one of thirteen people who receives Hannah’s audio suicide letter. He is shocked to learn how unfounded the rumors about Hannah being a slut were as they originated from one boy who was angry with her for not giving him more than a kiss. As Clay continues to listen to Hannah’s tapes, he becomes angrier and angrier with the way other students have treated Hannah. He is also upset with himself for not doing more to let Hannah know that he liked her. The novel ends with a note of hope as Clay steps out to befriend a girl whom he’d always liked but never approached because of her reputation of being strange.
This novel addresses issues facing modern students. Although she is not physically abused, Hannah is a victim of bullying. Like many students recently, Hannah feels the only way to solve her problems and stop the hurt is to take her own self out of the equation. Hannah leaves audiotapes behind, telling those who persecuted her about the exact impact that they had on her life. Clay believes some of the people included in the tapes may interpret the tapes only as Hannah’s way of blaming everyone else for her problems. Some good comes from Hannah’s story as Clay decides to take an active role in helping those around him.
Cassette 1: Side A (Introduction)- In the short introductory section “Yesterday – One Hour after School,” Clay Jensen, the narrator and main character arrives home from school to find a box of audio cassettes on his front porch. Luckily, his father has an old stereo in the garage with a cassette player. Clay takes the cassettes to the garage and puts in the first tape.
Cassette 1: Side A- Clay realizes the tapes he has been sent are an audio suicide letter. He hears Hannah’s voice say that the tapes will tell why she decided to end her life. All of the thirteen people who receive the tapes are part of the reason why she came to her decision. Hannah lines out two rules for the tapes. Each person has to listen to all of the tapes, and they have to pass them on to the person mentioned...
Cassette 1: Side B- On side B of the first cassette, Hannah turns her attention to Alex Standall. Hannah says that Alex added to her reputation of being a slut by notating in a list of Who’s Hot/Who’s Not that has circulated around the school that Hannah had the best ass in the freshman class. Hannah reasons that this list made people notice and pay attention only to that part of her body, bringing more attention to her sexual attractiveness. Even Clay admits he laughed when he saw the list and thought about the reputation that Hannah was building. Hannah next says that Jessica Davis was angrily tapping her pencil because her name appeared in the “Not Hot” section of the same list. Hannah hints that there is some reason that Alex put Jessica in this column, intentionally using Hannah to hurt Jessica’s...
Cassette 2: Side A- The section of the tapes found on side A of the second cassette is dedicated to the third person on Hannah’s list, Jessica Davis. Hannah talks about how she, Jessica, and Alex were all new to the school that year. A teacher arranged a meeting with Hannah and Jessica, hoping they’d befriend each other. Although both girls were horrified at the way they were tricked into meeting, they developed a sort of support group that met at Monet’s Garden Café and Coffeehouse. It is after they notice Alex checking Jessica out during their first meeting at the coffeehouse that he becomes part of the group. As the three members of the group make other friends, they stop meeting with each other at the coffeehouse until Jessica approaches Hannah at school one day and tells her they need to talk. Hannah...
Cassette 2: Side B- In this section of the novel, Clay orders coffee as he tries to decide if he wants to try to listen to all of the tapes in one evening. A girl at the counter tries to strike up a conversation, but Clay is too disturbed by the tapes to talk much. She tells him they had a class together and that she’d always thought he was a nice boy. He wonders what she would think if she knew he was listening to tapes that would tell his role in a girl’s suicide. When Clay starts Hannah’s tapes, there is silence. Then, her voice is talking in a whisper. Hannah introduces the fourth person on her list, Tyler Down. She is sneaking up to his window trying to understand why he was so fascinated with waiting outside her window, taking pictures...
Cassette 3: Side A- This section of Hannah’s audiotapes addresses Courtney Crimsen. Hannah says that she addresses Courtney because she really believes that Courtney does not realize the way that the things that she does affects other people. Hannah relates the happenings of the day after she and Courtney caught Tyler. That day she and Courtney had spoken to each other, but it had seemed more like the meeting of acquaintances than close friends. Several days later Courtney approaches Hannah and tells her there is a party that night that they should attend together. Courtney claims she hasn’t been ignoring Hannah when Hannah asks her. Hannah begins to believe Courtney is being sincere when Courtney asks if she can drive. The question makes Hannah wonder about Courtney’s motives. When Hannah picks Courtney up, the girl thanks her for the lift. Hannah realizes how the...
Cassette 3: Side B- Hannah tells her listeners how Marcus Cooley figures into her story. He claimed to be one of he matches in Oh My Dollar Valentine, a fundraiser for cheer camp. They agree to meet one another at Rosie’s, but Marcus makes Hannah wait thirty minutes before he shows up. Clay stops to sit on a bench while he listens to the rest of Hannah’s tape. Clay wonders if he had filled out his survey truthfully if he might have gotten Hannah as a match. Hannah tells her listeners that she thought about not turning in her survey. In the office, Ms. Benson mentions to Hannah she’s seen the picture of Hannah and Courtney together. Ms. Benson says that Hannah and Courtney appear to be friends. Hannah considers how fake her life has become. Hannah briefly considers retrieving her survey from the...
Cassette 4: Side A- Before listening to side A of the fourth cassette, Clay runs the rest of the way to Rosie’s Diner. He tries to compose himself because he knows his mother will be there soon. He worries that she will listen to the Hannah’s tapes on her way to the restaurant. When she does arrive, Clay keeps up his story about the school project. He senses that his mother knows he is lying, but she warns him only not to be out too late. Hannah’s tape addresses the class called Peer Communications. She says it was her favorite class. Students are not allowed to snicker at other people’s thoughts. The teacher encouraged discussion on all sorts of topics from bullying to self-esteem. Hannah’s problem with the class is that Zach Dempsey stole notes of encouragement placed in a paper bag...
Cassette 4: Side B- As Clay begins listening to the second side of Hannah’s fourth tape, he adjusts his napkin holder so he can watch Tony in its reflective side. As Hannah talks about her love of poetry, he watches as Tony leaves the restaurant and gets in his car, backs up away from the restaurant, then stops and turns his lights out. Clay wonders what Tony is doing. Looking out the window, he can also see the tip of the theater sign. He wishes that he’d used that summer to get to know Hannah better. Even though he hasn’t heard how he figures into Hannah’s tapes, he believes her suicide is partially his fault because he did not do anything to show her that he did care. This portion of Hannah’s tapes is about a poetry class that Hannah and Ryan...
Cassette 5: Side A- When Tony leaves Rosie’s, Tony calls him. He tells Clay to get into his car, and Clay obeys. As soon as Clay shuts his door, Tony tells him that he has the second set of tapes. Tony finds out which tape Clay is about to listen to. When he finds out, he tells Clay he will tell him why he has the second set of tapes after Clay listens to the next tape. He wants Clay to listen to that tape while he is in Tony’s car because the next tape is about Clay. Clay cries as he starts the tape. In this tape, Hannah admits she had always wanted to get to know Clay better because all she’d ever heard about him was good. Hannah says that generally if a person seems that good, they have some sort of..
Cassette 5: Side B- Before Clay starts this tenth tape, he asks Tony why Hannah picked Tony to have the second set of tapes. Tony promises to tell Clay as soon as they reach the party house. When he starts the tape, Hannah talks about what happened in the room after Clay left. She says that Jessica and her date had come into the room. The date had tried to kiss Jessica and get romantic, but Jessica was so drunk she was barely responsive. The date finally leaves the room but stands outside the door. Hannah says she got up to walk to the door but noticed someone else walk up outside the door. At first, Jessica’s date wouldn't let the other boy in, but he relented when the other boy said he was on the night shift and needed to spend just a minute with...
Cassette 6: Side A- This section of the novel begins with Tony explaining to Clay that when Hannah had come to see Tony, he had recognized all the signs that she was contemplating suicide. He tells Clay that he, too, had a chance to help Hannah but did not take it. Tony tells Clay that Hannah had come to give him her bike. She tells Tony that she is done with it. Though Tony now realizes this was a sign of suicidal thoughts, he didn’t recognize it. He says Hannah asked to use a handheld recorder in exchange for the bike. Then, one day, he got home from school to find a box of cassettes. Because Hannah had been in class that day, Tony said the tapes didn’t make much sense to him. Tony had tried to call Hannah at home but didn’t get...
Cassette 6: Side B- Hannah opens this portion of her tapes by talking freely about suicide. She’s decided to take pills, thinking that is the least painful option. She lines out what she will do on her last day including mailing the tapes to Justin. She asks her listener if he remembers how he treated her on that last day. Clay is certain that he smiled at Hannah. She then tells the story of the weekend after the accident. There was another party that day, but she didn’t attend. She was dog sitting for a friend of her father, at a house close enough to hear the music at the party even with the television on. She can only think of what happened at the last party. As Clay listens to her story, he remembers the last time he saw Hannah. They had bumped into...
Cassette 7: Side A and Cassette 7: Side B- Clay decides to listen to the last of Hannah’s tapes at Eisenhower Park. On this first side of this final cassette, Hannah says that she is giving life one last chance. She has made an appointment with Mr. Porter, her school guidance counselor. Hannah tells Mr. Porter that she feels empty and doesn’t care about anything anymore. She says she feels as if she doesn’t have any friends. While Clay can hear the questions that Hannah is posing for Mr. Porter, he feels that Mr. Porter either doesn’t understand or doesn’t comprehend how serious the matter is to Hannah. He questions Hannah, getting her to acknowledge there was a sexual interaction of which she is not proud. He tells her that if she doesn’t want to report the rape...
The Next Day, After Mailing the Tapes
Clay is later for school than he's ever been. He's late because he mailed the tapes to Jenny Kurtz, but also because he can't bear to see Mr. Porter and Hannah's empty desk. He gets to his locker and dials his combination. The headache he's had since he started listening to the tapes is worse now. All he can think about is Hannah. When he walks down the hall, he wonders how he'll react to the people at school, knowing what he knows now. As he walks by Mr. Porter's classroom, he sees Skye Miller (the girl from the bus on Cassette 3: Side A) in the hall. He keeps walking past Mr. Porter's classroom toward Skye. Clay feels a "flood of emotion" (17.45). He feels "Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope" (17.45).When he's just behind Skye, he says her name. Her name is the last word of the story. (See "What's Up With the Ending?" for more on this brilliant choice.)

VOCABULARY WORDS:

1. Baker’s dozen—a group of thirteen
2. Serrated—having notched, tooth-like projections 3. Meanders—to follow a winding and turning course 4. Contemplating—considering thoughtfully
5. Spindles—slender mechanical parts that revolve (tape player)
6. Motivation—the act of providing a reason to do something
7. Snowball effect— Figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger
(graver, more serious)
8. Scowling — To make a frowning expression of displeasure 9. Repercussions—an indirect effect, influence or result produced by an event or action
10. Hysterical — uncontrollably emotional
11. Traumatic — psychologically painful
12. Erratically—done in a way lacking consistency or regularity
13. Condescending—dealing with a person in a way that assumes one is superior to the other person
14. Mesmerizing—hypnotized
15. Ridicule—to make fun of
16. Montage—group of pictures sequenced and superimposed to create a single impression
17. Decelerates—slows down
18. Candid—not posed or rehearsed
19. Initiative—-the power, ability or instinct to begin or follow through energetically with a plan or task
20. Spontaneous—happening without any apparent external cause
21. Nostalgia—bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past
22. Paranoia—baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others
23. Validate—to confirm
24. Grotesque— characterized by distortion
25. Affect —to influence; to impress the mind or move the feelings of
26. Effect—(noun) something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence
OR (verb) to produce something
27. Anthology—collection of literary pieces such as poems, short stories or plays
28. Compelled—forced
29. Stifle—to cut off
30. Absurdity—utterly or obviously senseless,

LESSON LEARNED: Honestly the lesson wasn't really clear but its to show that the things you do to people you don't think it will harm them in anyway. You see your action as harmless and no big deal when in the book it shows it can cause someone a lot of trouble

PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS:
The book is suspenseful and a bit creepy. The storyline is so amazing, and has a hint of romance. When you read this book. You can really feel Hannah’s anger, frustration and sadness.