Themes
Death creeps into every line of Thirteen Reasons Why, which centers on the audio-taped suicide note of Hannah Baker. We listen along with Clay Jensen, Hannah's almost-true-love, as Hannah traces her high school days, from first kiss to last words. What starts as occasional thoughts of suicide turn to solid plans and, as we know from the beginning, a fatal overdose of pills. We don't see Clay long enough after he listens to the tapes to know exactly how they change him, but the ending gives us something to go on: he reaches out to Skye Miller, a girl portrayed as a possible suicide risk. This suggests that he has become more aware of his own power to make life worth living for others who seem to have lost hope. Clay learned various things with Hannah Bakers tapes.
Thirteen Reasons Why is most certainly not a love story also. In fact, as much as she craves it, love is what's missing from Hannah Baker's life. Girls betray her friendship and guys play mean games with her heart and her body. Hannah's real love connection should have been Clay Jensen, but rumors about her keep Clay from really trying to get to know her and give her an awful reputation. These rumors also keep Hannah from opening up to Clay when she has the chance at a party. It's downright painful to read about Clay's love (or what could have developed into love) for Hannah as he listens to the story of her life. He realizes that if he'd acted more lovingly toward her, it might have made a big difference in both their lives. When Clay reaches out to Skye Miller, at the end of the novel, we get the idea that he is no longer so concerned about what others might think. It's too late for Hannah, yes, but it's not too late for Clay to become a more loving person.
Everything in this novel has a violent, painful edge to it. Hannah's tone on the tapes could even be described as violent and hateful as she is trying (and in Clay's case, succeeded) to inflict pain on her listeners. Her tapes reveal that her world is a dangerous place: many of the critical events she describes focus on extreme incidents of violence, including a possible rape and the death of a high school boy. But Thirteen Reasons Why refers to another kind of violence often forgotten in a young teen’s life, violence against oneself. Hannah's inability to deal with the cruel world around her leads to the ultimate act of violence when she takes her own life. When clay realizes he has to change Skye destiny.
Thirteen Reasons Why is most certainly not a love story also. In fact, as much as she craves it, love is what's missing from Hannah Baker's life. Girls betray her friendship and guys play mean games with her heart and her body. Hannah's real love connection should have been Clay Jensen, but rumors about her keep Clay from really trying to get to know her and give her an awful reputation. These rumors also keep Hannah from opening up to Clay when she has the chance at a party. It's downright painful to read about Clay's love (or what could have developed into love) for Hannah as he listens to the story of her life. He realizes that if he'd acted more lovingly toward her, it might have made a big difference in both their lives. When Clay reaches out to Skye Miller, at the end of the novel, we get the idea that he is no longer so concerned about what others might think. It's too late for Hannah, yes, but it's not too late for Clay to become a more loving person.
Everything in this novel has a violent, painful edge to it. Hannah's tone on the tapes could even be described as violent and hateful as she is trying (and in Clay's case, succeeded) to inflict pain on her listeners. Her tapes reveal that her world is a dangerous place: many of the critical events she describes focus on extreme incidents of violence, including a possible rape and the death of a high school boy. But Thirteen Reasons Why refers to another kind of violence often forgotten in a young teen’s life, violence against oneself. Hannah's inability to deal with the cruel world around her leads to the ultimate act of violence when she takes her own life. When clay realizes he has to change Skye destiny.