OFHS Student Group discussion

Since the invention of the cellphone and social networks, bullying and cyber bullying has become more present in teenagers lives. This then has caused many teens to think about or even commit suicide.
In “Thirteen Reasons Why”, Jay Asher has done a wonderful job of creating a character that not only gets stuck in the middle of some awful rumors but experiences the side effects of these rumors, and determines that suicide is the only option.
Hannah Baker was a new student going into her freshman year of high school. She like any other teenage girl wanted a fresh start; however, one nasty rumor from one boy sent her on a journey that had no return.
This novel is written from the perspective of Clay Jensen, who was in the same grade as Hannah and also had a crush on her. After Hannah’s death he received a package with no return label. Inside were cassette tapes from Hannah herself explaining in full detail the 13 reasons why she committed suicide. When Hannah tells him in the cassette tapes that he is one of the reasons she did what she did, he becomes quite curious and listens to all 7 of the tapes. What he learns in those tapes will change his life forever.
Unlike many authors, Jay Asher uses flashbacks from previous events to explain Hannah’s reasoning for her drastic decision. Each side of each of the cassette tapes describes a different person that affected her life and also contains a flashback to that person. With each flashback you get closer and closer to Hannah and also the events that took place in her life – and ultimately took her life.
Jay Asher also explains the snowball effect through the character of Hannah. Each event that brought her to her final decision happened because of something else. So everything that happened to her happened because of that one rumor at the beginning of the novel. Asher is not saying that if the very first rumor hadn’t been made up, Hannah wouldn’t have committed suicide. He is saying that what one person does, not only affects that person but affects other people you might not even realize – as in the domino type effect.