Messages of Hope from Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why Keilah Coverstone College

Suicide is a persistent enemy that affects thousands of young people across the country every year. Bullying is one of the main reasons young people decide to commit suicide. Many young adult authors are writing books that address these hard topics to help readers learn how to better deal with them. In Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, the unique structure, double narrative technique, and multi-sided conflict contribute to the theme that a person’s actions can hurt others. Schools can use the book’s theme and message to promote healthy behaviors, discourage bullying, and raise suicide awareness.

Hannah Baker, one of the main characters in Thirteen Reasons Why, is a high school student who commits suicide. Classmates and relatives are left in the dark until a mysterious box begins circulating through the mail. It contains cassette tapes that hold thirteen recorded stories. Each tape is addressed to a person who Hannah believes plays a part in her suicide. Hannah requires each person to listen to her tapes and pass them on. In her first tape, she threatens that the tapes will be released to the public if the listeners do not comply. Clay Jensen, the ninth person on the list, gives his own commentary while listening to the tapes....