Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Reviewed by Jennifer

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Ratings Explanation

Language: Frequent use of common swear words (about 40 instances). Casual use of “God” (about 25 instances).

Violence: There is a fist fight at a party and kids gather around to watch. A high school student is killed in a car accident, but there is no description of the scene. A boy rapes a girl while she is passed out (there is no description, but it is obvious what happens). It is stated that Hannah takes pills to end her life. (While this may not seem like a lot of violence, I rated it a 4 because of the rape. Even though it is not described, it is such a violent act in and of itself that I felt violence deserved a higher rating.)

Sexual Content: Some of the sexual content is quite explicit. I have toned it down here to spare the reader the worst of it.

Making out mentioned twice. Hannah let Justin put his hands “up her bra”.  They are 9th graders at the time.  A girl kisses a boy for a $10 bet. A rumor circulates that Hannah got “felt up”. Two girls know that a Peeping Tom (a boy their age)  is watching them and they pretend that they are having a same-sex experience. They also talk about Hannah having “something naughty” in her drawer. They catch the Peeping Tom and he is having an erotic reaction. A girl has her first “under the bra experience” while making out. A boy puts his hand on a girl’s leg, up her thigh, and “all the way up”.  A girl strips down to her underwear to get in a hot tub. A boy touches her breasts, his hands wander and she allows him to touch her elsewhere. It is implied that they have sex.

Sexual language including “hard on”, “dick” and Hannah wondering if Justin “had a big one”.

Adult Themes: Bullying, gossip, rumors and the real harm they can cause. The impact our actions and words  have on the lives of others. Blaming others for our own problems. Hannah’s parents are basically non-existent; they are occupied with their own problems and ignore their daughter and the struggles she is having. Hannah hides in the closet while the rape occurs and a boy stands guard outside. Both of them know what is going on but do nothing to stop it. Underage heavy drinking. Suicide.

Synopsis

Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of how Hannah Baker’s life fell apart. Moving to a new town in 9th grade, she is full of hope and expectations, but her reputation is quickly tarnished by the untrue and unkind whisperings of others. By the time she is a Junior in High School, she has had enough and has given up. Before taking her own life, she records 7 cassette tapes and delivers them to the first person on her list, Justin Foley, her first kiss. The tapes implicate 13 people and describe the role they each played in Hannah’s life and how they are, in some way, responsible for her death. She leaves instructions for the 1st person to pass them on to the 2nd on the list and so forth until all 13 have listened to her whole story. And just in case one of them wants to keep the tapes secret and cover their crimes, Hannah has made a second set that will be released to the public if her directions are not followed.

The book is a double narrative as Clay listens to Hannah’s words, interjecting his own feelings and realizations. Clay is horrified to discover some of the experiences Hannah has endured and as the puzzle comes together, we see through Hannah’s eyes, how everyone, including  herself, is responsible for her decision to take her own life.

I have really struggled with how to review this book. Let me start by saying that I didn’t enjoy it at all. Suicide is a topic that we definitely need to discuss with our teens, no question. But I was disappointed in Hannah’s propensity for blaming others. Hannah’s method of exposing the crimes against her leaves no room for forgiveness or change. While she does accept the ultimate responsibility for taking her own life, she lays a lot of blame along the way, becoming by her own actions, everything that others labeled her.

The main message of the book is that how we treat and interact with others truly has an effect.  A quote from Hannah sums it up this way. “I guess that’s the point of it all. No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.”  I think most of us, and our children as well,  need a reminder of this fact. We can all be a little more kind, compassionate and understanding, because just as the people on Hannah’s list contributed to her fall, we each have the capacity to be the one who literally saves a life.

Also, suicide is never a solution. Hannah had some really hard things happen to her, but they were not insurmountable. Because she lacked a strong support system, she allowed herself to believe there was no other way to go on. We need to teach kids that they can overcome anything. We need to empower them to face and solve their problems, not give up and run away.

I also struggled with the heavy sexual content. I don’t think that we need rape, premarital sex, and a girl allowing (and by her own admission she does allow it) a boy she doesn’t even like to misuse her body, in order to discuss suicide and how our actions affect others. I am a married 40-something woman and I was very uncomfortable with the hot tub scene. I felt dirty reading it. What will young adult women feel when they read it? We can discuss suicide and the consequences of our actions without this kind of content.

Overall I can’t recommend this book for anyone younger than 18. I can already hear the emails being written about how these are real issues teens deal with today, which I completely understand, but I think there are appropriate and inappropriate ways of dealing with them. And while books do offer opportunities to discuss difficult topics with our children, they are by no means the only avenue to start a conversation.