Thirteen Reasons Why Predictions

"Hello, boys and girls. Hannah Baker here. Live and in stereo...I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why it ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why....I'm not saying which tape brings you into the story. But fear not, if you received this lovely little box, your name will pop up...I promise....The rules are pretty simple. There are only two. Rule number one: You listen. Rule number two: You pass it on. Hopefully, neither one will be easy for you." (Asher, 19).

I just started reading a book titled Thirteen Reasons Why, written by Jay Asher. This book follows a box of cassette tapes that were left behind by Hannah Baker, explaining the thirteen reasons why she killed herself. This book isn't the ordinary book, for a couple of reasons. One, being that is about a very sad and uncomfortable topic, which most people can't stand to read about.  However, I have noticed that so far, the book isn't entirely sad. Second, the book is set up as a conversation between Hannah's voice on the cassette tape and Clay's thoughts as he is listening to the tapes. It is an unusual format, but it makes it easy to read and understand. Lastly, it is a wake-up call to reality. It shows that nobody is perfect and the effect that you could have on other people.

Since I just started reading this book, I don't really have enough information to start analyzing the text. However, I have a couple predictions based on what I already have read. 

My first prediction is that Clay will learn a lot about the effect he has on other people, and most importantly, learn his effect that he had on Hannah. Since Clay has gotten the cassette tapes, Hannah had him as a reason why she killed herself. Right now, even Clay isn't sure what he did wrong, especially because everybody calls him the nicest kid in town. "What did I do to you, Hannah?" (Asher, 55) is the phrase that keeps coming back to clay as he listens to what Hannah is saying to him.

My second prediction is that Hannah will reveal some secrets about herself and other people she knew during her life. She will tell Clay some surprising information, and it will most likely be hard for Clay to listen to these revealed secrets, and maybe even difficult for him to look at people the same way again. Clay has recieved the tapes from somebody else who sent them, and Clay thinks about what is happening to these other people involved with the tapes, "I can't imagine what it was like for him to mail out these tapes. To know that he was sending his secret into the world." (Asher, 56). This quote shows that Clay knows that it is tough for people to let their secrets be revealed for them.

My last prediction is that Clay will not tell anybody about the cassette tapes that Hannah sent to him. I think that Clay will not show anybody else, fearing that they may learn something about him or that all of the secrets will be revealed to everybody. I can make this prediction based on Clay's thoughts, "As the stories go by, one by one, I find myself relieved when my name isn't mentioned. Followed by a fear of what she hasn't yet said, of what she's going to say, when my turn comes. Because my turn is coming. I know that. and I want it to be over with. What did I do to you, Hannah?" (Asher, 55). This is constantly coming back to Clay, because he doesn't understand what he did wrong, and he is anxious to know what he did to harm Hannah and cause her to do such a horrible thing.

I know that since this book is about suicide, many teenagers can relate to this book. I'm not sure if I can specifically relate to that topic, but I can relate to the way Hannah felt when she was making the tapes. Clay noticed that Hannah's voice was trembling, and that she must have been sad, or felt angry or alone because of what these people did to her. I know I have been sad before, and I'm sure that everybody in their life has encountered a bully who said mean things to them, so not only I can relate to this book, but I feel that most teenagers can.

I am looking forward to reading the book and getting some of my questions answered.
What did Clay do to Hannah? Why did Hannah make the tapes, other than to share secrets? What made Hannah decide to take her own life?