13 Reasons Why is the story of Hannah Baker, a girl that killed herself and left behind 13 tapes that explain why she died. The Netflix series is based on a novel by Jay Asher from 2007. Like every adaptation from a book, there are some differences between the series and the original novel. There are lots of spoilers for both versions, so it’s best to read this list after completing at least one version of 13 Reasons Why.
1. Different sides of the stories
Book: Clay is mostly alone as he listens to the tapes, sometimes with Tony. Since he listens to the tapes all in one night, he doesn’t confront anyone as we hear what Hannah has to say. We get some of Clay’s commentary as he listens, but that’s it.
Show: You see every side of the story. Since Clay takes such a long time to listen to the tapes, he is able to confront each character as he gets to their tape and he hears what they have to say.
2. Tony and Hannah
Book: Before she died, Hannah suddenly brought Tony her bike. She said she didn’t need it anymore and he had the oldest car around so he may need the bike one day. He said he wouldn’t take it without giving her something in return and she cried, then asked how to record her voice on cassette tapes. He feels guilty because that was a sign that she would end her life and he didn’t pick up on it and stop her.
Show: Tony jumped Hannah's car for her and he lent her the device to record her tapes. He also saw her the day she died, before and after. She came to his house to drop off the second set of tapes. He feels guilty because it was nearly an hour before he grabbed the box and listened, then rushed to her house and saw that he was too late.
3. Jenny/Sheri
Book: Jenny is a cheerleader that seems all right until you find out that she caused the death of a fellow student. Jenny rams the car into a stop sign and right after it happens she seems to feel no remorse and looks happy that Hannah is drunk, likely believing this means no consequences. However, Hannah tries to stop her from leaving the scene, causing Jenny to kick Hannah out of her car. Jenny also refuses to let Hannah borrow her phone to report it because she doesn’t want it traced back to her.
Show: Sheri is a cheerleader that seems pretty nice, till you find out that she cared more about upsetting her dad than reporting the stop sign she plowed over, thus causing Jeff’s death. She does feel guilty, though. She tries to make up for it by helping out the old man that was hurt in the accident, but never goes to see Jeff’s parents to quell the belief that he was driving drunk and caused his own accident. At the end the guilt eats at her so much that she finally does the right thing and reports herself to the police.
4. Jeff Atkins
Book: The show watchers reading this are probably hoping that Jeff fares better in the book, that maybe there’s a version in which Jeff gets the good life he deserves. Unfortunately, he doesn’t even exist in the book. An unnamed boy from their school crashes into a car with an old man after Jenny knocks down the stop sign. Jeff is an extension of the boy with no name.
Show: Jeff Atkins is seemingly the only athlete in this school to never bully anyone. He is very sweet and a fan-favorite. Clay tutors him for school and in turn Jeff helps bring Clay and Hannah together. Unfortunately, he is only seen in flashbacks. Sheri knocks down a stop sign without reporting it, knowing that Jeff will soon be following behind her on a beer run, and this results in Jeff’s car colliding with another car, killing him.
5. Aftermath
Book: The reader doesn’t get much information about what happened after Hannah’s death and after the tapes circulated. She swallowed pills, but how she was found is unclear. There is no indication of how her death affects her parents or the other students on the tapes, other than the fact that Tony says Justin and Alex looked like hell after presumably hearing the tapes. We mostly only know how it affected Clay.
Show: The audience is shown the fallout of her death and the tapes, at least enough of it to leave it open for a second season. Hannah slit her wrists in the bathtub, found by her parents when her mother notices the water overflowing. Her parents sue the school for allowing bullying to happen and for not helping her. The other students try to prevent the tapes from getting out, but the tapes ultimately do and some students take responsibility for their actions.
