Books and the written language have always been important to me. They have the power to persuade us, inform us, and evoke feelings from us. Some authors are incredibly talented and can persuade, inform or make us feel things, while other authors do not. Back in middle school and high school I read plenty of books that solely provided me entertainment. I would read the book and then immediately start another one. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher was a very different experience for me.
I do not remember exactly when, but I read 13 Reasons Why when I was either in late middle school years, or early high school years. By that point of my life, 13 Reasons Why was one of the few books that had really moved me. It was one of the first books I could not move on from right away. When I finished reading the book I sat in my room for hours just thinking. I could not stop thinking. It was not an easy subject to read and was difficult for me to stomach. To this day, it probably is still one of the few books I have read about a teen bullying, rape, and suicide.
The topics presented in 13 Reasons Why were briefly discussed in health classes, but the book really brought all of that for life to me. By putting the topics into a context and creating characters’ lives around it, the topics all of a sudden felt very real. It really made me stop and think about how actions, or a lack of action, can really affect people.
I still have yet to watch 13 Reasons Why on Netflix, and I am not sure yet if I ever will watch it. My reasons are not because I not like the book. In fact, my reasoning is the opposite. Books becoming popular and having everyone talk about, or books turning into movies can ruin the experience for me. There is nothing worse than seeing one of your favorite stories turned into a movie and have it turn out nothing like you imagined, or having the story altered. Because of this, I am still hesitant to see the transformation of 13 Reasons Why into a TV show.
But there is another reason I am hesitant to watch the show. The book contained lots of hard topics that I struggled reading through. Do I really want to watch these topics come to life then?
I have read about a lot of controversy over the show. All in all, I have noticed that it does not matter whether you loved the show, hated it, or are somewhere in between. People that fall all over the love-hate spectrum are having discussions about the show, and it looks like those discussions are not going to end any time soon.
