Mood and Tone of the Story

In this novel Thirteen Reasons Why, the author creates a very ominous tone. We know from the beginning of the novel that Hannah has taken her own life, and all of the stories she tells are very ominous and mysterious. The reader has to sit through all of these stories, knowing that every single one played a part in why Hannah committed suicide. In some parts of the story, even when Hannah describes a good time or sweet moment, the reader knows that all of her experiences played a role in her final decision to commit suicide. The author's tone is also very cautionary as he warns people of the possible effects of bullying others through Hannah's words on the tapes. The tone of the book is mysterious since the reader has no idea how Clay is involved in Hannah’s suicide. It is sad since we have to hear about Hannah’s ongoing struggle that leads up to her death. The tone of the novel is also eerie because of the impact of listening to the voice of a girl who killed herself just days earlier. She is telling the people who are listening of how they drove her to suicide, which will drastically affect these people for a long time. The mood of the book is very somber because of the sensitivity of the topic it is dealing with.  The mood and tone throughout the entire book is dark and depressing. Hannah describes to each person that contributed to her death what they did and tries to make them feel guilty for it. The effect on most people will be horrible since they are forced to live with this realization forever.