Ending of the Book

The ending of the book Thirteen Reasons Why is very ironic. The book ends with one word: Skye. The word sums up the way that Hannah’s tapes have affected Clay, and because the novel is centered on Clay listening to Hannah’s recordings, the effect on him is a major issue. Skye Miller is a girl that Clay used to have a crush on in middle school. After listening to Hannah’s tapes, he realizes that Skye is going through something similar to Hannah’s experience. Clay reaches out to her and possibly saves her life. The ending was a huge twist for the book because it was completely different from Clay’s personality throughout the story. At the beginning of the book, Clay did not want anything to do with the tapes and did not realize that Hannah’s suicide was such a big deal for him. By the end of the book, Clay felt guilty that he could not stop Hannah from committing suicide, so he wanted to help someone else instead. All throughout the book, Hannah was talking about how she could have been saved if someone cared and talked to her. Clay could see that Skye was depressed and that she needed help. Clay didn’t stop Hannah two weeks ago, and now it is too late. But he now has the chance to stop Skye and save her. The ending of the novel will make readers ask themselves if they will seize the opportunity to make a change, or will they live their life the same way, in fear of taking a stand and helping others. The author leaves the reader with the question of what Clay will do next. Will Clay be able to save Skye, or will the same thing happen to her that happened to Hannah?