This book contains suicidal ideations; profanity; sexual nudity; and sexual activities.
When Hannah Baker, a fictional teen in the young adult novel “Thirteen Reasons Why,” records 13 tapes explaining why she took her own life, it’s her way of ensuring she isn’t silenced. Her creator, author Jay Asher, doesn’t want her to be either.
Since it was published in 2007, “Thirteen Reasons Why” has been a target of censorship. A Colorado school district banned the novel, saying it glamorized suicide. In Ontario, Canda, the story was pulled from school libraries for its “negative portrayals of helping professionals.” In Alberta, any discussion of the book was prohibited.
Earlier this year, the novel was adapted into a Netflix series, which reignited the debate around the novel’s themes and their portrayal. Parents and school districts worried the series would promote “suicide contagion”; Netflix added more trigger warnings before episodes. The New Zealand Office of Film and Literature banned people under 18 from watching the drama without an adult. For Asher, who helped develop the show, the response to both works has reinforced his ideas about the danger of censorship.