13 Reasons Why 17 Differences Between The Book And The Show

If you've read Jay Asher's beautiful YA novel "13 Reasons Why", then you probably spent the last weekend of March binge-watching the Netflix television adaptation. If you haven't read the book, you still might have watched (but you should really read the book). And if you haven't gotten around to checking it out yet, your best friends have probably already been on your case about why you just HAVE to see it. And your BFFs are exactly right. In case you don't know the whole deal with the story yet, here's the Cliff Notes version: Clay comes home one day to find a box of tapes. He realizes that Hannah Baker, his classmate/friend/crush who took her own life recently, has recorded tapes with the reasons (aka people) that caused her to make this tough choice. And Clay realizes that he's also on the tapes. Whoa.

One of the most interesting things about an adaptation is wondering what is different in the movie or TV version. You always want to make sure that your favorite story can translate well to the big or small screen, but of course, that's not really your call since you're not the filmmaker. That's why you can feel totally and completely nervous about checking the adaptation out. Thankfully, 13 Reasons Why is a seriously impressive TV show, and it brings the book to life with beauty, sophistication, and compassion. So what are the differences between the book and the movie? Here are 17 differences.

17 The Change From First Person POV

The main character in the book is Clay Jensen and that's still the case in the Netflix version, but the TV show opens up the world and the point of view is very different. That's because you get the chance to learn more about the other characters (both major and minor ones) and can really get to know them. When you read the book, you definitely sympathize with Clay the most since he's the voice of the story. When you watch the show, you still feel for Clay and he's still your window into this world, but you have compassion for the other kids at school and for the parents, too. There are a lot of scenes that don't even involve Clay at all. Of course, that didn't happen in the novel, since Jay Asher wrote the book from the first person perspective of the character of Clay. They're both really fascinating, it's just a difference to take note of.

16 The Parents' Role

In the book, the parents play a super small role. That goes for Hannah's parents and for Clay's as well. That makes sense since the story revolves around Clay discovering these tapes and walking around listening to them. In the Netflix version, the parents have a huge role, and that's a huge difference that becomes very obvious as soon as you start tuning in. Hannah's parents, Olivia and Andy, are given more time and space and you get to know them. Olivia is played by Kate Walsh, who is really good in this role (and critics have even said it's her best performance yet), and Andy is played by Brian d'Arcy James (who you definitely know if you've seen the amazing movie Spotlight). The two of them are grieving, naturally, and Olivia always looks like she's either been sobbing for hours or is about to start. Clay's parents always do a really great job and are a big part of the show. Josh Hamilton plays Clay's dad and Amy Hargreaves plays Clay's mom Lainie.

15 How Fast Clay Listens To The Tapes

In the book, Clay listens to the tapes in a single evening so the setting is pretty much a 24-hour period. He walks around his town using the map that Hannah made of all the spots that she mentioned on the tapes and listens to tape after tape. He feels this sense of urgency, which of course makes sense. It's a pretty frightening thing to receive a box of tapes like that. In the Netflix TV show, it's totally different. Clay listens to the tapes over a series of days and so the storyline opens up to take place across that time period as well. Clay's classmates are super surprised because they all listened to the tapes really quickly. They keep asking him why he's taking so long and why he hasn't gotten to his tape yet. In the TV show, Clay finds it really overwhelming and at times, he's not sure that he wants to continue. It may be a major difference but it still works.

14 The Photo Of Hannah

One of the biggest things in both the book and the TV show is when Justin takes a suggestive photo of Hannah and the entire school ends up seeing it. Before she knows it, Hannah is branded as someone who is willing to do anything, and that's definitely not something that she wanted to happen. She assumed that she and Justin were dating and that they were going to end up in a relationship. She never thought that he would betray her like that. In both cases, this ends up being a totally humiliating and horrible experience. In the book, the photo of Hannah is just that -- a physical photo. In the TV show, Justin takes the picture using his cell phone and sends that digital file around to everyone at school. That totally makes sense since in 2007 when the book was published, cell phones and social media weren't such a massive thing… and they definitely are a part of everyone's lives today in 2017.

13 Clay Wants Revenge

In the book, Clay is a regular boy next door type of character, and he doesn't feel the need to get revenge on other kids who are also on the tapes. In the TV show, he means business and he wants revenge. He takes so long to listen to the tapes because he wants to talk to each person on the tapes about why they did the things that they did. He blames everyone for hurting and betraying Hannah and he can't handle that this is going on. He even gets physical with some of the other male characters. That's a huge change and feels new, but it definitely works for both the character and the story. It's possible that the other characters wanted to do the same thing when they were listening to the tapes -- they just didn't have as big a connection to Hannah as Clay did so they didn't want to act on their feelings. Since Clay has had a crush on her since she moved to town, he feels stronger about this.

12 A New Storyline

In the book, Hannah Baker's parents don't sue the school. There's nothing even remotely close to that going on. In the TV show, that's exactly what they do. This is a really smart storyline and if you watch the show, you will definitely agree that it works well. It brings up a lot of difficult questions and emotion and conflict, and it also gives the parents a bigger role. Since Hannah's parents Olivia and Andy are suing the high school, they're in a lot of scenes, and since Clay's mom is the lawyer that ends up representing the school, she's in a lot of scenes as well. This lawsuit also brings up the question of whether it really was the school's fault and who could possibly have known that this was going to happen. That's not an easy question to answer and there really isn't an answer by the end of the 13 episodes, just like there's no real answer in real life either.

11 A New Plot For Jeff

The character of Jeff has a small role in the novel and a huge role in the TV show. It's another creative choice that really works and is super logical. In the book, he's a nice kid at school but that's pretty much the extent of it. In the show, he schools Clay on being cool and getting the girl (and the girl, in this case, is Hannah) and is killed in a car accident. That accident was mentioned in the book because it was caused by one of the other kids at school, but in the TV show, it turns out that the victim was Jeff. This has a lot of narrative power since it means that Clay was friends with the person who ended up tragically passing away. This is another reason why Clay takes longer to listen to the tapes and why he feels like he needs to get some sort of revenge. He's not a passive person since he feels more connected to the tapes and the story behind Hannah's death.

10 Bigger Roles For The Teachers

In the TV show, the teachers at school have a much bigger role, and that's especially true of Mrs. Bradley, the one who teaches the kids how to communicate. Keiko Agenda, aka Lane from Gilmore Girls, plays Mrs. Bradley and does a really amazing job. You really don't think of her as Lane because she embodies the role. Okay, okay, you do think of her as Lane because let's be real, that's one of your favorite shows and you can't forget that. But you do see her as Mrs. Bradley and that's what's important here. In the book, the teachers are mentioned and the guidance counselor Mr. Porter still plays a crucial part, but in the TV show, the teachers seem to get more screen time. That's just part of how the show has opened up the perspectives so you get to know the other characters and you're not only focusing on Clay.

9 The Question Of Bullying

The story brings up questions of whether Hannah Baker was bullied, whether the other kids and the teachers and the school, in general, were to blame for her taking her own life, and when and how people were supposed to know. The TV show brings up the question of bullying much more and makes you think about this issue. In the decade since the book was published and the Netflix adaptation came out, there has been a wider discussion of childhood and teenage bullying, so that might be one reason why this subject is a big part of the show. At its core, the show is definitely about bullying since various characters are treated pretty badly and not just Hannah. The show has a compassionate take on how sometimes, high school is not a safe place (both emotionally and physically) and many people can, unfortunately, relate to that.

8 The Focus On Assault

The Netflix show really focuses on the fact that one character, Bryce, has physically assaulted two of the girls at school: Hannah and Jessica. At first, Hannah unfortunately and accidentally watches Jessica get attacked by Bryce. To complicate matters, Bryce is best friends with Jessica's boyfriend Justin. Later, at another party, Bryce also attacks Hannah. She talks a lot about these two things on her tapes. While this is a part of the book, the show really brings these tragic and uncomfortable and painful situations to life, and it makes you think about them much more. That's probably because you can close a book and try to forget about something that is disturbing, but when you're watching a television series, something dark and tragic is right in front of you. It's much more difficult to forget about the assaults that you watch on this show… and that's a good thing since the series really deals with this subject in a proper way.

7 Cell Phones and Social Media

Sure, there are a series of cassette tapes in the book and on the show too, and that may seem incredibly old-school. Who even uses tapes anymore? That is what you thought when you first started watching this show, right? The show, naturally, involves cell phones and social media since it is airing in 2017. There would really be no way around that. This works since you are used to seeing teenage characters being addicted to their phones and obsessed with updating their lives on social media. That is the way that the world of teen dramas works these days. Just think about Pretty Little Liars -- the entire plot revolves around the girls getting mysterious text messages. It would be really strange if the show did not involve the characters using their cell phones, so this is a change that you are totally fine with. It makes sense.

6 Clay Is Tape #11

In the book, Clay's tape is number 10, and in the TV show, his tape is number 11. That's because Bryce (ugh, Bryce) is number 12, and Clay figures he would never even bother listening or giving the tapes to the person after him. So Clay skips over him and gives the box of tapes to the 13th person, who is Mr. Porter. While the number of Clay's tape may not seem like a massive change, it really does change the storyline and it does make a difference. The book is more mysterious since you wonder who is on the next few tapes. One big thing is that the kids don't want anyone to know about the existence of the tapes and they want to keep them a big secret with everything in their power. They don't like that Clay approaches them at school and in public and starts talking about the tapes. That makes them super nervous since they're not really sure who he's going to tell and what he's going to do.

5 Clay Records A New Tape

What's really fascinating about the Netflix show is that Clay decides to record a new tape. This happens near the end of the season when the drama and tension and darkness is really ramping up. Clay knows that he has a certain responsibility here since he has learned that both Hannah and Jessica have been assaulted by Bryce. He does something incredible: he confronts Bryce about what happened and has the brilliant idea to record his words. So he basically has a complete confession from Bryce. He records a new tape and has that too and then brings the box of cassette tapes to Mr. Porter, who you can imagine completely freaks out, and who also has the burden of listening to the tapes while trying to keep them hidden. It makes sense that Clay would add a tape since, in the TV show, he's more hell-bent on getting revenge and making things right.

4 Someone Else Attempts To End Their Life

Miles Heizer gives an amazing performance as Alex, and he does one different thing in the TV show that didn't happen in the book: he tries to end his life. This happens at the end of the season and is one of the reasons why people are wondering if there's going to be a second season. That would definitely make sense since it would mean that Alex's storyline could be continued. You can definitely understand why this wouldn't be a part of the novel: because it focuses more on Clay and the novel ends when he finishes listening to the tapes since that concludes his journey. You can also understand why this would have been added to the show: because you have gotten to know Alex over the many episodes and realizing that someone else at the school has been struggling with the subject of suicide opens up the conversation more. It proves that this issue doesn't end just because Hannah has died. The conversation is just beginning.

3 Several New Endings

In the book, Clay reaches out to his old friend Skye, who he thinks might be struggling emotionally and possibly thinking about taking her own life. In the TV show, Clay reaches out to Skye a few times, but that happens much earlier in the episodes. There are several new endings on the show and they all work and seem logical. So that's a big relief if you're a fan of the book and wanted to see the show end just as well. When one of the characters is being interviewed as part of the lawsuit between Hannah's parents and the high school, he lets everyone know that Hannah recorded some tapes. Hannah's parents are given the tapes and end up listening to it, which is a really sad thing to think about. Then there's Alex's choice. And then there's something that the character Tyler seems to be planning. In a quick scene, he is shown holding several guns in his bedroom, which seems to suggest that he could have been thinking about a school shooting. Talk about dark.

2 The Way That Hannah Dies

This is one of the biggest differences between the book and the television series, and that's because the creators and crew really wanted to make sure that the subject of suicide was dealt with in a proper way. In the book, Hannah dies by taking some pills. In the TV show, she slits her wrists in the bathtub. And yes, it's extremely disturbing. It's extremely hard to watch. You might have to cover your eyes for a bit of this scene, but it makes you realize that Hannah was suffering so much and couldn't possibly imagine another path for herself. She knew that this would hurt both emotionally and physically but she couldn't see another way out and this was her final decision. This scene is very well-crafted and absolutely gut-wrenching, which is something that you didn't get from the book since you heard about it after the fact instead of watching it firsthand.

1 The Final Scene

In the book, Clay reaches out to his old friend Skye, and you have a feeling of hope since you figure that the two of them will become good friends again. In the TV show, you have the feeling that they will start hanging out again, but there's a slight difference. The final scene involves Clay, Tony, and Skye going for a drive while a beautiful song plays. It's sweet and touching and feels much less dark than what you have witnessed in the final few episodes. You really love Tony, right? You can't possibly check out this TV show and not love Tony. While he seems cool in the book, in the show he's even more amazing and adorable and any other positive adjective that you can think of. You love that he's been looking out for Clay and you trust him, even when Clay doesn't always think that Tony has his best interests at heart. And once you finish the Netflix version of 13 Reasons Why, you definitely want more. For sure.