Jay Asher

“Because it may seem like a small role now, but it matters. In the end, everything matters.”

“You can hear rumors. But you can't know them.”

“I can't. You can't rewrite the past.”

“Here's a tip. If you touch a girl, even as joke, and she pushes you off, leave... her... alone. Don't touch her. Anywhere! Just stop. Your touch does nothing but sicken her.”

“We all know the sound a camera makes when it snaps a picture. Even some of the digitals do it for nostalgia’s sake.”

“I want to look back. To look over my shoulder and see the Stop sign with huge reflective letters, pleading with Hannah. Stop!”

“Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get a grip on this town. It may seem that every time someone offers you a hand up, they just let go and you slip further down. But you must stop being so pessimistic, Hannah, and learn to trust those around you. So I do. One more time.”

“‎Because if I hadn't been so afraid of everyone else, I might have told Hannah that someone cared. And Hannah might still be alive.”

“There are some sick and twisted people out there, Alex – and maybe I’m one of them – but the point is, when you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it.”

“When you are done listening to all thirteen sides – because there are thirteen sides to every story – rewind the tapes, put them back in the box, and pass them on to whoever follows your little tale. And you, lucky number thirteen, you can take the tapes straight to hell. Depending on your religion, maybe I’ll see you there.”

“This was not a spurr-of-the-moment decision. Do not take me for granted... again.”

“If you're angry, you don't have to write a poem dealing with the cause of your anger. But it needs to be an angry poem. So go ahead... write one. I know you're at least a little bit angry with me.And when you're done with your poem, decipher it as if you'd just found it printed in a textbook and know absolutely nothing about its author. The results can be amazing...and scary. But it's always cheaper than a therapist.”

“I waited a second. Should I?No... but I will.”

“That's why you did it. You wanted your world to collapse around you. You wanted everything to get as dark as possible.”

“If time was a string connecting all of your stories, that party would be the point where everything knots up. And that knot keeps growing and growing, getting more and more tangled, dragging the rest of your stories into it.”

“He looks out into the empty street, allowing me to sit in his car and just miss her. To miss her each time I pull in a breath of air. To miss her with a heart that feels so cold by itself, but warm when thoughts of her flow through me.”

“If you could hear other people's thoughts, you'd overhear things that are true as well as things that are completely random. And you wouldn't know one from the other. It'd drive you insane. What's true? What's not? A million ideas, but what do they mean?”

“And in high school, people are always watching so there's always a reason to pose.”

“Because when you're posed, you know someone's watching. You put on your very best smile. You let your sweetest personality shine.”

“Nadie sabe con seguridad el impacto que tiene sobre la vida de los demás. A menudo no tenemos ni idea. Y aún así, hacemos las cosas exactamente igual.”

“It's hard to be disappointed when what you expected turns out to be true.”

“What you don't understand, you can make mean anything.”

“And like I said, I didn't know him very well, but my ears perked up whenever I heard his name. I guess I wanted to hear something - anything - juicy. Not because I wanted to spread gossip. I just couldn't believe someone could be that good.If he was actually that good... wonderful. Great! But it became a personal game of mine. How long could I go on hearing nothing but good things about Clay Jensen?Normally, when a person has a stellar image, another person's waiting in the wings to tear them apart. They're waiting for that one fatal flaw to expose itself.But not with Clay.”

“God, I am freaking out. Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe I just look guilty of something and he’s picking up on that.”

“And everyone knows you can’t disprove a rumor.”

“But I do know which is the least popular. The truth.”

“After all, how often do we get a second chance?”

“But I need to wake up somehow. Or maybe not. Maybe it’s best to get through the day half-asleep. Maybe that’s the only way to get through today.”

“You need to figure out what you want, Josh. If that means you need to swim against the tide to get it, at least youre aiming for something that could make you very happy.”

“History's a bitch when you're in the middle of it.”

“It was love because it was worth it.”

“Two steps behind her, I say her name. "Skye.”

“What the hell happened to Pluto?!”

“Hannah wasn't my first kiss, but the first kiss that mattered: the first kiss with someone who mattered.”

“and i walked for hours the mist growing thick and whole the thought of disappaering like that, so simply, made me so happy”

“And concentrating on the spot where the two spindles should be is the closest I get to looking Hannah's eyes as she tells my story.”

“Maybe it didn’t seem like a big deal to you Zach. But now, I hope you understand. My world was collapsing. I needed those notes. I needed any hope those notes might have offered. And you? You took that hope away. You decided I didn’t deserve to have it. ”

“Maybe you didn't know what people thought of you because they themselves didn't know what they thought of you. Maybe you didn't give us enough to go on, Hannah.”

“A lot of you cared, just not enough.”

“In the end....everything matters.”

“But you can't get away from yourself. You can't decide not to see yourself anymore. You can't decide to turn off the noise in your head.”

“Like driving along a bumpy road and losing control of the steering wheel, tossing you—just a tad—off the road. The wheels kick up some dirt, but you're able to pull it back. Yet no matter how hard you try to drive straight, something keeps jerking you to the side. You have so little control over anything anymore. And at some point, the struggle becomes too much—too tiring—and you consider letting go. Allowing tragedy... or whatever... to happen.”

“Justin, honey, you were my very first kiss. My very first hand to hold. But you were nothing more than an average guy. And I don't say that to be mean- I don't. There was just something about you that made me need to be your girlfriend to this day I don't know exactly what that was. But it was there.. and it was amazingly strong. -Thirteen Reasons Why”

“Normally when a person has a stellar image another person's waiting in the wings to tear them apart. They're waiting for that one fatal flaw to expose itself.”

“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.”

“My breathing begins to slow. The tension in my muscles starts to relax.Then, a click in the headphones. A slow breath of air.I open my eyes to bright moonlight.And Hannah, with warmth.Thank you.”

“Half of them kept repeating my name, trying to get it right, while the other half laughed.But they were harmless. Fun drunks make a nice addition to any party: Not looking to fight. Not looking to score. Just looking to get drunk and laugh.I remember those guys. Like the mascots of the party."Clay! Whatcha doon here? Bah-ha-ha-ha!”

“I don't know what's going on with you,' the man says from across the counter, 'but I'm not taking your money.' He blows into a straw and pinches both ends shut.I shake my head and reach back for my wallet. 'No, I'll pay.'He winds the straw tighter and tighter. 'I'm serious. It was only a milkshake. And like I said, I don't know what's going on, and I don't know how I can help, but something's clearly gone wrong in your life, so I want you to keep your money.' His eyes search mine, and I know he means it.I don't know what to say. Even if the words would come, my throat is so tight it won't let them escape.”

“Could be my soul mate / two kindred spirits / Maybe we're not / I guess we'll never / know”

“Watching those guys pummel each other so no one would suspect them of being weak was too much for me. Their reputations were more important than their faces.”