Jay Asher Quotes & Sayings

Step-by-step. That's how we'll get through this. One foot in front of the other. — Jay Asher

Her words, they're not warm anymore. She might want me to hear them that way, but they're burning me up instead. In my mind. In my heart — Jay Asher

A flood of emotions rushes into me. Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope. — Jay Asher

The Golden Rule will always be good advice! — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

As the song goes, 'You are lost and gone forever, oh my darling, Valentine.'
[ ... ]
I'm listening to someone give up. Someone I knew. Someone I liked.
I'm listening. But still, I'm too late. — Jay Asher

But they were wrong. There was a reason. — Jay Asher

I simply wanted a kiss. I was a freshman girl who had never been kissed. Never. But I liked the boy, he liked me, and I was going to kiss him. That's the story, the whole story, right there. — Jay Asher

Page 148- But I did , Hannah. And I wanted to. I could have helped you. But when I tried, you pushed me away. I can almost hear Hannah's voice speaking my next thought for me. "Then why didn't you try harder?"
- I think this quote is so powerful. This entire book is based on the effort of trying for a loved one and I feel as if clay is feeling the entire impact of hannah's suicide. However, I feel like he's placing all the blame on himself rather than seeing that other people had faults in not trying hard enough for Hannah. I think that later on in the book this quote will be acted out in a sense that the mistake of him not trying hard enough for hannah will be acted on someone else.. maybe he'll try harder for someone else? Maybe Hannah made the tape, not to necessarily blame him for her suicide, but so in the future he will help someone rather than them killing themselves. — Jay Asher

The road to publication is like a churro - long and bumpy, but sweet. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

dont take me for granted again, your been watched - thirteen reasons why — Jay Asher

The wonderful thing about a yearbook photo is that everyone shares the moment with you . . . forever. — Jay Asher

Teens in the '90s had the same basic desires as they do now. — Jay Asher

Rejection always hurt, but having it come from my best friend was worst — Jay Asher

Josh will begin disappearing into a future where the only place he and I remain friends is on the Internet. — Jay Asher

You can't rewrite the past — Jay Asher

Will I ever get control of my life? Will I always be shoved back and pushed around by those I trust? — Jay Asher

I can't. You can't rewrite the past. — Jay Asher

I left. When I should have stayed. — Jay Asher

That girl had two chances. And both of us let her down. — Jay Asher

You have so little control over anything anymore. And at some point, the struggle becomes too much - too tiring - and you consider letting go. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

Betrayal. It's one of the worst feelings. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

A rumor started a reputation that other people believed in and reacted to. And sometimes a rumor has a snowball effect. A rumor, is just the beginning. — Jay Asher

And here he is again, yet things feel like they'll never be as easy between us as they once were. — Jay Asher

Good for her, I guess. Cody's a conceited dick, but whatever makes her happy. — Jay Asher

I didn't humiliate him by pointing it out because that's not how you treat friends. You don't judge them. You don't humiliate them. I bet he's been judging me all along. — Jay Asher

They were like two magnets who couldn't decide whether to attract or repel. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

Why does it say she has three hundred and twenty friends?" Josh asks. "Who has that many friends? — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life. Everything — Jay Asher

It's nothing. A school project. My go-to answer for anything. Staying out late? School project. Need extra money? School project. — Jay Asher

Let someone take away any sense of privacy or security you might still possess. Then have someone use that insecurity to satisfy their own twisted curiosity. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

Could be my soul mate / two kindred spirits / Maybe we're not / I guess we'll never / know — Jay Asher

One day, at least it seemed that fast, she just stopped wanting to be a part of anything. — Jay Asher

This was not a spurr-of-the-moment decision. Do not take me for granted ... again. — Jay Asher

Unlike old age or cancer, no one anticipates a suicide. — Jay Asher

He's always looking out windows,
contemplating something. — Jay Asher

I wonder if she means Graham. His locker is near mine, so I get to see him pull Emma into a groping session every morning.
It always fills me with so much joy. — Jay Asher

With her fingers running back up my arms, and all this sperm talk, things are getting a little too intense down below. I lean slightly forward, conveniently placing my forearms across my lap. — Jay Asher

See, I'm not a very good musician. — Jay Asher

Now, the truth is the one you won't forget. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

I tried getting my dad to buy me a beeper for my birthday," he says, "but he thinks only doctors and drug dealers need them. — Jay Asher

I pretended not to notice him. Not because I had anything against him, but because my heart and my trust were in the process of collapsing. And that collapse created a vacuum in my chest. Like every nerve in my body was withering in, pulling away from my fingers and toes. Pulling back and disappearing. — Jay Asher

We all know the sound a camera makes when it snaps a picture. Even some of the digitals do it for nostalgia's sake. — Jay Asher

Two steps behind her, I say her name. "Skye. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

My heart and my trust were in the process of collapsing. And that collapse created a vacuum in my chest. — Jay Asher

One little ripple started today could create a typhoon fifteen years from now. — Jay Asher

(Page 118) I explored alleys and hidden roads I never knew existed. I discovered neighborhoods entirely new to me. And finally ... I discovered I was sick of this town and everything in it.
-I think this quote is interesting because hannah always speaks about how unhappy she was, how she disiked some people, etc. but it took her journeys through neighborhoods, walks through alleys and hidden routes in order for her to truly see that she hated this town. I wonder why it took her that long. I know a big factor that contributed and essentially led her to her suicide was because of the people at her school.. However, I thought she'd find comfort in the town itself because she grew up there and spoke fondly of it.. It's surprising to find out she was actually sick of the town. — Jay Asher

After your visits, I twisted my blinds shut every night. I locked out the stars and I never saw lightning again. Each night, I simply turned out the lights and went to bed. — Jay Asher

I didn't feel physically sick. But mentally. My mind was twisting in so many ways. ( ... ) We once saw a documentary on migraines. One of the men interviewed used to fall on his knees and bang his head against the floor, over and over during attacks. This diverted the pain from deep inside his brain, where he couldn't reach it, to a pain outside that he had control over. — Jay Asher

Because what if I got to know you and you turned out to be just like they said? What if you weren't the person I hoped you were?
That, more than anything, would have hurt the most. — Jay Asher

Maybe it's not as important to you as it was for me, but that's not for you to decide. — Jay Asher

Right, but he also thinks every episode of Friends is life-changing. Josh — Jay Asher

No one know for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. — Jay Asher

Trust me, not every girl would give up his sweatshirt just because a girl asks. — Jay Asher

Expose yourself," they said. "Let us see your deepest and your darkest."
My deepest and my darkest? What are you, my gynecologist? — Jay Asher

Looking back, i stopped writting in my notebook when i stopped wanting to know myself anymore — Jay Asher

And in high school, people are always watching so there's always a reason to pose. — Jay Asher

Those are some strong currents you're swimming against. — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

I don't know exactly what it is, but it looks like interconnected websites where people show their photos and write about everything going on in their lives, like whether they found a parking spot or what they ate for breakfast."
"But why?" Josh asks. — Jay Asher

I take a slow sip of lukewarm coffee, reopen the book, and read the words scribbled in red ink near the top: Everyone needs an olly-olly-oxen-free. — Jay Asher

If you hear a song that makes you cry and you don't want to cry anymore, you don't listen to that song anymore. — Jay Asher

It was love because it was worth it. — Jay Asher

I was too weak to walk. At least, I thought I was too weak. But in truth, I was too weak to try. — Jay Asher

I wanted to tell you everything. And that hurt because some things were too scary. Some things even I didn't understand. How could I tell someone - someone I was really talking to for the first time - everything I was thinking? I couldn't. It was too soon. — Jay Asher

This time, for the first time, I saw the possibilities in giving up. I even found hope in it. — Jay Asher

After all, how often do we get a second chance? — Jay Asher

Nothing. It's ridiculous," he says. "I don't belong on those tapes. Hannah just wanted an excuse to kill herself." I — Jay Asher

Sometimes, there's no one around to tell you to be quiet... to be very, very quiet. Sometimes you need to be quiet when you're all alone. — Jay Asher

Don't give up on me now. I'm sorry. I guess that's an odd thing to say. Because isn't that what I'm doing? Giving up? — Jay Asher

And then we turn 18 and even though we never had an original thought we have to make the most important decission of our lives. — Jay Asher

Words too soft for me to hear at this distance. But in the end, the words reach me. — Jay Asher

One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. — Jay Asher

It's your heart. No one else gets a say in that. — Jay Asher

That is all that happened. Why did you hear something else? — Jay Asher

I waited a second. Should I?
No... but I will. — Jay Asher

Yes, there are major gaps in my story. Some parts I just couldn't figure out how to tell. Or couldn't bring myself to say out loud. Events I haven't come to grips with ... that I'll never come to grips with. And if I never have to say them out loud, then I never have to think them all the way trough. — Jay Asher

Whenever I'm out late she makes a sandwich for my school lunch. I always protest and tell her not to, saying I'll make my own when I get home. But she likes it. She says it reminds her of when I was younger and needed her. — Jay Asher

I was so anxious about what kind of kiss it would be-because my friends back home described so many types-and it turned out to be the beautiful kind. You didn't shove your tongue down my throat. You didn't grab my butt. We just held our lips together ... and kissed. — Jay Asher

And then ... well ... certain thoughts begin creeping around. Will I ever get control of my life? Will I always be shoved back and pushed around by those I trust? Will my life ever go where I want it to? — Jay Asher

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. — Jay Asher

When we were alone, it was so easy to talk to Hannah. It was so easy to laugh with her. But whenever people came around, I got shy. I backed off. I didn't know how to act anymore. — Jay Asher

With everything going on in my life-going on in my head-I wanted to talk with you. Really talk. Just once. A chance we never seemed to get at school. Or at work. A chance to ask, Who are you? — Jay Asher

Olly-olly-oxen-free — Jay Asher

And it feels strange, almost sad, to walk through ther empty halls. Each step I take sounds so lonely. — Jay Asher

I decided to find out how people at school might react if one of the students never came back. — Jay Asher

At the time, I just thought it might be fun. At the time, I was stupid. — Jay Asher

The name sounds almost too perfect. And as I said, you look perfect, too. The only thing left ... is to be perfect. — Jay Asher

When you try rescuing someone and discover they can't be reached, why would you ever throw that back in their face? — Jay Asher

I miss video games where the jump-kick was the trickiest combo to master. — Jay Asher

But whatever the reason, it felt surreal — Jay Asher

Because no, I didn't push her away. I didn't add to her pain or do anything to
hurt her. Instead, I left her alone in that room. The only person who might've been able to reach out and save her from herself. To pull her back from wherever she was heading.
I did what she asked and I left. When I should have stayed. — Jay Asher