Summary

This next chapter is a continuation of Hannah Baker’s story.  This chapter begins with Hannah in class, watching a boring documentary.  One would think that the whole class would be watching this movie, but the class is preoccupied with a paper that is being passed around the room.  This is a list titled “Freshman Class- Who’s Hot / Who’s Not.”  Hannah is noted to being on one side of the list, while her friend Jessica Davis is on the other side.  Hannah mentions how she does not care about being on the list; she knew that it was a joke.  However, she does care that this list causes many other things to happen, including all of Hannah’s other reasons that lead to her suicide.  Hannah also points out how she is only on the list because Jessica was on the “Not” side as a form of revenge and Alex needed someone to be opposite her.  Hannah was a perfect choice, due to her reputation as a result of what Justin did during Reason #1.

            Clay is now at Hannah’s old house (the first red star).  There, he remembers an accident that took place when an old man crashed into a senior from Clay and Hannah’s school.  This house was the old man’s house.

            Hannah often goes to the same drug store to buy candy bars.  In fact, Hannah goes to this drug store so often that the salesman there knows Hannah personally.  Hannah bumps into a boy at the drug store one day, after the list came out.  This boy grabbed Hannah in an inappropriate area.  Hannah blames the boy’s inappropriate behavior on the list.  Clay sees where all of this happens once he gets to the drug store (the second red star on the map).

Analysis

This chapter may not be as significant as the first chapter, but it does include a few important foreshadows.  The first foreshadowing is when Hannah mentions that Jessica Davis looks upset after reading the list and then she glares at Hannah.  After finding out why Jessica was upset, one wonders why Alex would want revenge upon Jessica.  The answer to this question would be revealed later in the novel.  Clay also discusses a car crash that happened one day.  This car crash will be revisited later in the story, during a different tape.  These two events are very important to the plot development throughout the rest of the book.

                This chapter is also important due to the introduction of the list, which impacts many different events.  The first such event is described during this chapter, when Hannah is mistreated by a boy at the drug store.  This boy would never have gone near Hannah if the list was not written.  Also, Clay, in this chapter, talks about how the list made him very interested in the girl under the “Best Lips” category.  Clay describes how he kept on playing spin the bottle until he could kiss this girl at one party.  Ever since the appearance of the list, he has been fascinated in this girl.  In addition, at the end of the novel, the list is mentioned again by the boy who mistreated Hannah at the drug store.  This same boy later rapes Hannah all due to his first encounter with Hannah.  This list also makes Hannah’s reputation worse than before, continuing the “snowball” that Hannah describes multiple times throughout the novel.  All of these events would have been avoided if the list was not written, making this list a very important part of the story.