13 Reasons Why does not shy away from difficult issues such as teen suicide and sexual assault. That is all by design, according to Jay Asher, the author of the book that serves as source material for the show. Asher spoke to Buzzfeed and pulled no punches when talking about why Hannah (played by Katherine Langford) doesn't object out loud by saying "no" during her rape scene . The author said that lack of clear verbal non-consent was a deliberate choice when he was writing the book and a deliberate choice by the filmmakers when making the show. "Because that’s what we always hear, right? ‘When a girl says no, she means no,'" Asher said. "But there are plenty of times when a girl’s afraid to say no for various reasons, and it doesn’t mean, ‘Oh, as long as they don’t say no, then everything’s fair game.’ You need to be a better person than that.”