HATE LIST
JENNIFER BROWN
YA contemporary
Little, Brown
ISBN# 9780316041454
408 pages
$8.99
Paperback available now
Rating: 5 Enchantments
Valerie Leftman didn’t mean for anyone to die. Her hate list was her way of venting back at those who bullied her. Her boyfriend Nick though had other plans. Five months ago, Nick opened fire at their high school killing and wounding people. Valerie never thought he’d actually use the hate list. In her attempt to stop him, she’s shot in the leg protecting one of those she hated.
Now the town can’t make out if Valerie is a villain or hero. She decides to go back to school to confront those who did survive. Valerie must come to terms on what happened that tragic day in order to make amends and move on with her life.
Wow. One image kept coming to me when I read Valerie’s tale. My sister’s funeral. Her ex boyfriend murdered her then turned the gun on himself. At the funeral the father of the guy who killed my sister showed up. I was furious. How dare he? But my mother taught me a lesson. She told me the father didn’t pull the trigger and that he was hurting too as he lost a son. That same feeling came back to me when reading HATE LIST. Valerie’s emotions and struggles are shown in such an intense and powerful way. Also she shows us the Nick she loved so he’s not such a monster. That’s one thing I love about this story. It would be so easy to just dwell on the graphic horror of the shooting and show Nick as a crazy monster. Instead the author gives us characters that are fleshed out and have us care.
The writing is powerful and gripping. Life isn’t all roses when Val shows back up at school. Her own family has issues too with her part of the tragedy like her father who believes she’s at fault too. There are others like the girl Valerie saved who go out of her way to be friends though others around her ridicule and just hope Val disappears. The ending of this book had me in tears when Val and her friend go to all those who were affected by the shooting. Haunting and riveting, this is one tale that really stays with you.
Jennifer Brown writes and lives in Kansas City, Missouri with her husband and three children. She’s also a columnist for the Kansas City Star. Read more about her at www.jenniferbrownya.com
Kim Baccellia
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
December 2010
Aww that review was really touching :) i loved it! i should definitely check out this book.
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Rabiah @ Confessions of a Readaholic