Customer Reviews

Hate List

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Gold Star Award Winner!

Valerie is alone. Her family tiptoes around her, her friends act like she doesn't exist, and most of the people in the community think she should be dead.

Valerie's boyfriend, the person she trusted more than anyone else, shattered her life when he brought a gun to school and wounded several students and killed many others, including himself. Most people believe Valerie was involved, but she had no idea what Nick was planning.

After spending weeks in the hospital recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound to the leg, Valerie is moved to the psychiatric ward for observation. Afterwards, during her many therapy sessions, she begins to think back on her relationship with Nick and all the events that led up to the terrible act that changed an entire community.

HATE LIST is an extremely powerful story. I was in tears for the last eighty pages and felt emotionally drained by the time I reached the last page. Jennifer Brown has given us a wonderful example of the importance of keeping a watchful eye out for bullying in our schools.

Valerie is a strong character and it was great to witness her healing process. Once I started HATE LIST I couldn't stop. I read every chance I could. Even though the subject matter is very serious, this book was a pleasure to read.

Thank you, Ms. Brown.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a terrific book on many levels. First, there is the main plot where Valerie Leftman struggles to come to terms with the fact that she was the girlfriend of a school shooter, Nick, whom she had unwittingly abetted in the shooting. This fact leaves her with mixed feelings of guilt and anger. She must also work out her feelings of love and compassion for this boy, whom Brown has painted as a real human being rather than a stereotypically bad individual. Brown artfully engages the reader to journey along with Valerie as she explores and comes to terms with her role in, and the consequential suffering from the shooting.

Secondly, this is a book about teenage angst and real high school tension that takes place in everyday circumstances. Additionally, Valerie has parents that have their own issues and shortcomings. Brown weaves a thread of pain through the family dynamics, as well as the high school dynamics that is realistic and insightful. This gives the reader insight into Valerie's anger as she and Nick create the Hate List as almost an inside joke.

Thirdly, this book is about a process of moving from mental anguish and mental instability to mental health through a few various factors. It takes a knowledgeable and caring therapist. It takes courage from Valerie to take many baby steps to work through the process. It takes persistence from Valerie to not give up when the process was so difficult that it seemed impossible. It also takes a change in focus from Valerie as she must not read too much into each encounter or conversation. Finally, it just takes time as she matures from adolescence into adulthood.

Brown captures these levels by intricately growing the reader's understanding of Valerie by moving easily back and forth in time from before the shooting to the results after the shooting. Readers can easily identify with the mental turmoil because Brown has captured the essence of high school relationships so common in adolescence.

I highly recommend this book to young adults, as well as adults of all ages. It especially gives hope to all who are struggling. I predict this will be a best seller.

I live in Montreal, where one of the most horrendous school shootings happened over a decade ago. I can tell you that we can still feel this event very deeply.

Reading The Hate List brought me right back to that horrible day when we found out that this madman had walked into a school and just starting shooting all the "feminists" who took his place at the school.

The Hate List is extremely well written and proof of this, in my opinion, is that I felt anger, resentment, fear and every other feeling I could on this topic. This is such a horrible subject matter and the author manages to write about it in a sensitive, yet true and frank way.

I don't know how I feel about the involvement of Valerie - even after finishing the book and interestingly enough, Valerie does not know how to feel either.

This book is a gut wrenching look at a mind gone and how society deals with the aftermath.

Hate List is probably one of the most complex and compelling stories ever written about pain and how simple words, thoughts, or gestures can turn into a unthinkable disaster. There's not many books that explore the power of hate and what it can do if you don't understand what you're dealing with. Take a disaster event for example. People become inhuman, and sadly, we test that everyday. If something terrible were to happen in your community, people start to blame. Blame turns into anger, anger turns into hate, etc.This is perfect example of that, and cuts even deeper with a message not only of consequences, but how family life can also shape a situation, or a persons thoughts and decisions.I can't say Hate List was an enjoyable book to read since it was about a shooting and other gloomy topics, but I definitely think teens should give it a try. This book contains a valuable message to teens about knowing what the difference between hating someone or thinking they hate someone. Things like that are dangerous, as Valerie learns the hard way. Don't let yourself use words like hate in a jk manner. Read Hate List and you'll see why.Overall, Brown did a stunning job on presenting an tough topic and following the main character through her family drama, pain, and extraordinary recovery.


Age Group: YA, ages 14+
Content: Graphic descriptions of shooting, some language, and other depressing situations
Recommend? Yes, for ages 14+

[...].

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick opened fire on their school cafeteria. Six were killed, many were injured, and a whole community changed in less then an hour. Val saves the life of a fellow classmate, but is still implicated in the shooting in the media. She helped make a list of things that Nick and her hated. The very list that Nick used to pick his targets.
After a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to go back to school for her senior year. She haunted by the memory of the boyfriend that she still loves. She also has to navigate the rocky relationship with her family, former friend, and the girl whose life she saved. Val must come to terms on what happened that day and make amends with those that she lost and those that are still there.
Valerie was an amazing strong character. She has a different personality then most people in that situation. I loved Jessica Campbell. It took a lot of courage to be friends with Valerie, but I think that she found that from being alive. The plot of Hate List is emotional. Full of anger, confusion, and at the end, hope. It was so hard to stop reading at points. Brown crafts an original novel. I liked how most chapters had a quote or a newspaper article in the front. Brown is amazing writer and someone to look for future books. I highly recommend this book, but be prepared to cry.

I wasn't entirely sure what to think about Hate List when I first picked it up all I knew was that all the buzz about it said that it was amazing. When I first started the book I was doubtful of this buzz because for me it started off a bit slow. But that slowness what short lived. Before I knew it I was staying up into the wee hours of the morning sheading tears as I rushed to finish this amazing book. Hate List deals with a subject that is sure to strike fear into the hearts of everyone who reads it. Its a book that immediately brings to mind images from other school shootings like Columbine and Virgina Tech. And its those images that help make this book so powerful. But Hate List isn't about the actual shooting its about what happens next. How do you move forward from the horrible events. How do you deal with the fall out? This is Valerie's story. She's returning to school after her boyfriend did the unthinkable and she has to face her role in the events that occurred on that fateful day.

Its a wonderful story about redemption and the journey of self discovery. Of learning to overcome some pretty serious issues & events and coming out stronger on the other side. I found all the characters to be believable and was lost in their stories. A few years ago I read Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, which is also about the after effects of a school shooting. It was a story that I really liked at the time despite its difficult subject matter. But when I compare that book to Hate List, it only seems to scratch the surface of emotions that such an event would bring. Brown has this powerful writing style that takes you to the heart of the matter. This was such a great book that if you haven't read it already then I strongly suggest you run to your nearest bookseller and pick up a copy. Its just that good.

Jennifer Brown's HATE LIST is about the aftermath of a school shooting, narrated by the shooter's girlfriend and loaded with questions. The characterizations in this YA novel are some of the best I've ever read in any book for kids or adults. The characters, their motivations, and their responses to that awful thing that happened in the Commons on May 2nd all feel so very true and real that I had to keep reminding myself I was reading a work of fiction.

This is a story about high school and bullying, about stepping too close to lines and crossing over them. And even though it's also the story of a community's worst nightmare, ultimately, it's also a story about hope. Highly recommended...with a special note for teachers & librarians that this will make one heck of a compelling book club/literature circles choice.

This was an excellent YA novel about the aftermath of a school shooting. The protagonist, Valerie, was the girlfriend of the shooter and has to live with the consequences of being known as his ally and as the co-author of the "hate list" that instigated the bloodshed. Was she involved? Did she know he was going to do this?

Valerie returns to high school the fall after the shootings. She is shunned and feared, but tries to continue on. She's been in therapy and she's working through the feelings she has about her boyfriend Nick -- the guy she loved vs the boy who shot her classmates. How did she not know that he was planning this?

This is a well done novel about the aftermath of school violence. How people adapt, change, come to terms with the senseless act. The reactions of enemies, friends, family -- it's all here. There are no pat answers and Valerie isn't magically cured. The violent act changes everyone.

Recommend!

I finished this book, with tears streaming down my face and wanting to hug the closest person to me. Unfortunately, the closest person to me was a guy sleeping on a bench with his headphones in. Either way Hate List is a heartbreaking book about acceptance, tolerance, bullying, and obviously hate. The book alternates between the day of the school shooting and what's going on with Valerie in the present, as she goes back to school. There are brief newsclippings thrown in that talk about all the students that were injured or killed during the shooting which give a great perspective and more insight into the characters.

It's not going to be difficult for anyone to relate to this book, whether you've been the victim of bullying or bullied someone else, Hate List shows a lot of different perspectives. Valerie, the protagonist, is such an emotional character, I constantly found myself wanting to jump into the book to defend her and hug her and protect her. She struggles with so many different people in her life, her parents, her teachers, her former friends. No one trusts her, I don't think she truly trusts herself. From what we learn about Nick, I can tell he's really not a bad kid. It's one of those situations where if someone just stopped and took the time to ask the right questions and see the right things, a huge tragedy could have been avoided.

I love the way Brown wrote this book, the language is so emotional, I was constantly wiping my eyes while reading. Sometimes they were happy tears, sometimes they were sad tears, and sometimes things were just so emotional I didn't know how else to deal with what I was reading. There's the perfect amount of dialogue and description for me, and for those of you who know me, you know I don't like long descriptive paragraphs that go on and on. Brown did a fabulous job of giving depth to all the characters, and I felt like I was back in high school again.

Hate List is a tragic, yet uplifting story about a school trying to mend itself in the wake of a terrible shooting. I don't think I've ever read something so gripping and yet so hopeful. I definitely recommend this one to anyone and everyone. Hate List showcases what can happen when bullying goes too far, and people's emotional instability goes unnoticed. Even those who are loved and cherished may have something to hide. Lovers of contemporary fiction and books about bullying will enjoy this one until the end.

"But in order to change reality you have to be willing to listen and to learn. And to hear. To actually hear" (J. Brown)

As an avid reader of adult fiction, I often find myself surprised when a young adolescent book grabs my attention...and holds on to it...Jennifer Brown's book "Hate List" does just that! The narrator, Valerie, takes readers on a journey of healing and discovery. Often times tragedy strikes without notice, and leaves in it an aftermath of puzzle pieces looking to be put back together. Valerie must now attempt to put the puzzle pieces of her life back together (with the help of others), after her boyfriend, Nick, goes on a shooting rampage at their high school, targeting people who at some point or another, ended up on the "hate list" they created together.

As Brown notes, hate is a part of our everyday life. This book explores what life is like on the outside of what people perceive as the "normal" stereotype. Characters here have real experiences and feelings that, unfortunately, we would all too often find in our everyday high school.

Why Read This???

Because every other day our daily news is covered by people who react and/or respond to their surroundings in a negative way...perhaps we should take the time to listen to why they were hurting in the first place, and actually hear what they are saying...this book is the beginning of that process.