Customer Reviews

Haters

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have read all of this author's books and feel she is a talented writer, but I was very disappointed in this particular book. The plot was predictable and the ending cliche, almost not believable. I prefer stories and endings a little more like real life, which is not necessarily happily ever after for every character.

We honestly thought that a 9th grader wrote this book. After discussing it, the best thing my daughter could say about it is that it was an "easy" read. I saw no real depth of characters beyond the trendy Latino stereotypes, with predictable, cliched twists. Big yawns all around.

As a student at Aliso, I am extremely offended by Rodriguez's portrayal of the school. The slander incited by the "novel" is inconsiderate and considerably damaging. Although this book may be a work of fiction, the abuse it brings upon ANHS' reputation is very much a reality. Such abuses only demonstrate a lack of moral responsibility and integrity on the author's part-- both of which are fundamental to a decent novel.

I'd like to let everyone who is reading these reviews know that Aliso Niguel High School is a REAL school, and I am currently attending it. Our school is in NO WAY like how it is portrayed in the book. There are no definite popular kids or unpopular kids, and the "rich kids" don't beat up the "poor kids". I find this book offensive to my school, my friends, and my teachers. Don't give this woman money for this book!!!!! IT'S A WASTE! The writing is terrible too.

Haters is the first young adult book by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez, but anyone who reads it, can't put it down! In this novel, the readers are introduced to 16-year old Paski (Pasquala Rumalda Quintana de Archuleta). She is from New Mexico, but then later moves to Orange County, California. Paski misses her old home of Taos, being able to mountain bike all of the time, her friends, even her psychic grandmother( whose talents she has inherited), but maybe the O.C. isn't all just so bad. After all there's outrageously hot Chris Cabrera there. It's not like Paski doesn't make friends. She makes friends with a girl named Tina who has a weird obsession with anthropology.
Things are much different for Paski at her new school, Aliso Niguel High. Certain things are very important there, such as money and looks. The beautiful and rich( and quite evil), Jessica Nguyen has both. She and her friends called the Haters are a little threatened by Paski, who is just as pretty as they are. First they pick on her and call her the apartment girl, but then they later find out that her dad is going to be really well paid for the movie that he is animating. Paski has what it takes to get to the top with all of the Haters, but is that where she wants to be?
Haters was a very humorous and entertaining book that I just couldn't set down! I'm sure there are a million other books about rich, popular teenagers, but I'm sure that this is the best one. Alisa Valdes Rodriguez tells this story in a young and fresh voice that will have you wanting more. I do hope that Alisa Valdes Rodriguez has more interesting ideas like this one in that brilliant brain of hers.

Visions and dreams mixed with Motocross queens stir up allot of drama in Orange County. Sixteen year old, Paski is forced to move to California from Taos, New Mexico with her father when he gets a new job producing his cartoon "SquegeeMan". This makes Paski upset because she would be leaving her two best friends Emily and Janet and her Grandmother. Her grandmother has a sort of psychic power that was passed down to Paski and now she has visions of things that actually come true. At her new school, Aliso Niguel High School there is a group called the Haters, they consist of Jessica, the leader, and two other girls Brianna and Haley. Jessica is a motocross racer and while Paski is covering one of her races for the school newspaper, she has a vision that she will wipe out and get hurt. Paski tries to warn her by she ignores her and ends up getting seriously injured. Jessica then tries to sabotage Lori, the girl who has to take her spot in the nationals, by loosening the bolts on her motorcycle. Paski hears the news and tells Chris, her boyfriend(who is also coincidentally Jessica's ex-boyfriend) to warn her. When he does they get in trouble for the plot and Chris suggests Jessica as the next replacement. In the race Jessica does an amazing job and wins! I would recommend this book to teenage girls who enjoy realistic fiction genre books because it dealt with moving to a new school, meeting new people, and life's general up's and downs.

Haters was a great book because it had elements that many different people could relate to. The book was partially about Paski learning how to ride a motorcycle because she had been riding a bike for all of her life back in Taos and until Chris suggested it, she had never tried it. And that her mother was also not in her life because when she was ten years old she left Paski and her dad. Also many people can relate to having to move and adapt to a new environment like she did because Orange Country was very different than Taos.

I also liked the fast that the author did not make all of the people in the book dislike her like the classic "new school" stories. People actually liked her in the beginning, such as Chris, the moment that he saw her they because good friends and were attracted to each other. Then Tina, a girl who was assigned as her peer mentor, ended up becoming close friends with her. And even one of the girls in the Haters group, Haley, goes shopping with her and treats her like she is one of them.

Paski's life also changed a lot when she moved to Orange Country. Not only do they move into a nicer apartment, but her Dad begins to give her money to go shopping with and trust her more, which is something he rarely did. They also live next door to Keoni and Kerani and their mother, who Paski's father falls deeply in love with. And overall her and her father become closer than before and she actually has gets a true mother type of figure in her life for the first time.

People who enjoy books that deal with real life situations and high school drama will enjoy this book. It is well written and full of details that allow you to feel as if you are actually in the story. It gave you insight on each character so that you really got to know them in three hundred or so pages. Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is an excellent book!

- N. Brooks

I am an adult who works with teen youth, so I read a lot of youth fiction. This book was mediocre. Parts of it I enjoyed, but other parts were so cliche and over-the-top it was ridiculous. I actually listened to the audiobook, and as another reviewer commented, Flora Diaz does a great job narrating (although I did think most of her character voices sounded the same, and often a little dumb/clueless). Oddly, on the audiobook description, it said nothing about Paski's psychic visions, but only referenced her "instincts," which is quite distinct. So, I wasn't anticipating the vision power a la "That's So Raven". Jessica (the bad girl) was so controlling and unrealistic, and the description of her home included curtains with gold embroidered profiles of herself (please). Overall, if you're looking for an easy read, this book is ok, but I won't be purchasing a copy for my youth library.

I bought this book just because I've really enjoyed all of Alisa Valdes Rodgriguez'books. While for my age now (30 something) the plot was unrealtable, I found myself still entertained and rooting for my girl Paski. It took me back to an age I hadn't revisted in a while. Also, unlike alot of books, magazines, or other forms of communication geared to younger audiences these days, the book was not vulgar or in way inappropriate. I've recommended to my girlfriends for their daughters to read.

This book was so cliched that it's not funny. The main character, Paski, is such a big bee-yatch. She is one of the rudest characters I've ever read about. She's evil to her dad who just wants to be on her level. She whines about every little thing. I seriously wanted to give her a good slap to make her shut up. And the characters besides her? No personality whatsoever.
Brianna's stupid, Haley is too cheery, Jessica is so evil, it was all so unrealistic. I had to force myself to read this because it did have some interesting parts. But the language looked like it was written by a wannabe teenager. *Shudder* And I'm not being mean, I'm just telling it like it is. Don't get me wrong, other than the trying-too-hard parts, the book was pretty good. Ms. Valdes is a good writer.

17 year old Paski lives a comfortable life in New Mexico until her father gets a job in California. The move is hard on Paski, who must say goodbye to her mystical grandmother, her best friends and a boy she has a fierce crush on. Paski's acerbic wit and eye for humorous details helps her cope with the challenge of being a new girl at the local High School. The backdrop to life as a transplant to California is Paski's immerging talents as a "seer" or medium. This is author Valdes-Rodriguez's first young adult novel, and she masterfully portrays what it is like to be a teenage girl. Paski is an intensely believable character - plucky and smart despite having an absent mother.

Narrator Flora Diaz skillfully captures the sarcastic yet still lovable tone of Paski. Diaz manages to voice the character as sardonic yet never malicious or mean. Diaz sounds just like a teenager (even adopting an upward inflection to the end of her sentences), and teen listeners will find her performance both believable and charming. As voiced by Diaz one can almost see Paski rolling her eyeballs or biting her tongue as she notices all the funny details of her unconventional life. Teen listeners will find the audiobook version of Haters enjoyable due to Diaz's stellar performance.