Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Hate List by Jennifer Brown


The Hate list was just a joke, really. Valerie started it as a way to vent her frustrations when people hurt or disappointed her. She never expected anything to come of it. But that was before her boyfriend, Nick, brought a gun to school and started picking off people from the list. Now, even though Val stood between Nick and her worst enemy, even though she took a bullet to stop the shooting spree, some people are convinced that she helped Nick make his plan.

How had Valerie missed the signs? Shouldn't she have realized that all of Nick's talk of death wasn't just bravado? Was there something she could have said or done that would have prevented the shooting? Is she responsible, even though she didn't make the plan or buy the gun?

Hate List is an extremely well done exploration of human emotion. Valerie's feelings of confusion, fear, anger, and disappointment are as genuine as any in the real world. Her journey back to herself is an inspiring reminder never to give up, even when it seems the world has given up on you. This is a must-read.

Hate List is currently in production, and will be released on September 1, 2009.