Hate List

Brown, Jennifer. Hate List. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009.  

ISBN: 9780316041447, 408 pages, hardback $16.99.  Ages 14 and up.

#annotation

A novel exploring the aftermath of a high school shooting, told in contrasting flashbacks to news reports and current issues the shooter’s girlfriend struggles to deal with.

#review

 A high school mass shooting ends with killer Nick Levil's death, but his wounded girlfriend's survival, the aptly named Valeria Leftman.  She saved another, ironically an enemy, to end the shooting, yet her part in the terror is hard for herself and others to accept because her boyfriend targeted enemies the pair had identified on a “hate list.” As Valerie strives to heal physically and emotionally, re-entry into her former high school world proves challenging.  Can she navigate the complex emotions of survivor’s guilt, grief, and love, interwoven with the dynamics of her parents’ collapsing marriage, or will she be forever reviled by her family and former friends?

#awards:
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award
Louisiana Teen Readers Choice award
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
2012 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award
VOYA "Perfect Ten,"
YALSA 2012 Popular Paperback