Hate List

Hate List
By: Jennifer Brown

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

summary from book

My Rating: 5/5

There have been a handful of amazing reviews for Hate List. Almost everyone who has read/reviewed it has had nothing but great things to say about this book. Naturally, I had to find out for myself and am extremely happy that I did so. Hate List is everything that everyone made it out to be and more.

I love character driven novels. They are my absolute favourite. I felt so drawn into Valerie's world, so connected to everything that happened. I really cared about Valerie, as well as a handful of other characters. I love it when books take you to another level, make you feel things and capture your emotions, your thoughts and so on. I was drawn into this novel from the very beginning and not once, lost interest.

The premise surrounding Hate List is what ultimately captured my attention. I had never read anything that involved school shootings. Unfortunately, we hear about them far too often from the media, but aside from the absolute basics, we never really know much else. This novel, granted readers a look into the world of someone who had been involved to a certain extent and how it affected her personally, as well as everything around her. Hate List does not hold anything back which I really appreciated.

I highly recommend this gripping and honest book to everyone.