Traveling To Teens Tour: Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Summary:

At the sound of a shot everything can go askew and dark.

Five moths ago something terribly bad happened. Something that changed just about every ones lives at Valerie Leftman's high school.
You see, her boyfriend, the guy she loved with all her heart, opened fire on their school killing at least 8 people and injuring dozens. They say it was a hate crime based on a list ironically called " The Hate List" which was written by Nick- Valerie's boyfriend- and.... Valerie.

Now, it's been five moths, but people are still blaming her for what happened. Saying that she could have stopped it all, but she didn't. Though, others are saying she's a hero because in the middle of the shooting she jumped in front of Jessica, a fellow classmate, and saved her life in process of being shot herself.

Now there's a question in her fellow classmates heads and even Valerie's- Hero or Villain? All Valerie knows is it's going to be one hell of a senior year.

Review:

Wow, Wow, Wow. Yes, I know incredibly descriptive. Though, that's all that comes to mind after reading this book. To say it was amazing just would not be enough. Hate List basically needs it own word to describe how spectacular it was.

From the start you could get in Valiere Leftman's head, feeling the anger and guilt that took her over every day. I felt sorry for her numerous times because of how nobody would ever trust her again- even her own mother and father- just because her boyfriend was the shooter and she had helped write the list. Since, for one she had never knew that this was going to happen and that the Hate List was going to be used to pick the victims. All along, I was rooting for her family and ex friends to realize how lucky they were for her to still be alive, though sadly that moment never truly came. Also, other main characters such as Dr. Hieler, her therapist, and Jessica, the girl she saved, were presented in three dimensional way that made you enjoy reading about them.

The plot was one that was controversial and never appears much in YA which made in even more compelling to read. I loved how Jennifer switched between the day of the shooting-leading up to it and then the main showcase- and the present. Since, it gave you a basic understanding of what had happened. Also, the plot was know to have some twists and turns that made it a extremely fast read.

The main thing I took from reading this book that hate and bulling are never the answer to anything. Not just because of possible school shootings, but because of how much pain it causes the people who are being hated. How much effort it takes to just wake up in the morning to have someone call you bad nicknames or to pull pranks on you. Luckily, I've never been one to have the hate put on. Though, I've seen plenty of people doing it to others which makes this an even more important topic in high schools and colleges. I therefor want to make a goal to never pick on someone to an extreme and to try to stop it if I see it going on.

Overall, Hate List is a true gem, making it a must read for any teenager or adult. I look forward to reading more by Jennifer, because I expect more great things from her in the future. :)

Grade: A+

Hate List is now out!

This review was part of the Traveling To Teen Tours, to find out more about past and future tours as well as contests, visit the website.