Hate List, or Hit List?

Hate List, or Hit List?

By Kristen O

Jennifer Brown is an author of young adult novels that are very well written and will keep you engaged throughout the whole read. Some of her other work includes Bitter End, Perfect Escape, Thousands Words, and Torn Away.

Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick,  and her were outcasts. Their black clothes and hostile personalities set them apart from everyone else. This caused them to get made fun of, and have a lot of people that they hated. Nick and Valerie made a list of things and people they hate and always talked about death. To Valerie, none of this was serious. Until one day when Nick opened fire on the school and himself. Could Valerie be a contributing factor to this crime? Everyone thinks so. This books takes you through the grueling experience of Valerie Leftman afterwards.

Brown's writing in this novel makes it a great read. She goes back and forth between the day of the crime, and afterwards when Valerie is getting accused of conspiring. The reader gets to know Nick even though he shoots himself, which gives them a better understanding of whether or not Valerie was really behind the crime. I liked how it showed both sides of the story. One thing I didn't enjoy was that they made Valerie out to be a very whiny girl that defended her massacring boyfriend. I couldn't quite decide whether I liked her and wanted to help her, or if she was actually guilty of helping Nick.

This book is worth seeking out if you are a young adult looking for a deep, meaningful story. It touches on a lot of issues that we are dealing with nowadays, like suicide, mental illness, violence and bullying.

Hate List, by Jennifer Brown, Little Brown Books, September 2009, 408 pages