Tags: YA, school shooting, tragedy, death, bullying
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Summary
Now, at the start of her senior year, Valerie’s leg is mostly healed, but her heart has most certainly not. She still misses Nick, who killed himself after that terrible morning, and those surrounding her still make her feel guilty about her supposed involvement with that day. What will it take for Valerie to heal and be free of her guilt—if that is even possible?
Review
HATE LIST has to be breaking new grounds in YA fiction: has there ever been a book about such a difficult subject? It is uncomfortable, heartbreaking…and yet ultimately hopeful.
The book jumps between that fateful spring morning and days following immediately, to the start of Valerie’s senior year, to various Valerie-and-Nick moments across high school. While the consistent changes in chronology may be unsettling at times, it does more to draw readers into Valerie’s past and mindset, helping us understand what, exactly, happened on May 2nd, her long-lasting connection to Nick even after the tragedy, and what she’s thinking now. Valerie herself may not be the most sympathetic protagonist around, even in her situation, but inevitably we accept her and all of her twisted thinking.
However, I wouldn’t say that this is one of my favorite books dealing with school shootings—Columbine by Dave Cullen does that better, I think—nor is it an easily believable portrayal of high school and adolescence in general. I guess I was expecting something that would delve more deeply into the psychological aftereffects of a school shooting on someone who was falsely implicated; however, HATE LIST deals with Valerie’s family and social issues much more than her psychological healing. That’s why I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Valerie’s psychologist, Dr. Hieler—one of the most interesting characters in the novel—because it allows us to access Valerie’s mind more than any other point in the novel.
It’s not a particularly mind-blowing novel—especially with underdeveloped supporting characters and a scatterbrained, free-spirited art teacher that just screams “amateur character cliché mistake!”—but HATE LIST will still be an interesting read for most people. It will be a great way to introduce the horrifying traumas of school shootings to younger readers who are not yet ready to read heavily researched true accounts of events such as Columbine.
Similar Authors
Sarah Dessen (Dreamland)
Amy Efaw (After)
Writing: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Want more? Oddly enough, it makes me want to read more about school shootings and adolescent bullying, so that I could try to understand more about it.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Cover discussion: 3.5 out of 5 - I really like it. It's so stark, different from most YA titles. This is a book I'd totally pick up and maybe even buy without knowing anything about it except the synopsis, title, and cover.
Little, Brown / Sept. 1, 2009
Thank you to Little, Brown for providing me with a copy for review!
This review brought to you by Traveling to Teens, which is managed by a whole slew of YA bloggers that include Yan and Alea. Be sure to check out the T2T Weebly site for more tour info!
Sounds a stunning topic, and might draw me in just out of curiosity. Though I would probably want something that looked more into the psychological aspects too. Great review.
ReplyDeleteOn Nov. 21, 2008, the Harris and Klebold parents were sent the same letter requesting cooperation. "Your stories have yet to be fully told, and I view your help as an issue of historical significance," it said. "In 10 years, there have been no major, mainstream books on Columbine. This will be the first, and it may be the only one." The letter came not from Mr. Cullen but from Jeff Kass, whose Columbine: A True Crime Story, published by the small Ghost Road Press, preceded Columbine by a couple of weeks.
ReplyDelete"Mr. Kass, whose tough account is made even sadder by the demise of The Rocky Mountain News in which his Columbine coverage appeared, has also delivered an intensive Columbine overview. Some of the issues he raises and information he digs up go unnoticed by Mr. Cullen." --Janet Maslin, New York Times
"A decade after the most dramatic school massacre in American history, Jeff Kass applies his considerable reporting talents to exploring the mystery of how two teens could have planned and carried out such gruesome acts without their own family and best friends knowing about it. Actually, there were important clues, but they were missed or downgraded both by those who knew the boys best and by public officials who came in contact with them. An engrossing and cautionary tale for everyone who cares about how to prevent kids from going bad." -----Ted Gest, President, Criminal Justice Journalists
GM Davis
Great review! I just bought this but probably won't get to it for awhile. I'm reading Tricks, Ellen Hopkins right now and I don't think Hate List would be a good book to read right after! I like how in depth your reviews are (without being too long), they're really helpful and interesting. No wonder you won best writing! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVED this book, and it'll be getting 5/5 from me. Oh, and I agree with you about the misplaced art teacher!
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Hate List last night, and I actually loved it. Yeah, it has issues--many of which you touched on--but it's been so long since a book touched me enough to make me cry. It was just so heartbreaking, but, ultimately, quite hopeful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review--I have one of my own planned shortly. :)
I was hoping that this would receive better rating from you but 305 is good enough ^^
ReplyDelete