A review by theamytivillelibrary
Hate List by Jennifer Brown

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I went into this one thinking it was about a school shooting and it was, but it wasn’t really what the whole story was about. 

In this story we follow Valerie who was the girlfriend of the perpetrator and kibdasortamaybe a co-conspirator in the crime as she was involved with the composing of the hate list. We follow her as she deals with the fallout of the incident and we hear from her POV the process of guilt and grief that she’s experiencing as she returns to the school to complete her senior year. We are also there as she spends time in therapy trying to come to terms with her role in the incident, her troubled family life and her grief over the loss of her boyfriend and fellow outcast, Nick. 

I feel like this is a pretty accurate depiction of what a young person may go through in a situation such as this. Valerie isn’t always likable and at times her attitude is almost frustrating, but I found myself rooting for her. Her family life alone was a mess (her father was a real piece of work). What I found to be a bit far fetched was the unlikely and way too quick friendship between her and one of her classmates and her relationship with her therapist (don’t worry, it’s nothing inappropriate). I felt those things were possibly the most unbelievable things about the story. 

This one is more of a character study that had me thinking about what I would do if I was in a similar situation as pretty much any of the characters and that added to my enjoyment of my time with this one. 
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