Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a disturbing premise that is really about hope, healing, and tolerance. Valarie's boyfriend walked into school one day and opened fire on students and teachers. He killed 6, injured many, and permanently scarred the entire town. Valarie saw him aiming at the head cheerleader, a girl she personally despised who picked on her and called her "Sister Death". Despite hating the cheerleader, Valarie stepped between her and Nick, who was wielding the gun. He shot her in the leg. Nick then turned the gun on himself and ended the day none of them would forget.
Despite the fact that Valarie ended the massacre, the Hate List she and Nick created led many to think she was as guilty as he was. The book picks up in the September of the following year with Valarie returning to school. She is scared, still grieving the loss of a boyfriend she loved who is spoken of with disgust by the entire country, and not necessarily wanted back at the school by teachers and students alike. Even her parents aren't sure what to think about Valarie.
This book reaches new levels of a terrifying experience. Yet, it does so with the ability to look beyond the death and destruction and view the future beyond such an experience. While this is certainly mature material, the author delivers the story in a way for the young adult genre to be a perfect venue- children have to consider the consequences of their actions. I have read many books on this topic, but this one was the first to consider the unwilling participant- a young girl who loved her boyfriend and didn't know him as well as she thought he did. It also explores the root of the problem with bullying and tormenting that takes place in every high school in America. But if so many are bullied, what would lead someone to this extreme? As adults, why can't we stop the bullying? As humans, why do we feel the need to humiliate and dominate others? This book is a great way to question the unquestionable.
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