Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.
Publishers Weekly
When Val and her boyfriend Nick write the names of the people who torment or annoy them in a notebook dubbed the “Hate List,” she has no idea that Nick will use it as a checklist the day he brings a gun to school, killing several people, including himself, and wounding many more. Brown's riveting debut initially cuts between the day of the shooting in May and the following September when school begins again, then focuses on the aftermath of the shooting and the rest of Val's senior year; newspaper clips are interspersed throughout. Val's guilt is explored in realistic scenes with a therapist; she helped write the list (“[it] started as a joke. A way to vent frustration”) but also stopped the shooting by taking a bullet for popular student Jessica, now Val's staunchest defender. Val's complicated relationship with her family, Jessica and the surviving victims, as well as how she comes to terms with Nick's betrayal, are piercingly real, and the shooting scenes wrenching. Her successes are hard-won and her setbacks, such as her father's inability to forgive her, painfully true to life. Ages 15–up. (Sept.)
VOYA - Matthew Weaver
Valerie returns to school after her boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on many of their classmates and a teacher before killing himself. It is a tough scenario for anyone to face, but the survivors view her with hatred and suspicion. In selecting his victims, Nick used the list they made in what she thought was a means of blowing off steam. It contained all the people who treated them badly. Valerie must contend with the gossip and glares at school and at home, as her parents freak at the slightest hint of adolescent angst. In addition, Valerie must reconcile the image of Nick as a monster with the tender, troubled, Shakespeare-loving boy who also loved her. How can she mourn him while dealing with what he did? This novel ought to be the last written about a fictional high school shooting because it is difficult to imagine any capable of handling it better. Brown deftly traverses highly controversial ground with a respectful touch that never veers into sensationalism. She never bends to stereotypes nor settles for easy answers. The finale is a pitch-perfect tribute to the people who died or bear scars from Nick's actions, but there is no satisfying conclusion, which is itself satisfying. Also noteworthy: for a therapist, Brown gives Valerie Dr. Rex Hieler, easily one of the best adult characters in YA literature. He provides an oasis of comfort for both the character and readers in a story that is as sensitive and honest as it is spellbinding. Reviewer: Matthew Weaver
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—At the end of their junior year, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend pulls a gun in the Commons, leaving six students and a teacher dead and many others wounded. Valerie is hit by a bullet in the leg trying to stop him, just before he ends his own life. Until that point, Valerie had no idea that the "hate list" that she and Nick created would be used to target victims in a vengeful shooting spree. For her, the list of tormentors was a way to ease the pain of being bullied and an outlet against the constant fighting between her parents. Although the police investigation reveals that Valerie had nothing to do with the actual shootings, many people in her community, including her parents, have a hard time believing that she is not at fault, too. With the help of a patient and insightful therapist, Valerie bravely returns to school after the summer to face the challenges before her. Told by Valerie in then-and-now chapters, with a few "excerpts" from local newspaper articles added for perspective, this is a startling, powerful, and poignant account of the incidents leading up to, immediately following, and continuing through the teen's senior year of realization and recovery. Valerie is stronger than she knows—a beautifully drawn character who has suffered pain, guilt, and incredible stress as she heals from the shooting, the loss of a troubled boyfriend she deeply loved, and difficult family circumstances. Readers drawn to Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why (Razorbill, 2007) and Brooke Taylor's Undone (Walker, 2008) will snap this novel up as well.—Diane P. Tuccillo, Poudre River Public Library District, Fort Collins, CO
Kirkus Reviews
She doesn't have the answers for why her boyfriend chose a May morning to kill six classmates and wound several others, but Valerie Leftman is one of the only people who can still remember the good in Nick Levil. As she builds her post-Nick identity during her senior year, Valerie forms an unlikely friendship with one of the shooting victims, explores art therapy and watches her family structure dissolve. Blending flashbacks, current events and newspaper articles together, Brown creates a compelling narrative that drives readers forward. Valerie's fractured relationships break along genuine stress lines, creating rich and realistic characters; the cathartic argument Valerie has with her brother and parents writhes with pent-up emotion. The author creates an appropriately complex narrative for the issues, though her attempts to address every single aspect lead to some simplified resolutions. Authentic and relevant, this debut is one to top the charts. (Fiction. YA)
From the Publisher
"[A] riveting debut." (starred review)—Publishers Weekly"Startling, powerful, and poignant." (starred review)—School Library Journal
"This novel ought to be the last written about a fictional high school shooting because it is difficult to imagine any capable of handling it better . . . A story that is as sensitive and honest as it is spellbinding." (starred review)—VOYA
"Authentic and relevant, this debut is one to top the charts."—Kirkus Reviews
Children's Literature - Maggie Chase
What if the boy you loved was capable of unspeakable horror? What does that say about your own judgment, and how do you defend your choices to your peers, your friends, your family, yourself? Valerie Leftman (an interesting last name) and her boyfriend Nick seem to have a lot in common. For example, they both feel rebuffed and scorned by their peers, so to make themselves feel better, they start a notebook of all the people they hate. For Valerie, it offers a kind of catharsis and is only a game. For Nick, it proves to be a list of people he would systematically target on the day he had finally had enough and enters the school with a gun. In a state of shock and disbelief, Valerie steps in front of a student and takes a shot intended for someone else. To some, she becomes a hero; to others, an even greater reviled outcast. While Valerie tries to come to grips with what happened with and to Nick, she struggles to find a place in a school where she feels so out of place. At the same time, her family is falling apart. The wreckage that Nick leaves behind is all-encompassing and seems insurmountable for this young protagonist. How Valerie copes with all that she has lost is the stuff of this fascinating and riveting debut novel. Reviewer: Maggie Chase
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