Last spring, Valerie's boyfriend, Nick, started a school shooting, targeting all the people he and Valerie were upset with and wrote their name in "The Hate List." The only reason is stopped is Valerie but herself in the way of one of his victims. The story picks up in the fall, with Valerie finally coming back to the real world and going to school again. Valerie tries to get a normal life not just in her school life, but with her family life as well. Valerie spends the novel trying to figure out how to forgive herself, who she is now, and how to handle the pain she feels from the after effects of the shooting.
This book is primarily a character study on Valerie. Valerie goes through a range of emotions. She tries to handle her past memories of Nick, as well as her knowledge of the actions he has done. Valerie tries to see who she is know- can she befriend those who were in the shooting, how can she help her family trust her again. She spends a lot of time with her therapist, trying to figure out how to handle her life now.
If I were to teach this novel, I would use it in the early years of high school, possibly 8th grade. But, I would do it in an independent reading unit. Students can easily study character development, symbolism, and predication through this novel. I think some students would really cling to the character of Valerie, identifying with her and wanting to see her succeed. However, as this is a novel that deals with a school shooting, I don't believe all students feel they are comfortable reading this. I could see school administration possibly hearing about the novel and worrying, however the shooting has already happened before the novel starts and they consistently acknowledge that there are many after effects of an event like that.
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