Flight into Fantasy

Title: Hate List
Author: Jennifer Brown
Genre: Contemporary YA fiction
Source: Bookshare
Reason for Reading: I am apparently much more interested in contemporary issues books when they’re YA. And this book got hyped all over the place, so I decided I’d give it a go.

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts: First off, I didn’t know that Jennifer Brown is a somewhat local author. Apparently, she writes a column for the Kansas City Star. And, having learned this about her, I will probably spend more time than is healthy browsing the Star’s online archives to read her work. That’s neither here nor there, though, since this is a review of her novel.

To be honest, Hate List was a bit of a slow starter for me. I was intrigued by the idea of reading about a character as complex as Valerie Leftman, but I wasn’t actually sure I could manage it. What if I didn’t like her? What if, like her family and most of the people around her, I thought she was pretty much guilty by association?

Thankfully, after the first couple of chapters, I got quite into Valerie’s story. She’s one of the more complex characters I’ve read about recently, and, after some time to warm up to her, I realized she worked for me. She’s very confused about what happened that May day when her boyfriend shot up the school. She blames herself for what happened, and she’s pretty much starting the book just wanting to finish out the school year as quietly as possible. Of course, that’s not what happens, because she just can’t. Not with an event like a school shooting.

Because she’s such a complex character, and because the issues she goes through aren’t pat and easily solved, Ms. Brown doesn’t provide Valerie with easy answers. Even at the end, it’s clear that she still has to come to terms with her future, but the experiences of the novel have made her stronger. I appreciated that Brown chose to go that route, since otherwise I don’t think I’d have found Valerie’s story as believable.

In addition to Valerie, the rest of the characters are multi-demensional as well. Valerie’s parents, in particular, are drawn with a depth I don’t often see in young adult fiction. Nick, too, though he did shoot several people in Valerie’s high school, is also portrayed with enough sympathy that the reader can see what Valerie saw in him.

The emotions in this book felt very genuine. Each person deals with what happened the day Nick shot up the school commons in different ways. There were moments I was cheering for Valerie as she dealt with the minefields of other people’s experiences with the tragedy. There were other moments, particularly a few harrowing scenes between Valerie and her dad, where I wanted to hug her. There were also bits where I was angry with her. The fact that Ms. Brown successfully played with my emotions and I never felt manipulated is definitely a point in the book’s favor.

This book also reminded me of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, what with both stories featuring deeply troubled heroines in difficult situations who cope with life through art. I read Speak with clenched teeth, wondering why I was supposed to empathize with such a self-absorbed brat. (I’m aware I’m the only person in the history of the Internet who felt that way. Please don’t stone me.) Obviously, I liked The Hate List much better. The book also reminds me of Lionel Schriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is a book I never did review but which I read last year, which also discusses school shootings. Brown’s story isn’t as intense as Schriver’s, but at least I walked away from Hate List thinking the heroine would be OK, something I couldn’t say for Schriver’s heroine.

Final Thoughts: Ms. Brown’s debut was complex and dark and fascinating. I didn’t love it, because it didn’t speak to me on a completely visceral level, but I definitely appreciated the solid writing, and the complexity of the characters and the situation. If you, like me, like your contemporary YA complex and gritty, this is definitely a must-read.

Final Grade: B

Other Opinions

• Presenting Lenore

• Karen’s Book Nook
• YA Book Central
• My Friend Amy
• Galley Smith