Holy crap. This book got to me in so many ways. From the powerful story to Valerie's inner thoughts it completely pulled at me. If you want a book that will make you really feel something, this is it. It isn't too often a book affects me enough to make me cry but this one did- a huge compliment to the author.

The story itself is somewhat told in pieces with some chapters telling what happened on May 2, the day of the shooting, others talking about Valerie's summer where she tried to recover from the gunshot wound to her thigh, being involved and accused with the shooting, and getting over losing Nick, and still more telling her story of returning to school in the fall, facing the gauntlet of people who believe she is just as guilt as Nick. I really enjoyed the scattered layout of this book and never once did I find it choppy. It kept the intrigue going and everything correlated, also getting across the message that even as she's in school that next fall, she is still reliving that day and everything after.

Valerie was a very deep, very dimensional character. Yes, it was Nick who pulled the gun on people but Valerie began the Hate List- a spiral notebook where the couple wrote down anything and anyone that they hated. It started as a joke but at some point that Valerie didn't realize, Nick turned it into reality. From texts and emails to that book and conversations they had, everything that had to do with hating the world came back full force at Valerie. From a learning standpoint, it is a fantastic aspect of the book because many teenagers don't realize what an impact things they say and do can have later. On the flip side, I thought even the detectives were blowing it out of proportion because how many people say they hate something when they are mad? How many people wish bad things on others out of anger and frustration? That doesn't mean they will pull a gun and what an emphasis everyone put on that book really did bother me. It was an outlet- a way to vent- and I firmly believe that even without that book, Nick still would have brought a gun to school that day.

Nick was shown in different lights but the defining thing was how Valerie saw him- the boy she fell for and had been with for three years rather than the kid who shot up the school. That Nick was a stranger to her. She remembered the boy who could quote Hamlet, who read most of Shakespeare, and who slept on a mattress on the floor of his basement because that's the only room he had. He understood her on a level others didn't and they were best friends.

This is a book about bullying but cast in a somewhat different light. Nick was not a complete loner. He had a girlfriend and he had friends, even if they were the school losers and outcasts. But he was also bullied, as was his girlfriend. The fact that Valerie couldn't get through the morning bus ride without being tormented by one of the popular kids and had the nickname Sister Death because the populars didn't like the way she dressed was made clear throughout the book. Valerie was tormented- only she didn't act out like Nick did. Even Nick's friends didn't know the full extent of what Nick was feeling and thinking, making the point that you never really know and no matter how hard you look, sometimes it just isn't there to be seen.

As far as bad parents go, Valerie's just might win an award although they were very well written, came up often, and had depth to them as well. Her father was absolutely horrible in my opinion. Very fitting, I hated him. I could understand some of her mother's behaviors but her father was just something else- something very not good. This didn't just happen after the shooting either- it was already there but Valerie being an initial suspect in the shooting only made things worse. But what would you do when you knew your father hated you? That he blamed you and wouldn't forgive you? That isn't an easy place for any teenager to be but particularly one with Valerie's issues and experiences. To be honest, I kept waiting for Valerie to kill herself or run away because of how hard everything hit down on her but she didn't and I think that is phenomenal. Where many other teens would have given up, Valerie kept going which sends a strong message.

The ending was possibly as heartbreaking as the rest of the book but also comforting and provided closure. This is an ending that will stick with me just as much as the book as a whole. Jennifer Brown has shown her amazing writing ability, thrusting a rough subject into the spotlight and pulling in the reader. I felt every emotion Valerie did, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. If this is a book you can stomach, I recommend it. It has an amazing message about healing, bullying and blame. This is a review I am not even sure did it justice because of how strongly this book got into my mind and if you know me, you'll know what a compliment my final thought is. This book hit me as powerfully as 19 Minutes did and I won't be forgetting it.

Told entirely from Valerie's point of view Hate List is a powerful, emotional and turbulent ride through recovery. We watch as Valerie relives the events of early May when the person she loved most in the world perpetrated the crimes she though they were only pretending to plan. We watch as she struggles through therapy to try and put the pieces of her shattered life (at school and at home) back together in some small way. We watch as she fights to remain in school despite the loathing and persecution of surviving classmates.

Valerie is the picture of a scared yet powerfully strong young lady. Having survived the unimaginable she perseveres through therapy where we quickly learn that in the end, despite all of the negativity and judgement she is indeed a hero. She's shaped people's lives (some for the good some for the worse) in a way, again in the end, that allows her presence at Garvin to be be one of positivity and inspiration. Brown wrote this struggle evenly and with great realism -- allowing a certain cadre of characters to show their contempt for Valerie and her actions; to hold a grudge, while others embraced her heroism and worked diligently to help her understand that not only is she a good person but a person who stood in front of bullets and saved people's lives.

My adoration for Hate List exceeds my ability to formulate coherent speech to describe it. There is honestly not one thing wrong I can find with this story. Well I take that back there is maybe one thing, Valerie's father. By the end of the novel I wanted to jump into the pages and smack him upside the head. Despite this feeling I believe that Brown has crafted his characterization into a believably realistic picture of betrayal of the cruelest kind. His distrust and disbelief in Valerie is initially warranted but falls into the category of "be the adult in this relationship" or "put your big boy underpants on". Having said that, it is this relationship that made me feel the most emotion. Particularly given his hypocrisy related to responsibility for one's actions and trust worthiness. He really wasn't one to judge in this story.

The thing of it is that this issue only goes to show how everything in Valerie's life, both before and after the events with Nick at Garvin High occur, intertwines together to create the worst of circumstances. There is a strong foundation of dysfunction on which her reliance on Nick is built. Her shaky home life contributes to her virtual isolation at school and the ultimate creation of the hate list. Her dependence on Nick as her one good thing, her safe place pushes her life into complete disarray when he's no longer there and she has no one else to fill that void. It is in this aspect where we see the most change in Valerie as she slowly moves from that place of isolation to navigate back into living and breathing society. One of the best elements of the novel is showing how people's lives were completely changed by the events. Unsuspecting friends were made, forgiveness was given by some of those most harmed by Nick's actions, and ultimately the school and community were able to work through the healing process while including Valerie.

On that note, I have to say that I really liked that Brown didn't take the opportunity to make this story about gun control. Preaching to the reader about how things could change or how things are done wrong. There was no discussion of legalities or politics as it related to the issues of school violence and I appreciated the fact that this story was about the emotional aspects of such events.

I rarely rate a novel I read because of the subjectivity of it all but in the case of Hate List I'm going to step outside that general rule and give it five stars. It was one of the most phenomenal reads of the year and one that I'll likely go back to several times. Further, I would advocate that this book be included in every required reading list in every school system in the country. It delicately and realistically handles the issue of school violence but more importantly it handles the emotional aftermath with such dignity and grace that despite what a reader initially believes Valerie's role was in the shootings by the end they sympathize for her and root for her success as she struggles through.

As I end this review I strongly encourage (hell I'd demand if I thought it would work) to read this novel! Read it once, twice, three times. Read it then pass it on to everyone you know to read it. Stand up to your school boards and tell them to read it too! I think we'd be hard pressed to find a single person who would be sorry they had.

4 heart breaking stars.

Brown's "Hate List" immediately drew my attention with it's premise: the concept of a school shooting basing it's victims upon a hate list started by the shooter and his girlfriend. I knew it was going to be a grim story, but I hadn't braced myself for the beauty it would unveil between it's pages.

The reader follows the protagonist, Valerie, as she journey's from what she was before the shooting into a new skin - who she is after. Valerie and Nick, the shooter, had been dating for three years before Nick let loose his inner demons on the school, killing five students and one teacher. In the aftermath, Valerie is forced to deal with the blame that all of the city is laying on her. She is placed in the psych ward, under careful scrutiny from the police and then returns to the very same school her boyfriend wreaked havoc upon.

Brown did this with careful plotting. I felt that Valerie's acceptance back into the school (and her shunning as well) was spot on. My only critique's are the pacing and the late unveiling. At first, the pacing goes as follows: newspaper article, present day (end chapter); newspaper article, past scene (end chapter). If Brown had stuck to that mathematical equation of chaptering, I would have been content. Instead, somewhere in the middle of the book, it becomes a giant flash back and then we're thrown into the present again for the entirety of the book. For me, it felt a bit skewed and I felt like the careful methods she had been using before was just thrown out the window.

My second critique is the fact that quite a bit of the unveiling of characters and plot isn't revealed until close to the end. For example, the graveyard scene with Duce and the hospital scene with Ginny explain a helluva lot of the story that would have been beneficial to learn early. If Brown had kept to the present/past chapter method she was using before, this could have been exceptionally executed. I was a little sad to see this because it was on the verge of doing so much better. It makes the story a bit dry until the end.

Overall, I very much enjoyed "Hate List" and the ending had me in tears. Brown introduces some eccentric characters like Hieler and Bea to balance out the terrible home life that ensues for Valerie, as well as the hate and isolation she experiences from within herself. I was exceptionally glad to see Valerie realize that by creating the hate list with Nick in the first place, she was one of the biggest bullies of all - but this was barely glossed over. I do wish that they had dived deeper into her own part in the entire thing.

I recommend this book. To anyone and everyone. Read it now.

This review can be found at The Drifting Bookworm.

This is an extremely powerful novel, not about a school shooting, but about the shooters girlfriend, Valerie, coming to terms with the aftermath. Was she complicit? Was she responsible since the list was her idea? Did she see the signs? All around her everyone thinks the answers are "yes," even her parents. Even after the police clear her, Valerie isolates herself from her family and friends and doesn't defend or deny her involvement, so there is no reason for anyone to believe otherwise. Who wouldn't think that she was involved when she and Nick isolated themselves after years of bullying?

"Sometimes, in my world where parents hated one another and school was a battleground, it sucked to be me. Nick had been my escape. The one person who understood. It'd felt good to part of an "us," with the same thoughts, the same feelings, the same miseries." p. 36

Through Valeries reflections on the day of the shooting, her relationship with Nick and how they had grown farther apart before the shooting, and her sessions with therapist Dr. Hieler and art classes with Bea the eccentric artist, we gain insight into Valerie and watch her slowly recover and heal from the traumatic event. And when the student she saved the day of the shooting reaches out to her, Valerie must choose between living a life filled with grief and guilt or forgiving herself and moving on.

"I thought about this. In all the piecing together of what happened at school, it had never occurred to me to even ask myself why. The answer seemed so obvious - Nick hated those kids. And they hated him back. That's why. Hate. Punches in the chest. Nicknames. Laughs. Snide comments. Being shoved into the lockers when some idiot with an attitude walked by. They hated him and he hated them and somehow it ended up this way, with everyone gone." p.145

The character development in Hate List is amazing, through Brown's writing I came to...

~ despise Valerie's parents who gave her no support,

~ love Dr. Hieler for the adept way he was able to reach inside the mind of a teenager,

~ smile at the wise and unique words of Bea, the eccentric artist, and;

~ sympathize with Valerie for all the emotional pain she had to endure, not only at school but at home.

I won't spoil the ending, but it was a perfect way to end the story and a real tear jerker.

This is a book that covers an extremely important topic, bullying, the effects it can have on kids and how we never really know each other.

"I hated them all so much for what they were doing to Nick, to me, to us. But now, standing in the hallway outside Mrs. Stone's classroom, everything felt different. Standing in the hallway outside Mrs. Stone's room, Meghan wasn't so horrible. She was just another confused person trying to get it right. Just like me." p. 277

While the escalation to a school shooting is extremely rare, every day kids have to deal with bullying in and outside of school. These days there may be no escape for kids with the increase of cyber bullying. It is our responsibility as adults and educators to intervene and protect kids from bullying.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a terrific book on many levels. First, there is the main plot where Valerie Leftman struggles to come to terms with the fact that she was the girlfriend of a school shooter, Nick, whom she had unwittingly abetted in the shooting. This fact leaves her with mixed feelings of guilt and anger. She must also work out her feelings of love and compassion for this boy, whom Brown has painted as a real human being rather than a stereotypically bad individual. Brown artfully engages the reader to journey along with Valerie as she explores and comes to terms with her role in, and the consequential suffering from the shooting.

Secondly, this is a book about teenage angst and real high school tension that takes place in everyday circumstances. Additionally, Valerie has parents that have their own issues and shortcomings. Brown weaves a thread of pain through the family dynamics, as well as the high school dynamics that is realistic and insightful. This gives the reader insight into Valerie's anger as she and Nick create the Hate List as almost an inside joke.

Thirdly, this book is about a process of moving from mental anguish and mental instability to mental health through a few various factors. It takes a knowledgeable and caring therapist. It takes courage from Valerie to take many baby steps to work through the process. It takes persistence from Valerie to not give up when the process was so difficult that it seemed impossible. It also takes a change in focus from Valerie as she must not read too much into each encounter or conversation. Finally, it just takes time as she matures from adolescence into adulthood.

Brown captures these levels by intricately growing the reader's understanding of Valerie by moving easily back and forth in time from before the shooting to the results after the shooting. Readers can easily identify with the mental turmoil because Brown has captured the essence of high school relationships so common in adolescence.

I highly recommend this book to young adults, as well as adults of all ages. It especially gives hope to all who are struggling. I predict this will be a best seller.

I just finished this book today, and I have to say, I'm kind of on the fence about it. On the one hand, I think the author is clearly very skilled and brave-- this is a touchy subject, especially in the world we're living in today. There are some parts that are written elegantly, and some relationships that are handled extremely well. But there's something a little off that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's more an issue with the characters themselves than the way they're written-- the "bad" characters are truly scum. Maybe it's that the ending was a little bit too easy/tidy. I can't say for sure. It's definitely worth the few dollars I paid for it, but I can't say it wasn't an uncomfortable read at parts.

I am 17 and have read well over 250 books by now, and I do mean serious works of literature. When I was in middle school a book that got me through a really hard time was Its Kind of a Funny Story. Well I decided a few weeks ago that I would look into the genre and came across this book. It was a cool concept but I wasn't expecting much. I cried for the 5 hours it took me to read this book. And I was on a train for a lot of that time, so it obviously was pretty intense. What struck me most about this book though was Brown's characterization. Usually a book will show the progression of but a few characters. You will have maybe one or two characters you really root for. Brown did this with a couple dozen characters. She created life and personality for so many different characters while still putting the focus on the main character. I cannot stress how perfectly she wrote this book in terms of characterization. The progression in the story was incredible as well. The tragedy made me really put my own problems into perspective while also allowing me to rethink my own personal problems I have with others and even humanity as a whole. She brings you into the minds and problems of so many and makes you realize that everyone is human. I was even sympathetic for the shooter for a lot of the book. I can't even tell you how many people I have recommended this book to. Multiple teachers, family, friends... And now hopefully a new set of eyes on Amazon. I think everyone should read this book. I would say it should be a part of high school curriculum but unfortunately it is a little too dark and has some school 'inappropriate' references. Read this book, please. I feel like if everyone did, we would all be better people for it. I know I am. Thank you Jennifer Brown, this has helped me so much in a time I really needed it.

Valerie Leftman is trying to regain some semblance of normal life. But she's got some things holding her back. Her leg still hurts after she was hurt five months ago. She lost her boyfriend. Her friends aren't happy with her any more. Pretty much everyone hates her. Not even her parents are on her side. She used to have a hate list of people who teased her or her boyfriend, and they found out about it.

They found out about it when her boyfriend, Nick, opened fire inside their high school commons in a Columbine-style massacre before killing himself. Six people, including a popular teacher, died before Nick shot Valerie, wounding her in the leg, and killed himself. Now that the cops have cleared her, her parents and shrink are ready to send her back to the same school. And if her legs would do it, Valerie would gladly run in the opposite direction of that school and just keep going.

In alternating timeline sections, Brown's first novel goes deeply into Valerie's fear, guilt and hurt as she tries to heal. The inner wounds are, of course, hardest to deal with. She and Nick had some friends but were bullied by the popular kids. The morning of the shooting, one grabbed her MP3 player while she was listening to music on the bus and broke her player. Valerie has had enough. Nick reassures her and she feels much better. He heads toward Christy, the girl. Maybe he'll tell her off, Valerie thinks. Valerie is as shocked as anyone when Nick whips out a gun and shoots Christy. The horror of what is happening doesn't even register with her at first. She follows Nick until he shoots her. To some, Valerie looks like a hero for trying to stop him. To many others, she is just as guilty as he was. To none of them, the good Nick who loved music and spent many quiet hours with Valerie is mourned.

Even her parents are sources of more hurt. Her mother doesn't know when Valerie will go off the deep end again. Her father, who is rarely around, is disgusted with her. Her little brother appears to be supporting her but he's got hurts of his own as well.

Whether talking through how to deal with being hurt or how rare it is for bullies to recognize themselves and resolve to do better, whether it's debating how inept the social structure is in dealing with alienated kids who just want to be left alone or why parents are not perfect, HATE LIST is filled with moving scenarios. Even whether any healing that takes place feel authentic is a topic worth talking over.

And that's perhaps the best thing there is to HATE LIST. This is a book that does not force discussions, but rather encourages them. Talking -- and listening -- to each other has always been important. Bullying, alienation, mental illness, an atmosphere of hateful spite being accepted as normal all contribute to the kind of society where a disturbed young man puts a bullet through a congresswoman's brain and kills six people, and the kind of society where a 13-year-old girl is shot while sitting in a living room and the next night five houses are hit in drive-bys. All contribute to the kind of society where people puff up with pride while using firearm metaphors but deny what those words mean. All contribute to the kind of society where putting each other down on both scripted and "reality" television is lauded. All contribute to the kind of society where it's not quite clear whether words are meant to have meaning and are meant to be communicated back and forth, or whether words exist only to be thrown at others.

HATE LIST is a novel, but the events and feelings in it are real. It more than accomplishes what good fiction can do, which is to bring to life aspects of the human condition, allow the reader to explore being in someone else's shoes and provide a chance, without being preached at, to think and talk through what these events and feelings might mean in one's own life.

There is a comment from the author in the back of this book which states that while most would say that this is a book about a school shooting, for her it's about Valerie, it's Val's story. And, having just finished and still in tears, I read that and went 'no kidding!' because that's exactly how I felt about it. Yes, it starts off about the shooting, but within a couple of chapters it wasn't about that for me, it was about a girl who loved, who had something terrible happen to her, and is lost in a sea of confusion and desperately trying to find a way out, feeling unable to turn to anyone. I can relate to that, being lost in confusion. I felt so much for Valerie as she tried to deal with what happened, what it means for her, what is says about her and the role she played in it all.

There is no question this is a powerful, thought provoking, tear-jearker of a book. The descriptions, the power to the flashback scenes of the shooting itself actually made me flinch when the gun went off. I cried for Val as she realised what some people thought of her. I was proud of her as she took steps forward. I ached for her almost the whole way through the book. Val is far from perfect, but that just makes her all the more real. I like how she's so conflicted about events and herself; how she learns and grows through the book from her own views changing; the pressure and hurt from her broken family and the others in the school around her. Not to mention the therapist. I love all the adult involvement in this book! Not all of them are nice characters nor are they all trying to help Val, but they're there and play a very real role and add a presence so often wrongly missing from YA novels.

I found Hate List very hard to put down, and if not for certain issues, I think I'd have easily read it in a single day instead of two. It's paced perfectly, with such well drawn characters and descriptions of the mess of emotions and reactions that really got to me. I got kind of lost in Val's journey and I was sad to get to the end of it. But I do love where this story ends. I won't spoil it for those who've not read it, but I do love it. A heartfelt, powerful book. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed reading it, because with something dealing with such raw, broken emotions, so much pain, it's hard to enjoy it. But it is excellent reading, and I love it. I'm so glad I read this book, and I think it's one that could maybe help teens who are struggling, or parents of teens who a struggling. With bullying, family issues, life in general as much as anyone who has had to face such a tragedy. And it's certainly a book I'd highly recommend.

I couldn't put this book down. I think at some point we can all relate to Valerie. I cried at the end and was deeply touched. Thank you for writing this book.

Amokläufe an Schulen üben eine morbide Faszination auf mich aus. Das mag seltsam klingen, aber so ist es. Nicht die Tat an sich, nicht die Opfer, sondern die psychischen Prozesse, die dazu führen, dass es überhaupt so weit kommen kann, faszinieren mich. Ich möchte einfach verstehen, wie ein junger Mensch so tief in die Verzweiflung und in den Hass getrieben werden kann, dass er/sie keinen anderen Ausweg mehr sieht, als zu morden. Der lauten Tragödie, die SchülerInnen und LehrerInnen angetan wird, geht immer eine leise Tragödie voraus, die meist niemand bemerkt. Es gibt immer Anzeichen.

In „Hate List“ verschiebt die Autorin Jennifer Brown den Fokus von der Tat selbst auf das Danach. Was passiert mit denjenigen, die überleben?

Vor fünf Monaten hat ein einziger Schüler das Leben an der gesamten Garvin High für immer verändert: Nick Levil, der Shakespeare liebte und in all seinem Hass entschied, an diesem verhängnisvollen Tag im Mai in der Cafeteria das Feuer zu eröffnen. Er hinterließ Trauer, Schmerzen und die Liste. Die Liste, die Valeries Idee war und von der Nick seine Ziele aussuchte. Obwohl sie drei Jahre ein Paar waren, wusste Valerie nichts von Nicks furchtbaren Plänen. Sie war diejenige, die ihn aufhielt, einem Mädchen das Leben rettete und dafür selbst angeschossen wurde. Nick nahm sich das Leben – Valerie überlebte. Doch da die Liste eigentlich ihr gehörte, glaubt nicht nur die Polizei, dass sie in die Planung involviert war. Jetzt, fünf Monate später, muss sie sich dem Trümmerfeld stellen, das ihre große Liebe verursachte.

Ich empfehle euch, einen großen Becher Eis bereit zu stellen, wenn ihr „Hate List“ lesen möchtet. Dieses Buch ist so schmerzhaft, dass ihr einen Seelenschmeichler brauchen werdet. Ich habe es innerhalb eines Tages ausgelesen, weil es mich einfach nicht mehr losließ. Jennifer Brown schildert Valeries Kampf mit ihren eigenen Gefühlen und den Umständen unglaublich intensiv und sehr realistisch. Ich konnte mich hervorragend in sie hineinversetzen und baute eine starke, solide Verbindung zu ihr auf, sodass ich ihre widerstreitenden Emotionen verstehen und selbst spüren konnte. Brown lenkte meine Aufmerksamkeit auf das, was nach einem Amoklauf gern ausgeblendet und verteufelt wird: dass auch ein Amokläufer eine Familie hat und es Menschen gibt, die ihn lieben. So schrecklich Nicks Taten waren, Valerie kann ihre starken Gefühle für ihn nicht einfach ausschalten. Sie endeten nicht mit Nicks Morden, weil es für Val unmöglich ist, das Bild von ihrer großen Liebe mit dem Bild des Amokläufers in Einklang zu bringen. Der Nick, den sie noch immer liebt, hatte Hoffnungen, Träume, Pläne und eine Vergangenheit. Den Nick, der Amok lief, kannte sie nicht. Für sie sind es zwei völlig verschiedene Personen und es verletzt sie auf einer abstrakten Ebene, dass das ganze Land Nick zur Hölle wünscht. Natürlich ist es für sie auch nicht leicht, damit umzugehen, dass es Menschen gibt, die ihr die Schuld an der Tragödie geben und sich wünschen, dass sie sich ebenfalls erschossen hätte. Darunter sie selbst. Schreckliche Schuldgefühle plagen sie, weil sie nicht erkannte, welch düstere Gedanken Nick umtrieben und weil sie die Liste begann, die Nick offenbar dazu inspirierte, die Menschen zu erschießen, die ihnen beiden ihrer Meinung nach Unrecht taten. Während sie ihre furchtbaren Erlebnisse verarbeitet, beschäftigt sie sich viel mit der Frage, ob sie tief in ihrem Herzen wollte, dass diese Menschen sterben. Ob es mehr als nur eine Bewältigungstaktik für all ihre Wut war. Mir wurde dabei bewusst, wie leichtfertig Valerie vor dem Amoklauf mit dem Wort „Hass“ umging. Sie hat nie darüber nachgedacht, was die Aussage „Ich hasse dich“ wirklich bedeutet und verwendete sie viel zu schnell, um ihren Zorn auszudrücken. Wenn der Amoklauf neben Schmerz und Trauer noch einen weiteren Effekt hatte, dann den, dass zumindest einige der Überlebenden ihr Verhalten kritischer reflektieren. Das gilt für Val, aber auch für Jessica, diejenige, die Val vor einem tödlichen Schuss rettete. Vor diesem Tag im Mai war Jessica die typische verwöhnte Cheerleader-Zicke. Jetzt ist sie… anders. Immer noch sie selbst, aber eine bessere Version. Dass Val sie vor dem Tod bewahrte, änderte alles für sie. Ich mochte sie sehr, weil ich spüren konnte, wie sehr sie sich anstrengt, zu einem besseren Menschen zu werden. Sie reicht Val die Hand und hat großen Anteil daran, dass Val ins Leben zurück findet. Es ist schwer für sie, aber sie vergibt Val. Und sie vergibt auch Nick.

Nach so einer Tragödie brauchen die Wunden lange, um zu heilen, selbst wenn oberflächlich erneut Normalität herrscht. Doch Zeit und der unbedingte Wille, zu leben, können helfen, aus Chaos, Wut und Schmerz etwas zu erschaffen, das größer und besser ist als je zuvor. Weil eine Tragödie auch immer daran erinnert, wie kostbar das Leben ist. Vergebung ist wohl eine der schwierigsten Herausforderungen überhaupt. Wenn wir nur genauso leicht von Vergebung wie von Hass sprechen würden. Doch Valerie findet sie. Auch in dem Menschen, von dem sie es am wenigsten erwartete: sich selbst.

Ich finde „Hate List“ großartig. Traurig, tragisch und düster, aber auch hoffnungsvoll, mutig und stark. Ähnlich wie die Personen, die es behandelt, ist es auf der emotionalen Ebene sehr komplex. Jennifer Brown erinnert uns daran, dass selbst ein Amokläufer gute Eigenschaften haben kann und kein Mensch eindimensional ist. Es ist ein Buch, das Gänsehaut verursacht. Es ist ein Buch, das kräftig auf die Tränendrüse drückt, ohne es zu wollen. Einfach, indem es genau das zeigt, was das Leben außergewöhnlich und kompliziert zugleich macht: Gefühle. Rohe, ungefilterte Gefühle, die atemberaubend schön und unglaublich hässlich sein können. Freude, Schuld, Reue, Liebe, Schmerz, Hoffnung, Verlust – was Val fühlt, werdet auch ihr fühlen, wenn ihr euch auf „Hate List“ einlasst. Eine Achterbahn der Emotionen, die nach einem Becher Eis verlangt.

I HIGHLY recommend this book if you are looking for some intense reading and something that makes you think. Because when you finish this book you'll think a lot.

Basically I had seen this book all over the internet, but because it hasn't been translated yet into my mother language I decided to read in English as my level of knowledge is pretty good, and even though I was afraid I was going to miss some things because of the vocabulary I found this book to be easy to read if you are not used in reading in English.

The characters are all very powerful, and the price for this book is well worth it. If you haven't read it yet, I don't know what you're waiting for. I also recommend you not reading a lot of things about the story. Getting to know the characters by yourself makes the experience even ten times better.

The book had an interesting concept but the characters seem rather bland? Trying to glorify events, the way it was written made the characters seem very selfish and making a certain character ‘good’ even though they did horrible unforgivable things? I had very mixed feelings about this book.