Review : The Hate List - Jennifer Brown

High School can be awful , children being picked on for simply being themselves and for some they can reach the pinnacle of abuse and fall into the category of not being able to cope and look for an escape, a way out. Some write their feelings down and wish that maybe it would all disappear one day. Wake up the next morning and it was just a dream rather than having to re-live it day in and day out. Then there are those who just don't care anymore and the bullying has turned them into negative creatures and they wake up and do something to get rid of that ugly feeling of bullying.
The Hate List is a tale of two students , one who put his feelings into action and the other she just wrote about it.

Review: The Hate List - Jennifer Brown - October 2010

We turn on television and we see what has become a popular trend but not in a positive way - high school massacres, however this book "The Hate List" main story may surround a student killing other students and a teacher. It's main focus is on the girlfriend of the killer and how a way of venting would soon become a reality -one that she wishes in a way she could take back. Meet students Val and her boyfriend Nick, they are the ones who because of what they are, how they dress and looked were picked on , the victims of bullying. As a joke or so Valerie thought like a slam book - ever seen the movie "Mean Girls", they created what was called "The Hate List" listing all the names of those who had done them wrong from calling them names etc. Her boyfriend Nick was heavily into Shakespeare and death but for Val it was a coping mechanism , a way to ease out her pain and frustration. So when Nick decides to put it to reality, he ends up killing 6 students, a teacher and himself as well as injuring many. As a survivor, Val is named an accessory but soon is let off the suspect list. The novel then begans to read as the aftermath of the massacre , Val's healing process and the consequences of what happened indirectly and directly to those involved. Of course, what happens after goes deeper than what anyone realised as we see a family divorce, another find love , a new friendship forged and an old one rescued and salvaged, an attempted suicide one which results in amazing things.

This novel is a must-read for all teenagers and high-schoolers , one that if the schools looked past the surface , I think should be added to the reading lists next to See Ya Simon and Pumpkinhead is Dead. It is so far my favourite read for 2011.