Hate List by Jennifer Brown--Traveling to Teens Tour :)

Rating: 4/5
Age R: 13+ for violence
Release Date: September 1, 2009
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.
Thoughts:
Get ready for a great read! If you've read the synopsis, you know this book will have violence and will be about a school schooting. Thing is, it's not just about that. It does not have gruesomely detailed violence that will make you feel sick, so for those of you with sensitive tummies, you'll most likely be able to handle this one. This book is mostly about the girlfriend (Valerie) of the shooter (Nick) and her maybe life afterward. I say maybe life because it's as if her life is falling apart. How could it not? The guy she loved is now dead after having killed people they both hated. People she put on a list.
The author takes us through an extremely emotional ride. I'll be honest, I was brought to tears around pg. 300. So beware. The shootings are descrbied through newspaper articles (you'll HATE the author of those articles). No, I did not cry when I read those. Instead I cried for the main chick, Val. I didn't cry like a baby (I am a wuss though, just not a crying one) but tears came out. Only about four came out, but still. If you know me, you know I hate crying and don't really cry with books, movies, and such, I do feel like crying, but I hold it in. Now you know how emotional this book is to have managed to make even me cry.
As you read it you will feeling like you're riding this emotional rollercoaster along with Val especially because of all the things and people she has to deal with. Her mom was especially making me feel like crying everytime she opened her mouth. Sheesh. I was not a big fan of some parts of the story, but what I absolutely loved was that it was well writen and made me feel like I knew this girl and felt what she felt. I don't but I have to say, that's powerful writing right there.
I didn't love this book but I really, really liked it. Some characters annoyed me when they weren't supposed to annoy me and I wanted to learn a LOT more about Nick. I get that it's not his story, but he's part of it and I was so dang curious to know more about him, why he "snapped" and about Jeremy. There are a handful of questions left unanswered and that irked me. Another thing I did not fancy (I love that word!) was that my favorite character Bea was not super well developed which really sucked. I loved how crazy awesome she was yet, she did not come out on the book as often as I hoped. She should have a whole book to herself, that's how much I loved her. :)

Quote/s:
"We get to win sometimes too"

'One's my favorite number,' Bea giggled. 'The word won being the past tense of win, and we can all say at the end of the day that we've won once again, can't we? Some days making it to the end of the day is quite the victory.'

YOU WILL ENJOY READING THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE/ARE INTERESTED IN:
-sad books
-emotional reads
-school shootings
-CSI (TV show)
-Criminal Minds (TV show)
-the "I don't like Mondays" girl from the real life school shooting