ParentsPick

Hate List — Content Guide for Parents

By Jennifer BrownLittle, Brown Books for Young ReadersISBN 9780316556781528 pages
Hate List

Found in this book

  • ViolenceCentral
  • Scary contentSupporting
  • ReligionBriefChristian
  • ProfanityBrief
  • Sexual contentBrief

Not found

  • Race & culture
  • Climate
  • Gender roles
  • Gender & orientation

Content themes

Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.

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Summaries and source quotes for every theme.

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Example theme card

Religion

PRESENT

Contains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.

About this book

For readers of Marieke Nijkamp's This Is Where It Ends, Hate List is a powerful and all-too-timely contemporary classic about the aftermath of a school shooting.
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 her role in the tragedy that took place, in order to make amends and move on with her life.
Jennifer Brown's critically acclaimed novel now includes the bonus novella Say Something, another arresting Hate List story.

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Hate List appropriate for a 7-year-old?

    Valerie's boyfriend shoots classmates in the school cafeteria and then kills himself, and the story deals with the aftermath. The school shooting is shown in flashbacks and the story deals with trauma, grief and being blamed.

  • Does Hate List have violence?

    Found (Central): Valerie's boyfriend shoots classmates in the school cafeteria and then kills himself, and the story deals with the aftermath.

  • Does Hate List have scary content?

    Found (Supporting): The school shooting is shown in flashbacks and the story deals with trauma, grief and being blamed.

  • Does Hate List have religion?

    Found (Brief, Christian): One reviewer says Valerie's brother goes on a church retreat, and that the book treats church as embarrassing.

  • Does Hate List have race & culture?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Hate List have profanity?

    Found (Brief): A reviewer says the book contains a bit of swearing.

  • Does Hate List have climate?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Hate List have sexual content?

    Found (Brief): A reviewer notes a remark that Valerie's brother joins a church retreat to "get to third base" with a girl; no other sexual content is described.

  • Does Hate List have gender roles?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Hate List have gender & orientation?

    Not found in the sources we checked.