The LitChicks are sisters Portia (13) and Liesl(14). They read anything and everything and take time out of their busy schedules to bring us their favorite book recommendations every Thursday.
Today, Portia has come by to give us her recommendation:
HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown
HATE LIST is one of those many novels I borrow from Cynthia that don't make it back to her house for many weeks. When I first borrowed it, Liesl took it to read, and she was taking.......FOREVER! So, I kept bugging her because I really wanted to read it! I would get all in her face, like, "Liesl! Are you reading it? Are you reading it? Are you reading it?" until she finally caved and gave it to me. However, once I got it, I barely read it. 15 minutes a day for RIP [the free reading program] at school is not enough time to finish a book in a reasonable amount of time, so I just took it home and sat down one night (okay, tonight) and just finished it!
However, this book was one of my favorite kinds of books! Ones that make you stop and think about life and count your lucky stars. Ones that make you want to go and hug all your friends right now! And make sure that your family loves each other and you're living in reality.
HATE LIST is a book about a girl, Valerie, whose boyfriend, Nick, randomly turns a gun on a crowded lunch room and starts shooting one day, killing more than 5 people and injuring many others. When the police find a notebook with a "Hate List" in it, people start to piece together that the victims shot were ones on the hate list, and that Valerie and Nick were behind it all. But Valerie is innocent. She never shot anyone, she never asked for anyone to be shot, for Nick to do anything, she never saw it coming....She never was serious that ever wanted anybody dead. But nobody can see the truth in what she says. They see somebody who hated them all who accidentally got shot and was mourning her boyfriend. They see somebody who should go away, who has no future or friends.
This book was about Valerie's journey through recovery. How she comes to terms with herself and the role she played in the shooting and the role she didn't play. How she came to terms with the Nick she knew and the Nick who killed people with hopes and dreams. I loved it. Everything about it. I thought it was beautifully written. I loved how you saw Valerie's point of view and you got all worked up in her defense. I liked how everything fell to pieces so beautifully, but not sloppily, and was reclaimed. I liked realizing that people are not what they seem, and that things affect people in unexpected or different ways. I also liked the news articles thrown in, too.
I think everyone should read HATE LIST. It will make you look differently at life. I think that's a good thing. I think we should all stop and think every once in a while.
On this date: In 1931, Bishop Desmond Tutu was born.
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