67 pages • 2 hours read
Jennifer BrownA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Part 1, Chapters 1-2
Part 1, Chapters 3-4
Part 1, Chapter 5
Part 2, Chapters 6-7
Part 2, Chapters 8-9
Part 2, Chapters 10-11
Part 2, Chapters 12-13
Part 2, Chapters 14-15
Part 3, Chapters 16-17
Part 3, Chapters 18-19
Part 3, Chapters 20-21
Part 3, Chapters 22-23
Part 3, Chapters 24-25
Part 3, Chapters 26-27
Part 3, Chapters 28-29
Part 3, Chapters 30-31
Part 3, Chapters 32-33
Part 3, Chapters 34-35
Part 3, Chapters 36-37
Part 3, Chapters 38-39
Part 3, Chapters 40-41
Part 3, Chapters 42-43
Part 4, Chapter 44
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Hate List begins with a newspaper article by Angela Dash, informing readers of the deadly shooting at Garvin High School. The article provides an overview of the tragedy, claiming, “The shooting, which began just as students were preparing for their first class, left at least six students dead and countless others wounded” (3). According to the article, the shooting ended with the shooter’s suicide after his girlfriend interrupts him, and he shoots her in the leg. To provide further context, the article introduces the idea that Valerie Leftman, the shooter’s girlfriend, may have been in on the shooting. The newspaper article leaves Valerie’s recovery and role in this massacre in question.
The novel cuts to present time: Valerie’s mother, Jenny, bangs on Valerie’s door, waking her for school. Valerie’s former boyfriend, Nick, committed the shooting the May prior; today, Valerie will return to the same high school to complete her senior year.
As she lies in bed, she agonizes over facing the school community, most of whom believe she planned the shooting with her boyfriend. The school permits her return because some believe she stopped the shooting. Valerie wrestles with the idea herself, as she evaluates the divided opinion her classmates have of her: “The school couldn’t decide if I was hero or villain, and I guess I couldn’t blame them.