Hate List

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

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Part 2, Chapters 8-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2

Part 2, Chapter 8 Summary

Whereas Valerie understands Nick’s resentment toward the people on the hate list, she draws the line at actual violence and death. She states, “All those things we talked about—why didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I see Nick was serious?” (155). To her, the list serves as a way to exorcise bad behavior like Christy Bruter’s, the type of person “who saw someone looking weak and vulnerable and just pounced on it” (156). However, people see things differently than Nick and Valerie, which Stacey’s collaboration with the police afterward reveals. Stacey explicitly condemns Nick and Valerie’s list and emphasizes Valerie’s threats toward Christy before the shooting. Stacey’s view reflects the community’s attitude toward Valerie, and recasts bullies like Christy as victims and Nick and Valerie as villains.

Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary

During recovery in the hospital, Valerie moves between news coverage and banal channels, such as the Food Network, to pass time. She sees:

pieces of [the shooting] highlighted on one of those late night TV news magazines. [She’d] heard it quoted on one of those morning talk shows, and [she] tried not to think about how ironic it was that the coiffed newspeople who found the notebook so fascinating were just the kind of people that would have ended up in it (162).

The shooting remains in the forefront of her mind, as Detective Panzella continues questioning her about her involvement. In a conversation with her mother, she accuses her father of hating her, which her mother denies. She accuses her mother of the same thing, which her mother calls ridiculous but does not deny.

Stacey comes to visit the hospital once during Valerie’s stay and, at first, Valerie seems excited to see her. As Stacey walks in, Valerie notices that she looks happy, but notes, “Of course, you can’t exactly see emotional scars on someone’s face, can you?” (165). Valerie wants to hear Nick’s murders and suicide shocked Stacey, too, but Stacey has come for a different reason. The conversation with Stacey is awkward; Valerie asks if Christy Bruter died, and Stacey callously asks, “Disappointed?” (168). She accuses Valerie of having Nick do her dirty work for her. She tells Valerie how she apologized to Christy Bruter, urging Valerie to do the same.

Part 2, Chapters 8-9 Analysis

In these chapters, Valerie is processing her part in the shooting and what went wrong for Nick. For Valerie, the question isn’t why Nick came to a violent end or what incited Nick’s rampage; unfortunately, Valerie understands that anger all too well. Valerie sees the “why” as more of a “How did I miss the signs?” When Stacey comes to visit, Valerie feels a glimmer of hope; however, Stacey’s visit shows how little people can change. After talking to Stacey, the dream of having friends and returning to an old life feels unrealistic. Long after Stacey leaves, Valerie puzzles over why Stacey apologized to Christy Bruter, thinking, “And when it dawned on me that she was probably apologizing for being my friend, that dream world just blinked out, vanished” (169).