Jennifer Brown, who wrote a newspaper humor column for four years, switched to a more serious side for her debut novel, Hate List.

The novel is set after a shooting incident at an American high school and deals with themes of hatred, bullying, family tension, and suicide.

When he brings a gun to school and starts shooting people, Valerie puts herself in front of his next victim, Jessica Campbell, and is shot in the leg.

Once Valerie wakes up in the hospital to face the consequences, she soon realizes that she harbors some of the blame for the people who were killed or wounded.

People now view Nick as a monster, her classmates are torn between calling her a victim or a part of the whole plan, her friends no longer talk to her, her parents' marriage is ending, her brother resents her, the girl whose life she saved befriends her, and she considers the possibility of attending college even though her name is attached to the tragedy.