Assessment

Individual reading with writing blogs is very useful idea. It develops your thinking, talent for writing, creative ability. At the same time it's quite difficult to write regulary, especially because a lot of people have a bad habit to put off  affairs, and I'm not exclusion. But If you do it for some time (write a blog), you will get into the way of doing it. When you just read a book, you can let pass some important moments, and when you write a  blog, you perforce think over different things, you can open for yourself new details, come to a conclusion about something in the book. The time you spend is really worthy of it!

I had a lot of different ideas for my blog, but unfortunately,  not every of them I made a reality.

But I have a very-very big list " Books I want and must read", so I can repair an omission.

As for others, I like Maria Sidorova and Alena Sergeeva's blogs.

Maria has funny ideas such as an inteview with main characters, she impartially appreciates the book and honestly writes what she likes and what she doesn't. Also I like the photo with her cat ;)

As I understood Alena's book is romantic and sentimental story about love,  but at the same time it's about War and it's quite serious and describes horrible events, so Alena's blog is serious, too. She wrote that she likes happy end in books, and it's a pitty for her that this book hasn't happy end. As for me, I can't express my attitude to ending, however, I want to notice that books with happy end are often primitive. I like unexpected events and unpredictable ending, when you finish reading and think "WOW"

When I was a child, a lot of books could give me such emotions, and I often couldn't sleep because it was unbearable interest what wiil be next in the book, so I even was reading under a blanket with electric torch in the night.

It's great when a book reserves to itself something, makes you think about different things and doesn't let you go out in your minds.


http://mashahigh1994.blogspot.ru/2012/12/a-few-words-about-words.html?showComment=1355866641805#c2351392918551766990
http://mashahigh1994.blogspot.ru/2012/12/the-cat-to-help-you.html#comment-form

Read books, and don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Have a nice winter :)

What I like/dislike in the book

Let's start from the good sides of the book, which is abundant:

First of all although it's written in quite simple language,  it has a lot of new useful words, which I'll try to remember.
The story of the book is close to our life, so when you read, you perceive and fully appreciate everything.
The main characters are the same teenagers like we are, so you can easy put yourself in their place
The events take place in our time, it helps for understanding, too.
Some parts of the book have reports from the news of TV or newspaper and it's written in official language, it makes you understand the structure of this type of language, in my opinion it's usuful for development of your languages skill.

Now I'd like to single out some negative sides:

In several parts of the book it was a bit boring to read it, because some Valerie's ideas and minds were repeated a lot of times, despite the fact that they are the same.
Some places in the book are too long-drawn
Sometimes you read and can't understand, what it is, the present time or the past. I know that it's such method, but in fact it makes you return back on several pages ago.

As you see, the quantity of good sides is more than negative, so at any rate I don't regret that I've chosen this book for my individual reading at all.

Possible ending

If we speak about possible ending of the story, of course it can be various, but the situation in the book is very serious, so the end can be tragical. Such stories happened in our real life, and unfortunately it not always has a happy end. I suppose, that Valerie couldn't stand such heavy pressure, loss of her boyfriend, tense relation with parents and classmates, misunderstanding from the direction of her friends and society. It's insufferable ordeal for young girl. She could commit suicide. It's really terrible and it's like a bad dream, but in fact it's not a dream, it's our life.

Interesting facts

 I have found some interesting information about the names of characters.
How did Jennifer Brown choose the names for her characters?
Valerie's last name is Leftman, because she was "left" to take to the rap for Nick's actions. Nick's last name is Levil, which is almost evil.
Angerson is angry kind of dude. Angela Dash is a reporter, just "dashing" off stories without double-checking her facts. Detective Panzella was named after an Italian bread salad (panzanella), because he was about as plain as a bowl full of day-old bread. And, of course, Dr. Hieler, pronounced "healer", is pretty self-explanatory. And she gave him the name Rex, because Rex means "King" in Latin, and Dr. Hieler's character is based on the "King" of Brown house, her housband, Scott.

If I shot a film

If I decided to shoot a film based on this book, I would think over from what to start with. I think, I would start my film with the the shooting. Then I'd return characters back  into the past and would show Valerie and Nick's relation with each other and other pupils, also I'd show how Nick took into his head the idea about the murder.
Two plots would be developted in the same time. The first is events which took place before the shooting and the second one is after it. In that way audience would be able to deduce  succession of events and to sense Velerie's feeling. Also I think it's neccessary to show mutual relation with parents, because it plays a big role.


I don't know why, but when I was reading, I imagined Valerie as this actress, so I would like her to play main role in the film. It's Anna Sophia Robb. I think she is created to be Valerie!








 As for main male role, I would give it to Chez Starbuck. He would be great Nick Levil



For other roles I would make a casting.

In the end of the book Valerie turns over in her mind her possible future departure. In film I would make a scene where she would board a train and wave to her parents. From this moment the song would begin to sound. I exactly know what song it would be. Nickelback - "If Everyone Cared". I insistantly recommend you to listen to it. I know that this song helped the author to write this book. And I can say for sure that it passes emotions of the book.

Review of the book

 "Hate List gives us a glimpse into the lives of those kids in school who we may have excluded or made fun of or bullied, or who we knew were treated that way and we did nothing about it, for fear that we would get treated the same way. But it also shows us the other side; that those who do the excluding or the bullying have a lot more in common with their victims than they may realize. The hurt, the pain, the confusion, the need to fit in and belong - both sides feel the exact same things, but express them in very different ways.

Through Valerie's journey, we see a young girl who develops from a girl filled with pain and confusion into a girl with a new sense of purpose and determination, as she makes amends with those she hurt and finally learns to accept who she is.
An amazing first book by Jennifer Brown." - review by Maggi Normile

I completely agree with Maggi, in this book we can find those usual kids which we see in everyday life.  Such things as mockery, persecution took place quite often and in this book we see that people doing it have a lot of spirital wounds and often even underscore, so to cover it they start to humble others. I think it's large grave problem, not only in our country or only in USA, but in the whole world. Unfortunately, I don't know how to solve this problem, I think nobody knows for sure, after all, If it was simple, the problem would be solve long ago. However, I believe that good breeding has a great significance and influence.

Speculations about information gaps

 By the way, author doesn't describe what is  Valerie's school like. Is it big or small, how many storey, what about space around? When I read, it is clear in my mind. I imagine that it's three-storey building in brown-brick style. Around the school there are a lot of space with green grass and trees. May be it's smth like this:

Valerie and other pupils go to school by bus. Of course I conceive that yellow bus, which we always see in different films.

  What about house where Valerie lives? I think it's not big, but without a doubt it's two-storey building.

Under the window of Valerie's room there is a big tree, I think it's maple. 

  And what clothers she likes to wear? In that time it's nor important for her, she doesn't care about her appearance at all,  but I imagine that she wears checkered skirt and blouse, everything in light warm coloures.