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.