Hate List

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

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Part 3, Chapters 24-25Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3

Part 3, Chapter 24 Summary

Given that Jessica now eats with her, Valerie is exempted from detention, so her mother allows her to attend Bea’s art class the following Saturday. Immediately, Bea’s relaxing energy puts Valerie’s tense mother at ease as she “whispered for a long time in [her] ear,” an act that replaces Mrs. Leftman’s fear with curiosity (271). When her mother tries to pay for the class, Bea says, “[the class] costs patience and creativity, mostly. Also time and practice. And self-acceptance. But you won’t find any of those things in your purse” (272). Mrs. Leftman finds this strange, but she leaves without paying. Valerie finds the experience of her first art class thrilling and cathartic.

Part 3, Chapter 25 Summary

The next week, in school, Meghan, one of Valerie’s former antagonists, pulls Valerie aside. Meghan wants to know why her name was on the hate list. Struggling to explain, Valerie remembers an incident where Chris Summers put chewed gum into Nick’s mashed potatoes at lunch. When Chris went to sit at his lunch table, the kids fawned all over Chris, and one of those students was Meghan. Although Valerie understands how unsatisfactory that answer is, Meghan seems to move on, which Valerie figures is the best she can hope for. The girls “walked into Mrs. Stone’s room and for the first time [Valerie] did it without feeling like running away” (278).

Part 3, Chapters 24-25 Analysis

In her first painting class, Valerie’s main goal is to paint Dr. Hieler as she sees him: a source of light in her otherwise dark world. Bea knows Valerie has been thinking about this painting since she “woke up,” and now it’s time to commit those ideas to canvas. She instructs Valerie: “‘You’ll want to paint your grays first for shadowing,” indicating that even the brightest portrait will have some darkness to it to create dimension, just as Valerie’s character has edges that provide contrast and add to her uniqueness as person (273). Valerie paints without stopping, until her mother calls, “Time’s up,” as though Valerie has just finished a therapy session, which, in a sense, she has (273).

The next day, as the student council decorates their advisor’s room for a party, Meghan wants to know why her name appears on the hate list. Valerie’s inability to answer her is telling. She remembers Nick’s face after Chris smashed his gum into Nick’s mashed potatoes and how she simply lashed out against anyone associated with Chris; Meghan happened to be there that day. To Valerie, Nick, her boyfriend, was broken, and there was nothing else she could do but direct hate at those she held responsible