Valerie Leftman is getting ready to start up another year of school. It has been a quite summer ... one in which she spent most of it in the seclusion of her bedroom. She is also not sure whether she really wants to go back to Garvin High for her senior.

You see, last year everything changed for everyone on May 3. That was the day when her boyfriend Nick came to school. That was the day he took out a gun and shot and killed a number of people. It was also the day Val threw herself in front of another student to protect her only to find herself shot in the leg. It was also the day that Nick turned the gun on himself and killed himself.

As Valerie heads back to school, the readers come along for the ride as she narrates her experiences not only in the now, but also in looking back on what led to the shooting and since. Like herself and those around her, she is confused about her own guilt and whether she really belonged back at school. Some kids (literally) run away in tears, some are defensive and do nothing to hide their negative feelings, but some also are open to the opportunity of welcoming her back and maybe even forming new friendships.

Val and her boyfriend Nick had not been a part of the "in" crowd. In fact, most students ignored them, and there were even a few of the popular kids who made fun of them. As can happen during the period of Social Darwinism that we call high school life, the kids will do anything they can to improve their social standing. Sometimes we adults notice, and sometimes we don't, but often not enough is done to stop it.

In response to the way they were treated Valerie start keeping a Hate List of people who treat them badly. Names of other kids, teachers, and even celebrities would pop up in the list, but Valerie never realized how much importance Nick was placing on the list. In face, she had no idea how serious he really was feeling about everything.

Each chapter opens with a clipping from the local newspaper that tries to tell the story of what happened through short bios of each of the victims. Then the chapters switch back and forth between Val's new experiences at school and as she continues to deal with what she (and everyone else) had been a part of and the story of the shooting and her treatment.

Val must be one of the best narrators I have read in a really long time. I can only imagine that with the right reader, this would make an awesome audiobook, because her voice rings through with honesty of emotion. As I was reading, I felt like she was sitting in the room with me, telling me her story.

The other characters are raw with emotion and are presented fairly and realistically. She has a great counselor and a brother who is very supportive. Her parents are trying to be there, but they are full of their own troubles. She also meets a wonderful artist named Bea, who helps her see how her interest in art can be a great outlet.

The only thing I wasn't sure of is whether or not Valerie would be allowed to come back to the school in the real world.

The only thing I found out of place was the subplot with her parents. It is realistic, but it just seems to be an additional storyline that is unnecessary in a tale that is already so full and needs quite a few pages to be told. In a sense it seems like a distraction even as it is probably meant to make Val seem more like an everygirl.

I do have to say that I liked the author's choice of names. I am not sure if it was intentional, but many of the characters seem to have apt names. For example, Valerie Leftman is the one left behind by her boyfriend to face the music. That is just the first, and it really had me taking notice.

I think this was one of the best teen novels I have read in a while.