Hate list Comprehension Questions & Reading Journal
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Hate list has 40 chapters · 408 pages
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Inside the journal: 40 chapter pages, one question each · 3 example answers · a cover for your reader’s name
Written for this book Questions about this story, good after any chapter.
What is one important thing you have learned about Valerie Leftman so far? Explain why it helps you understand the story.See all 40 questions ↓
About the book
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year.
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Hate list questions by chapter
We know the book, its characters, setting and story, but not what happens in each chapter. So every question is written for this book, and any of them works wherever your reader has just stopped. One question per chapter, across all 40 chapters, and every one is editable before you print. The example answers under 3 of the chapters are the ones printed at the front of the booklet.
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Chapter 1
What is one important thing you have learned about Valerie Leftman so far? Explain why it helps you understand the story.
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Chapter 2
How does Valerie seem to feel in the part you just read? What detail gives you that idea?
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Chapter 3
Which question about Valerie or Nick do you hope the next part will answer? Explain why you want to know.
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Chapter 4
What have you noticed about life at Garvin High School so far? Describe how it affects the students.
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Chapter 5
Why might the author tell this story from Valerie's point of view? Use something you have read to support your idea.
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Chapter 6
Choose a choice Valerie makes in your reading. What might explain her choice?
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Chapter 7
How are people's words affecting Valerie so far? Explain whether those words help her, hurt her, or do both.
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Chapter 8
What does the word 'hate' mean in the story so far? Explain how it is different from simply disliking something.
Example answer: I think hate is a much stronger feeling than dislike in this story. Valerie and Nick put their angry feelings into a list. Disliking something might mean I want to avoid it, but hate can make it harder to see another person's feelings. The list makes me think about how words can matter more than we expect.
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Chapter 9
Describe what you currently understand about Valerie's connection to Nick. What still feels unclear?
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Chapter 10
Where do you notice a character making a guess about someone else? Explain whether that guess seems fair.
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Chapter 11
Imagine Valerie could ask someone for help at this point. Who might she choose, and what might she ask?
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Chapter 12
What does your reading suggest about the effects of bullying? Use a detail from Valerie's world.
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Chapter 13
Pick a word that helped you picture a place or feeling. What do you think it means, and what clues helped you?
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Chapter 14
Which part of the chapter you just read would you most want to discuss with a classmate? Explain your choice.
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Chapter 15
Compare Valerie's view of herself with someone else's view of her, if both have appeared. What do you notice?
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Chapter 16
Based on what you know now, what might make Valerie's next day easier or harder? Explain your prediction.
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Chapter 17
Is it fair to judge Valerie only by her connection to the hate list? Explain your opinion using what you know so far.
Example answer: I do not think it is fair to judge Valerie only by the list. Helping make it is something people can question, but it does not explain everything about her. I think we need to consider what she understood and what she chose to do. Being connected to Nick does not make all of his choices her choices.
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Chapter 18
Find a moment when someone listens—or fails to listen—to another person. Why does that moment matter?
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Chapter 19
How does the author show that anger can affect a person's choices? Use an example from your reading.
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Chapter 20
What have you learned about Valerie's life outside school? Explain how it helps you understand her, or what you still want to learn.
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Chapter 21
Choose a sentence that seems especially important. Explain what it adds to your understanding of Valerie's story.
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Chapter 22
When has a character's action surprised you so far? Describe what you expected instead.
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Chapter 23
What might help people at Garvin High feel safer? Connect your idea to something in the story.
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Chapter 24
Explain how the hate list matters to your reading so far. What questions does it raise for you?
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Chapter 25
Select a word that describes Valerie right now. Explain its meaning and support your choice with a detail.
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Chapter 26
Who seems to understand Valerie best at this point, if anyone? Explain what makes you think so.
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Chapter 27
What difference do you notice between what a character says and what that character seems to feel? Use a moment from your reading.
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Chapter 28
Suppose you could give Valerie one piece of advice based on this chapter. What would you say, and why?
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Chapter 29
How has your understanding of Nick developed so far? Explain what you have learned without guessing about things you have not read.
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Chapter 30
Identify a moment that shows trust or a lack of trust. How does it affect the people involved?
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Chapter 31
What role does kindness play in Valerie's story so far? Explain how one kind action could matter.
Example answer: I think kindness matters because Valerie is dealing with pain and with what other people think about her. Listening to her could help her feel less alone. A kind action would not erase what happened at Garvin High, but it could help someone get through a hard day. To me, kindness means seeing a person as more than a mistake or a rumor.
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Chapter 32
Look for a word or phrase that is not meant exactly as it sounds. What does it mean in that part of the story?
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Chapter 33
Which character would you like to hear from directly about the events so far? What would you ask that person?
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Chapter 34
Describe a problem Valerie faces that has no easy answer. Why might different people see it differently?
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Chapter 35
What signs of hope, if any, have you noticed in your reading? Explain what makes them hopeful, or why hope seems hard to find.
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Chapter 36
Consider how the story moves between memories and the present, if you have noticed this. How does its order help you understand Valerie?
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Chapter 37
What does being responsible mean in the part you just read? Explain how it differs from feeling guilty.
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Chapter 38
Choose a detail about a character's face, voice, or actions. What does it help you understand that the character does not say directly?
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Chapter 39
If the next chapter explored one relationship in Valerie's life more deeply, which would you want it to explore? Explain why.
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Chapter 40
Write a short message you think the author may be sharing so far about how we treat people. Which detail supports your idea?
Discussion questions for after Hate list
Bigger questions for when the book is finished, each printed on its own ruled page at the end of the booklet.
- How does Valerie's understanding of herself change across the whole book? Describe what she thinks about herself earlier and later, and explain which experiences or relationships help bring about that change. Use details from different parts of the story.
- What do you think Hate List is really saying about judging people, taking responsibility, and showing kindness? Explain how Valerie's story develops your chosen message. Then discuss whether you would recommend the book to a reader ready for a difficult story about school violence and its effects, and explain why.
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How to use this Hate list reading journal
At home, as a discussion guide
After each chapter your reader writes a few lines on that chapter’s question. Read the answer together at bedtime: it shows what they understood and gives you something real to talk about, without a quiz.
In class, as a novel study
Print a class set (booklets fold from plain letter paper) and use one question per chapter as the reading-response or literature-circle prompt. The example answers at the front show what a full answer looks like.
Homeschool
One booklet covers the whole book, 40 chapters, so it doubles as the reading log for Hate list. Reword any question before printing to match your reader.
Printing
The booklet PDF prints on ordinary 8.5 × 11 paper: print double-sided (flip on the short edge) at 100%, fold the stack in half and staple on the fold. There is also a one-page-per-sheet PDF and A5 binder pages.
Where the questions come from
Questions about this story, good after any chapter. We know the book, its characters, setting and story, but not what happens in each chapter. So every question is written for this book, and any of them works wherever your reader has just stopped. The questions were drafted with AI from what is known about the book and checked before publishing; every one is editable before you print.