Valerie Leftman

Valerie Leftman is a senior in high school as the novel begins. Five months previously, Valerie's boyfriend went on a shooting rampage in the Commons, the cafeteria at Garvin High School. When Valerie realized what Nick was doing, she stopped him. However, before she could stop him, Nick killed six people and injured dozens of others. In the aftermath, it becomes public that Valerie and Nick kept a notebook of names they called the hate list and that many of those who were injured or killed were on the list. As a result, Valerie is initially placed under investigation by the police in the belief that she helped plan Nick's rampage. In the end, however, Valerie is cleared of charges in large part because two of the students went to the police and insisted Valerie never shot anyone.

In the aftermath of Nick's shooting, Valerie finds herself...