Haters
by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Published by Little, Brown & Company
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Reviewed by Cai Smith
Ms. Rodriguez takes us from the beautiful landscape of Taos, New Mexico to the wealth and privilege of Southern California in this tale of a teenage girl trying to find her place in a new and strange world.
Pasquala Rumalda Quintana de Archuleta--fortunately she's known as Paski--is a fairly typical teen. She has her best friends, a loving but out-of-touch father who does his best as a single parent, and a loving grandmother who happens to be a psychic.
Paski and her father move to Southern California because his comic novels are going to become an animated cartoon feature. Paski's father sees this as an amazing opportunity to provide for his only daughter. As a teenager, Paski sees this as an end to her life.
Once they arrive in Southern California, Paski makes a discovery. There are cliques everywhere, only the names and financial circumstances change. The kids at her new school come from wealthy families, drive expensive cars, drink and party like adults, and the Haters rules the school.
In this journey of self-discovery, Paski meets a really nice boy, a really hateful girl, makes new friends and even acknowledges her own psychic gifts. She is drugged and nearly drowned, discovers new talents within herself, saves the day at one point and even finds a way to be accepted without changing who she is at the most fundamental level.
For me, the most profound statement in the book was made by Paski's grandmother who said, "Few of us remain the way we are as teenagers once we've grown up. It's hard for you to understand but there is a bigger purpose for you being where you are right now."
Being a teenager is tough. No one escapes their teens without some scars--either physical or emotional. In Haters, Paski shows teens how to survive by being true to themselves and still making the best of situations over which they have little control. Haters is an amazing read, one I was pleased to share with my own teenage daughter.
Armchair Interviews says: A young adult novel worth any teens' time.