''Haters'' is the 2006 debut

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez Alisa Valdes (born 1969 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American author, journalist, and film producer, known for her bestselling novel, ''The Dirty Girls Social Club''. Early life Valdes was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her father, Nelso ...

Plot summary

''Haters'' follows the character of Pasquala Rumalda Quintana de Archuleta, also known as Paski, as she tries to deal with extreme changes in her life. As a result of her father's comic strip getting optioned for a movie, Paski and her father move to California. Once there, Paski finds herself in a school where materialism and "haters" control the social circles. Paski begins to develop feelings for the handsome Chris Cabrera, who happens to be dating Jessica Nguyen, the resident mean girl. Paski soon finds herself dealing with more problems than Jessica, as she also finds that she has the psychic "gift" of

premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...

and is predicting Jessica having a terrible accident while participating in a motorcycle competition.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Haters'' has been mostly positive, with Teenreads calling it a "charming, dishy chick lit with a side of supernatural".

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

wrote that ''Haters'' was "shopworn" with "heavy contrivances", but that readers would be won over by the "hilarious, likable, resilient Paski". The

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

stated that "Paski's first-person narrative is lively and honest".

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

wrote that the book "has the potential to reach a wide audience, although its length will discourage many reluctant readers who might otherwise enjoy it".

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

criticized the book's ending, saying it "fulfilled desires rather than real life" but that "readers will likely take delight in seeing the good guys and the bad guys get exactly what they deserve".

Controversy

''Haters'' received some controversy at Aliso Niguel High when it was revealed that one of the characters in the book (a teacher accused of wanting to sleep with his students) and an educator at school had nearly identical names. Valdes-Rodriguez responded, stating that the similarity between the names of the character and the teacher was purely coincidental and that she had used the school as a setting due to her familiarity with the area, having attended the school. Students and faculty at the school also voiced concerns over the depicting the students as "diverse in ethnicity but ... alike in their cruelty" and the school as a location where "money is everything and the Haters rule". Not to their liking Three seniors at Aliso Niguel High disagree with how the young-adult novel 'Haters' portrays their school
OC Register

References

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External links

Official author page
2006 American novels American young adult novels Hispanic and Latino American novels Little, Brown and Company books Novels set in California Novels set in New Mexico Literature by Hispanic and Latino American women Cuban-American literature 2006 debut novels