This was just what I needed since I've been in a back-to-school funk (well I've been in it since school started but it's getting worse). It's not cotton candy light but it didn't make me pause at any revolutionary/extraordinary thoughts. I would like to state however that this book could be a lot shorter. There seemed to be a lot of excess information and while it didn't take away from the plot per se, it wasn't something I needed to know. I found the dialogue to be repetitive and too much TELLING and not enough SHOWING. Furthermore, the author tells you what conclusions she wants you to draw through Paksi or she explains something through her. For example, "'Wow' he [Andrew] says. 'Hi I say. I blush because I can tell he likes what he sees." (pg. 155). I hope I'm not coming off as picky, but I think based on the wow and just hearing that Paksi blushed we could figure out what Andrew meant by 'wow'.Other than what I listed above, I really enjoyed this novel. I love that the most popular girl in school (head of the Haters) is Vietnamese and that it's a diverse little clique at the top (Brianna is Greek, Haley is bi-racial). In addition to the popular girls, the popular boys vary in cultural backgrounds as well. It was quite refreshing because it's so effortless, the author doesn't overstate the character's ethnicity, but you know their cultural identity. The book moves at a fast and fun pace and what helps it stand apart from standard chick lit is its diversity and Paksi's supernatural abilities. Paksi only wants to be normal so she tries to ignore her visions in the hopes that they will leave her, but that is usually not the case. The question is not whether or not Paksi will act on these visions, but how far will she go to tell the person that is concerned? Perhaps what draws me to Paksi the most is that she is an athlete. She rode on her grandmother's Harley back in Taos but not very often and in this book she learns how to race motocross (which is on a motorcycle so I didn't totally get the difference. But that's what Google is for. haha). She's not afraid to work up sweat whether on her bike or a motorcycles and that's awesome.Haters avoids being dismissed as mere 'chick lit' (not that there's anything wrong with chick lit!) by having an extra layer of supernatural occurrences and motorcycles. A competitive Latina motocross racer is enough of rarity for me to get excited about reading it. The predictability does not run rampant throughout. There's a lot going on this novel and at times it does seem to be like the author wants to talk about too many different things at once (Taos vs. Los Angeles, Japanese internment camps, motocross, date rape drugs, etc.) but the story has many unique moments to capture (and hold) your attention. The dialogue is realistic of teenagers, although I did want fewer explanations. Paksi is the quintessential teenager; embarrassed by her father (her mother is not around), torn between her desire to fit in and be unique to herself, confused about boys and a strong urge to ride a motorcycle (and do it well). And it doesn't hurt that the book has one of the cutest love interests.
This is a truly excellent coming-of-age/finding-self story.Paski Archuleta's world goes topsy-turvy when her dad returns to Taos from a trip to LA looking, acting, and behaving like a person gone insane. He's dressing like an idiot, he's acting like an idiot, and to top it all off, he tells her they're moving to LA. Like, immediately.Paski loves her life in Taos. New Mexico is the only home she's ever known. Her friends are here. Her mountains are here. Not that she has much choice.The U-haul gets loaded, Paski makes the rounds to say goodbye to her best friends and to Ethan, and off they go.Her first impressions of California are mixed. On the one hand, there's a lot more nature to Southern California than she was expecting. On the other, everything seems inordinately huge, and everyone drives nice, expensive cars way too fast.Her first order of business is to ride over to her new school and check it out. Once there, she can't help herself, and shows off her mountain biking skills by going straight down a hill to get to the school yard. This earns her the attention of Chris Cabrera, who takes an immediate liking to her. A feeling which happens to be oh so very mutual.The Chris Cabrera story line is one of my favorites, as it reminded me a lot of when I met my "one."Chris is, however, taken by the school's richest, meanest girl. At least, according to Jessica he is. And not only is she the most popular girl--Paski has heard of her, in a roundabout way. Maybe not that she's the National Motocross Champion. But the line of clothes her mom made? Paski's heard of JessWear.Things go from bad to worse, as her father trades in their Corolla for a huge boat of a car he plans to turn into the Squeegee Mobile, after the character he's come to LA to make into a movie. Now not only is she an apartment girl, she has a vehicle she absolutely can not be seen in.Her first party goes wrong in about 5 minutes. First with the forced kissing of a girl she doesn't know, then with the drugged drink which turns into a but of a murder attempt as Jessica pushes her into the pool and she finds herself unable to get out. Luckily, Chris dives in to save her, and though her head and face are a bit of a mess, she'll be fine.Just about her only solace is her bike. And after her first friend, Tina, points out the path near the school, Paski is back in riding heaven. This trail rocks.She also joins the school paper, an activity she was part of back at home. Much to her chagrin, her first assignment is to cover Jessica's upcoming race. A fact exacerbated by the vision she's been having ever since she first saw Jessica. A vision of her broken and crumpled under her motorbike.This is definitely a book with a lot of tension and suspense--I think I was actually holding my breath in parts, which isn't so good for an asthmatic with allergies. But I suppose it's good for the author.Despite all the drama, danger, and insanity of her new life in Aliso Viejo, Paski manages to navigate through and come out on top. It's definitely an incredible ride.
What do You think about Haters (2009)?
This book has been on my shelf for so long, and I recently decided to just pick it up and read it. I wasn't disappointed. This was a light, quick read. I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them, and felt the writing in this one was equally enjoyable. It was definitely written for more of the young adult crowd, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment. I thought it was fun to see the world through young Paski's eyes, especially concerning the vastly different ways of life in Taos, NM and Orange County, CA. I thought that the way Paski felt and dealt with those differences was pretty realistic. I liked Paski and some of the other quirky characters, and was happy that with the exceptions of a few minor errors in judgment typical of teenagers who want to fit in at a new school, Paski remained true to herself and what she felt was right/wrong. I also loved the way the book ended, with everything seeming to wrapped up in a satisfactory manner.The only thing that made this book a little strange was the psychic aspect that seemed to be thrown in a little randomly. I think the story could've been fine without that part -- it might have made it seem a little more normal and believable, in fact. But, overall, it was still a light, fun read.
—Beth
I fell in love with this book by accident. I think I was in the 9th grade when i first read this book, and i picked it up, cause i was feeling kinda down about some of the people in my school, and it was called "Haters" and that's what made me check it out of the library, not even reading what it was about. When I started this book, I fell in love immediately Paski was just a really great protagonist, and I looked her dad, no matter how child-like he could be.I'm not really sure why I really, really love this book, maybe it was because Paski was strong, and not easily intimidated, like I am myself, cause I hate when the female protag gets embarrassed by everything, or gets intimidated easily. Paski was just about doing her own thing, and making it through life doing what she loved. And strangely the whole "Psychic" thing didn't bother me either, i thought it would but it didn't. It's not like some of the story was filled with psychic lessons or anything, but I thought this was a great story, and I could read it over and over again.
—Danielle
I think Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez did an amazing job with her first young adult book, "Haters. " This book is about a girl named Paski who moves to Viejo, California from her comfortable hometown of Bohemian Taos, New Mexico. She has a tough time being away from the mountains in New Mexico on which she loved to bike. Her new school, Aliso Niguel High School, is home to the beautiful but viscious Jessica Nguyen , the leader of "the haters". Aliso Niguel High School is also home to Chris, Paski's new love interest. There's just one problem. Chris just happens to be Jessica Nguyen's boyfriend. Jessica soon senses something suspicious going on between Paski and Chris, and makes it clear she's not someone you want to mess with. There are so many books with the same concept. A normal teen girl switches high schools only to make enemies with the most popular girl in school while falling for a cute, mysterious boy at the same time. However, this just has something to it that left me hooked until the very last word. I know it can be scary moving to a whole new school, yet alone a whole new state! I loved reading about Paski's perspective on the highs and lows of the whole situation and her emotions. I'm hoping this won't be the last young adult novel by Alisa Valdes- Rodriguez.
—Eliza Suluyan
