The Hate List by Jennifer Brown

 Valerie Leftman is a high school Senior returning to her campus after her boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on multiple students and a teacher, killing them before taking his own life. Targeting students from a "hate list" he and Valerie shared, our protagonist is left to wrestle with old thoughts, replaying conversations she'd had with Nick over and over again, wondering what the catalyst was. 

What could she have done to stop it? She never meant for anyone to get hurt. 

Despite her best intentions, however, they did. And now she must face them all head-on, trudging through emotional fog and mourning someone she thought she knew. 

I think Valerie is someone easy to empathize with. The author does an amazing job of putting us in her shoes; she is astoundingly relatable for someone going through such a unique traumatic experience.  

If I had a classroom...

I'd exercise "what if's": 

"What if your friend were going to make a bad choice? Would you advise against it?"

"What if someone's life were in danger? Could you imagine going the lengths Valerie did to help? (In this case, stepping in front of a bullet). 

The subject is sensitive, so I'll workshop these questions and proceed with care to avoid harm in this discussion. Empathy is a powerful tool and important for the students to grasp while reading this book.