Recipe for Hate

Gr 10 Up—With a title ripped from a Bad Religion song, this book does not try to hide its punk flair. X and Kurt Blank are best friends in Portland, Maine at the beginning of the punk rock movement. Kurt acts as a Nick Carraway figure to X's Gatsby, narrating his story. Fueled by anger, music, and misfit solidarity, the boys are devastated when one of their own is crucified behind the local bar that hosts punk shows. With police who seem less than fully committed to finding the murderers, X throws himself into figuring out what is going on and uncovers a twisted plot of Nazi ideals. At times, it becomes unrealistic just how much Kurt has found out to retell this story. There are simply details that are just too specific for this trope to feel true. However, the narration plays a small enough part that the story compels readers forward through the doubts. The novel's unpolished aspect, which in another book might be off-putting, adds a layer of punk rock attitude. Supposedly based on true events, it was difficult to find any information about what those events may be. That aside, it is a story analogous to modern times and will find a home in activist hands. The violence makes it more suitable for older teens.