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Megan Pavel
Dr. N. DuPlessis
English 203-518
12 September 2016
Book Review of The Haters
Earlier this year, Jesse Andrews, author of the book and now Sundance Film Festival
winner, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, debuted his second novel. The Haters is narrated by
Wes, who is joined by his best friend Corey as they spend the summer together at jazz camp.
Upon first arriving, they come to the conclusion that the people and the atmosphere are lame,
until they meet Ash, a guitar player with an unusual, unique sound. The three of them have a four
hour jam session, and because they click so well, they decide to form a band. From there, they
make a series of rash decisions, starting off with ditching the camp in pursuit of the perfect gig.
Ash forces the gang to go off the grid completely, leaving behind their cell phones and not giving
any clues to their whereabouts, which marks the beginning of the bands The Haters: Summer
of Hate Tour. Each of these three main characters has an unusual background story that the
reader may not expect. For example, Ash is actually insanely rich, but never really shows it until
she mentions to Wes and Corey who her father is. Wes was adopted from Venezuela by Buddhist
parents and Coreys parents are try-hard musicians who sometimes dont make enough money to
pay the bills. Throughout the novel, however, the trio travels nearly half the country, meeting
many peculiar people, and learning lots about themselves along the way. The conversations range
from attempts to one-up another band member to awkward discussions regarding sexual tensions
within the group. The author portrays the group and each town they visit perfectly, surprising the
reader with each characters back-story, and how each handles problems amongst themselves as

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well as encounters with people along the road trip. All along the way, they are obsessed with
finding the reasons why nearly everything that happens to them falls short of their expectations.
Andrews uses their shortcomings to show how despite adversity and disagreement, true
friendship can conquer almost anything. Andrews witty manner of combining seriousness and
humor makes for an entertaining young adult read that will become one of your favorites,
especially if you are a music lover.