I really enjoyed the punk era that acted as the backdrop of this novel. Really graphic in terms of detail. Interesting subject and good pacing.

I wanted to like this book. WHile the subject was intriguing and the back and forth through time kept the pacing fairly tight I wasn't a fan of the general style. There's a distinct emotional distance. It took that solid pacing and what should have been an engaging plot and put it at arm's length.

I kind of can’t resist books featuring punk kids or the late 70s era punk scene, and this book is both. It’s raw and gritty and soaked in the passion for personal freedom, disdain for authority, and commitment to indie music which the punk scene is so known for. Reading it felt, to me, much like watching the movie SLC Punk.

While I loved the setting and all the punk culture, the style of the writing was hard to follow at times. The narrator, Kurt, would digress from the present into memories and backstory—all of which were interesting and added some flavor to the story, but made it a little confusing to keep the timeline straight.

Scenes jumped around from one perspective to another, revealing details the narrator, Kurt, wasn’t present to witness. Sometimes he would explain he’d learned the details later. Especially toward the end of the book, as things begin to happen quickly, I found the narrative choppier. Sometimes the story would shift to a different scene or time within the same paragraph. I think it would have helped to have a hard break before each shift to make it easier to follow what’s happening visually.

In terms of plot, Recipe for Hate had some really surprising moments which I didn’t see coming. (I won’t give anything away.) More than once the story took a turn I didn’t expect—in a good way. The plot made sense but wasn’t predictable.

The story contains a lot of profanity and some graphic descriptions of violence, so that may be a barrier to sensitive readers. See the content section for more specifics. If you like murder mystery with a sort of stream-of-consciousness style narration, you will want to check out Recipe for Hate.

This unusual crime novel is told from the viewpoint of one of the intended victims. Kurt and his friends don’t fit in anywhere. They are the school misfits, useless at sport, generally scrawny and unloved – until Punk Rock happens. Suddenly, they have a home, an identity, a way of expressing their anger at the world. Needless to say, their conversion to Punk is not universally welcomed. They don’t expect anyone to like them – being unloved fits in with their new-found confidence as part of a huge movement of outsiders. However, they also don’t expect to be murdered for their taste in music.
One after the other, punks are targeted – murdered, or ‘just’ beaten within an inch of their lives. The authorities react as though the punks are to blame. Places where the punks would congregate are closed down. School and parents actively dissuade the punks from meeting their friends. The police seem ambivalent about catching the perpetrator(s), even though there is strong evidence pointing towards extreme right-wing racist groups and skinheads.
However, nothing is as clear cut as it seems. One of the main themes of this book is that you should never judge a book by its cover. The punk movement is by nature non-conformist. The music and dress code often feels like a slap in the face of traditional values and can be seen as offensive – but that doesn’t mean that that they are necessarily violent nor that they want to overthrow civilisation – but they do want to be heard.
Another group that seldom gets good press is the bikers. In this book, the individual bikers give much needed assistance to the punks, although their respective groups normally have little in common. A number of other groups in this book have particularly repellent ideologies. But, that does not necessarily mean that they are guilty of murder.
Justice is also a major theme. Should someone be imprisoned for holding abhorrent views, that may have (or may in the future) lead to criminal acts? Is killing another person ever justified, and should the police always investigate unexplained deaths?
A third theme is the destructive power of hate. Ideologies that advocate a “Recipe for Hate” against groups of people, can only lead to evil outcomes, that harm everyone.
I really liked the main punk characters in this book. They are very big on tolerance and acceptance, and operate on a gender, race and sexuality neutral basis – all are welcome in the punk fold. They come across as intelligent young people, well organised and competent, who care greatly about the world around them – even if the world does not care for them. Their world view contrasted greatly with that of the extreme right. I also enjoyed the sections on punk music’s heroes and had the music playing as a backdrop when reading the book.
There is not a lot of character development in the book – there isn’t really the time span for it, as the action takes place too quickly. But the named characters are fully realised and believable. The book is fast-paced, with some unexpected twists, and very readable – whether you are a punk fan or not.

Thank you for approving me to read Recipe for Hate. Unfortunately, I don't feel able to finish it and provide a review. I love the premise of the novel and the synopsis but I cannot engage with the novel; it just isn't for me. I don't review books I feel unable to finish due to my own tastes as I don't think this is fair to the authors.

A fascinating read. An insightful look at how the X gang and a group of neo-Nazis clashed. This book talks about their lives, gang culture and the murder of 2 X gang members. It talks about the evil that is neo-Nazism.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview yet another YA novel. This one, Recipe for Hate by Warren Kinsella, will be published December 5, 2017.

Because it is set in and around Portland, Maine, which was a favorite vacation spot of mine for 10 years and is where my husband and I met the son we adopted, I really wanted to like this more than I ended up doing. I think it's because, as far as storytelling goes, the setting overpowered the narrative. While the plot could have happened anywhere, Kinsella made Portland practically one of the characters. I would feel much more comfortable recommending this to my high school readers if I didn't think they'd be bored by all of the setting descriptions interrupting the flow of the story.

Other than that, though, when I could downplay the interference of setting descriptions, the story itself was compelling. Part cultural history, part murder mystery, Recipe for Hate helps today's readers understand the punk rock movement and see that the racism of neo-Nazis has been around for a while.

I required a bit of suspension-of-disbelief with the main character X as the hero. As a character, X was part The Outsiders and part Fonzie from Happy Days -- a tough underdog who was feared and revered by his peers and adults alike. The coincidences toward the end, of the punks using their acquaintances with bikers as allies and the police choosing to apply the law where it benefitted them, added to the surreal impossibilities of this being a realistic and not hyperbolic tale.

Readers will relate to the way the teens in this book think and are thought about by adults. They will be interested in reading how Kinsella describes the murders, the friendships, and kidnapping. This is where Kinsella's attention to detail allows readers' creative imaginations to flow - and Kinsella writes some great descriptive images. Unfortunately, then, the fact that this is all taking place in Maine intrudes on the narrative progression. I understood the importance of the plot occurring in "Small Town, USA." As a reader, though, I needed to know why it was so important that it happened in Portland. A map of Portland on the end pages would have been more useful, i.e., less intrusive, than precise details of streets in Portland.

As I said, I really liked the premise of the story - I just wish I hadn't been grounded to Portland or encountered a demigod-like X. (p.s. - I'm still not sure why the book is entitled <<Recipe>> for Hate.)

Many thanks to Warren Kinsella, Dundurn, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This plot was a bit surreal. I had to keep reminding myself that it was based on true events because the narrator seemed absolutely implausible. Kurt must have never let X go to the bathroom he was so attached to his side. So if I were to take that out of the equation I could believe that some of this occurred. But I think the book would benefit from a more thorough author's note or an historical timeline something to that effect. I guess I'm just really bothered by the narrator. It really comes down to that. He's just always RIGHT THERE. ALWAYS I mean if that were truly the case he would have been a suspect. Again it's surreal

This was one of those books that normally I wouldn't read, but since I'm melodrama mama lately, "think menopausal mess!" I'm trying new things that I usually wouldn't have...I was initially taken in by the description of based on a true story, and all that entails. What I couldn't find was the true story that it was based on. Bummer. I spent hours searching, but to no avail. If anyone does have a link to the true story then I'd really appreciate it if they sent it to me. So, on with my meandering review! I loved X. I've been lucky to come across a rare few like him in my life, and they've added something to me that I hadn't even known was missing. Kurt Blank on the other hand is someone I've crossed paths with more often, and they've added nothing. Kurt seemed to be so caught up in not being a lemming, "his words" that he struck me as someone who really was. Punk Rock was not, is not, nor ever will be the best of everything, as Kurt thinks. I also liked punk. I also liked country, disco, pop, rock and roll, rap, soul, new wave, etc. I think that if you're closed off to all music, then you really aren't expanding your horizons. Kurt was a true and faithful friend, but he was also the lemmings that he railed so hard against. This whole book was good. I find it almost unbelievable though, and had it been written as fiction then it would have received the 5 star treatment. Hell, if there had been something in the afterword relating to what was real and what wasn't, then I'd still have given in 5 stars. It's the not knowing that bugs the crap out of me! As always, my thanks to Dundurn Press, and Netgalley for this free galley copy to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book and I know I have students who would as well. I think the characterization is nicely done and the characters feel genuine. The pacing seems to really keep a nice pace too, I think it could have veered off into wasted pages, but the author really managed to keep a building pace until a pretty wild crescendo. The book is very action packed and has some rather graphic and violent parts, and also contains more than a few choice words. These could be a problem for some people, but the curse words are used for effect and not dropped every sentence and the violence, while graphic was not gratuitous. I would definitely recommend this book to some of my students, I have already told some of my junior and senior boys about it and that I think they would enjoy it.