The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Publication Date: February 28th, 2017

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review:“Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.”

Review:

Astonishing. Riveting. Shocking. Stunning. Breathtaking.

I took my time with this book because I am a very emotional person. If you are a very emotional person like me, I suggest that you have tissues ready because I’m not sure where there was a chapter where I didn’t at least tear up. I full on ugly cried through a few of them. There were so many different emotions displayed through this novel that I felt like I was losing someone myself. The author did a WONDERFUL job showing the seven stages of grief.

Starr is just a young girl that has had tragedy all through out her life. She is this strong, young woman that has to keep up this changing act because of where she lives versus where she attends school. One night while attending a party that gets busted, she and her best friend Khalil leave only to be pulled over by a white policeman. Khalil’s life ended before he could graduate high school. Khalil was unarmed. (WARNING: I CRIED DURING THE WHOLE CHAPTER, THE AUTHOR DOES GO INTO DETAIL.)

This story is so important because of what is happening around the United States everyday and has been happening for years and years. It’s unfair what is happening, and unless it personally happens to our families, all we see is media coverage. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE ANGIE THOMAS SHOWS WHAT IT IS LIKE FOR THE FAMILIES THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THESE TRAGEDIES. Angie Thomas wanted to make it personal. It’s not just what is shown on the media. The media twists and turns things into this whole different point of view that has never even been there before. Most of the individuals who were shot and killed in the United States were unarmed. Why did they get killed? Why did they lie in the street for hours? Angie Thomas shows us why. And she did an amazing job of it.

This book wasn’t just about Starr. This was for Trayvon Martin, Michael Scott, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Brown, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and all of the unarmed black individuals that lost their lives tragically to police.

This needs to be the most read book of 2017 and for years to come. And I am totally here for that.