Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Medium: Print, hardcover
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blurb: 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.
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Thoughts:
Wow. What can I say about this book? It’s amazing and delves into the intricacies of going to a predominately white school while Black, dealing with stereotypes, finding your identity, and finally, figuring out the right thing to do when you see your best friend shot by a police officer.
This book is loaded and I love it.
First, here’s what I loved before opening the book: the sleeve of the hardcover. It’s completely white, but Starr’s skin, shoes, hair, and poster are done in a glossy finish that works so well with the almost rough texture of the paper. It’s minimalistic but gets the point across. The title is written in the poster, and if you’re not a hip-hop fan you might not get the significance of the way the title is written.
The Hate U Give is a shortened version of a Tupac song titled “THUG LIFE,” which is an acronym for The Hate U Give Lil’ Infants Fuck Everybody, and it plays a role early on in the book.
The book starts off with Starr at a party. She’s uncomfortable, trying to figure out the Starr that she should be. You see, Starr has different personalities that she uses in public. In school, she’s one of the few Black people so she feels like she has to live up to their expectations. Around other Black people, she changes her personality to fit her environment, which I found really compelling.
I know what it’s like to feel like you have to change some part of you to fit in, and Thomas shows this well in Starr’s interactions throughout the book.
During the party, Starr meets her childhood friend Khalil. They catch up, talk about how they’re doing, and just talk in general. It’s a sweet moment, one that makes the next few actions so heartbreaking. Of course, the main premise of the book is that Starr witnesses her childhood friend get wrongfully killed by the police, and can you guess who that is?
The rest of the book follows the aftermath of that shooting, which comes with intense media discussions, controversy at Starr’s school and in her community, and going through the dynamics of a problematic friendship. Thomas handles all of these issues with grace, not shoving a situation into the reader’s hands that have no relevance to the story.
I loved so many moments of this book: the relationship between Starr’s parents, Starr’s character development, and the reality that Black people have to face when it comes to media, the sense of community as a result of a tragedy, and so much more. This book is something special, something that resonates with people that read it. It’s raw, it’s compelling, and it’s real.
Additional info: This book is set to be made into a movie expected to release in early September 2018. The Hate U Give is available on Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and other stores.
Angie Thomas is also coming out with a new book titled On the Come Up, releasing this May.
-Sorry that this is two day’s late!
kannaree.com 