The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
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.
Angie Thomas's searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses the issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty.
MY OPINION: ******
This book inspired me to start a six-star bookshelf on Goodreads.
THAT IS HOW GOOD IT WAS
I have read a couple of really good reviews (5-stars not the quality) and a couple of really bad reviews (1-star not the quality). Overall, I agree with the 5-star reviewers.
This book was POWERFUL. AMAZING. MINDBLOWING.
I have never read a better book.
Seriously. Now I have something to say when someone asks me what my favorite book is.
This book is about a girl named Starr who lives as two different people. She first lives as a no-slang, behaved type girl when she goes to her "white private school" called Williamson. When she is home in the "ghetto" she feels more normal and uses slang, etc.
Starr is an ordinary teenager trying to live as ordinary of a life as possible but all of that is changed when she is the sole witness to her childhood best friend's, Khalil, murder. He was shot at the hands of a policeman right in front of Starr and he was unarmed and completely innocent. That scene almost made me cry.
We never got to learn too much about Khalil. We know a little from the way Starr described her and her memories and flashbacks. But we never got to really connect with him.
It was like he had died in real life.
Since Starr was the sole witness, she is forced to make a choice between telling or not telling. What she does can endanger her community, family, friends, and life.
But Khalil deserves justice.
One of the reasons why I loved this book so much is that it made me do a
lot of thinking. It forced me to try to understand the characters and make inferences and think further between the lines. It is so complex and serious and real that it is so amazing that this world has been able to be written down in words.
I read this on my own personal time but I wrote a couple of essays about it for school. These essays forced me to think deeper in the book and I thank my English teacher for asking me to write these because I feel like this is one of those books that I really connected with despite the fact that I wasn't required to. I found myself stopping and grabbing a Post-It and writing down some notes about what I was reading despite not being asked to.
This is rare for me because I generally READ it and then REVIEW it and don't really do too much else. Of course, I am always subconsciously thinking about it but not as much as with this book.
One of Starr's greatest fears is her two worlds colliding. But when they do everything is okay and I'm glad that she learned that she should just be herself and not try to be two different people around her disparate friends.
Of course, almost everything in this book has happened in real life. Innocent people are killed and people get blamed and all it ever amounts to is fighting and riots and deaths. I believe Starr... we need to become activists and do something about all of this. #WORLDPEACE
One thing I did not like about the book (and this is TINY) is that Hailey's story never was completed. Why was Starr friends with her in the first place if Hailey was racist? And what made her racist? Or was she just ignorant?
Also, CHRIS = YESSSSS I loved him. He was so understanding and sweet and amazing. Sadly, most guys IRL are not like that :( Why is it that all of the best people are FICTIONAL?
The King Lords thing was an eye-opener for me because I never knew about gangs like that.
I would write about the title and it's message but I can't because I want you all to read the book and figure it out for yourself and besides, I already wrote an ENTIRE essay on it (which you can read if you just message me) :D
Overall, this book was amazing, beautiful, and seriously written. Contrary to what some reviewers said, I loved the writing. It was gorgeous and to the point and amazing.
I would recommend this book to mature readers who want to read about a serious topic. There is some harsh language and a little tiny explicit scene but other than that, teenagers should be okay with this. I am 13 and loved it so... I loved this with all my heart and will PROBABLY be reading it again sometime in the near future.
Main Character: Starr
Sidekick(s): Kenya, Maya, Chris, her parents, Seven, DeVante, etc
Villain(s): Some police, violence, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this was sadly very real to life and we need to find some way to fix it.
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