The Hate U Give is a book by a black American woman named Angie Thomas, discussing the sensitive topics of race relations and police brutality. Though this is her first novel, Thomas is able to write like a classic author by expertly mixing current politics and entertainment. I wouldn’t be surprised if high schoolers started studying from this book in the future!
Synopsis
(copied and pasted from Amazon)
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.
Plot
The plot of the novel is so interesting and relevant to what’s going on in the world now. It’s the main reason I wanted to read this book. The initial brutality of the cop is only the beginning and the majority of the novel talks about after. Thomas goes over Starr’s mourning, showing how Khalil’s death affects the rest of his loved ones, and how differently the media and Starr’s “friends” treat him when they don’t have the whole story. Personally, I like to think that’s one of the messages of the novel. There’s always more to the story.
Characters
I absolutely loved the characters. They were all three-dimensional and full of life. I personally prefer characters who seem like people I can actually meet in real life, and Thomas’ characters fit the criteria. Starr and her family were my favorites in the novel.
Setting
I’ll be honest, I probably don’t pay as much attention to setting as I should. My attention is more focused on the plot and characters, as they seem more obvious to me. However, Thomas, does a great job making her novel’s setting just as obvious as everything else. I mean, it’s so important that it’s mentioned in the first sentence of the synopsis. There’s a major change in Starr’s character as she goes from one setting to the other and it made me realize how important setting actually is.
Overall
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly recommend it to anybody. As I said earlier, I believe this should be one of the books everybody needs to read. Five stars *****
If you want to read The Hate U Give, you can buy it on either Amazon* or Jet!
*These links are affiliate links, meaning that buying from them will give me a part of the money at no extra expense to you!