The Hate U Give
Ratings543
Average rating4.5
This is a brilliant book that, while fictional, is drawn from the author's own experiences as a black woman in a predominantly white environment in the aftermath of police shooting and killing Oscar Grant (2009). Thomas has taken some of her own experiences, feelings and even guilt over her silence in that situation and turned it into a novelisation focusing on Starr, a 16 year old black girl who attends a predominantly white private school and lives in - as she describes it - “the ghetto”.
Starr witnesses her childhood friend Khalil get shot dead by a policeman and the book then follows her as she struggles to keep herself and her world from falling apart. She seeks justice for Khalil while her neighbourhood erupts into riots and the police roll in with tanks and tear-gas.
Black Lives Matter has been around since 2013 and we have seen a huge surge this year, 2020, again following the multiple unlawful killings of unarmed black people by police in America. THUG is as relevant now as it was in 2017 and when it began as a college short story for Angie Thomas in 2009. Despite being fictionalised this is a very realistic account of aftermath of one such police shooting and the various ways in which oppressed people can react.
I am not usually one for YA but this book doesn't feel like YA to me. By all means, it still is, I mean more than it doesn't dumb things down and that's important especially with a topic like this.
If you haven't read it, please do so, it's a brilliant book with captivating prose and a seriously important story.
A very powerful read. You gotta give props to anybody who speaks up and this book is a representation of that.
It educates on the struggle the black community faces everyday and the consequences it has on their lives.
Good plot, the majority of the elements for a good book are there, but there was something missing and if I had to put my finger on it would definitely be the way the book is written. And that's the only reason it only gets 3 stars.
Everyone in America should read The Hate U Give before graduating high school. For someone like me who grew up in white America, this feels similar to Between the World and Me: it's not really my place to critique a book like this, since it's such an intimate look at growing up black in America that any critiques would just be a critique of the black experience. If you're white and are relatively new to conversations about race, or if you're not sure you agree with the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a great book to pick up and learn from. It's pretty breezy and you could knock it out in a weekend.
Note on the age-appropriateness of the subject matter if you weren't aware: there's a good amount of profanity throughout, as well as teenage sexuality, drug dealing, and violence. I would say that this shows police brutality and that we should be sure that kids don't have to engage with that, but then again, that's the whole point: America lets kids in certain neighborhoods deal with police brutality all the time, and it needs to change. Black Lives Matter.
Angie Thomas brilliantly tells the story of Starr, a girl who has witnessed her two childhood best friends die from gun violence. The story is fictional, however, anyone not living under a rock can see the parallels between Starr's world and our world. I cried many times reading this book, feeling so hard for Starr and the ones she loves it. She really drives home the point that no one wants the police to kill black people—and no one wanted to have to advocate against this, but, when black people are dying and justice is never being served, you have to use your voice. Throughout Starr's dilemma, I kept hearing the phrase “the hidden violence of silence.” It will never go away if we don't talk about it and take action. This is a good book, but the only real good in it is the way Thomas' characters stick together despite it all.
This was book was written three years ago, but it could have easily been written and published this year, in the past month. That's how (unfortunately) relevant its story has remained.
Starr is a Black high school student caught between two worlds: Garden Heights, a neighborhood where everybody knows and helps everyone out and has each others' backs, but is also riddled with drug dealing and gang wars; and Williamson Prep, a private high school in a rich, mostly white area of town with ignorance of what she experiences on a day-to-day basis at home.
Her worlds collide when she witnesses first-hand the murder of her childhood friend during a supposed routine traffic stop, and Starr has to not only decide whether or not she should speak up (speaking up could mean justice, but it could also endanger her and her family's life), but how to navigate everything in her world that is now different: her friendships in both worlds, her dynamic with her uncle who is also a Black police officer, her relationship with her white boyfriend, and her life both at school and at home.
Thomas' does an excellent job of weaving in common asked questions and arguments that surface whenever there is another instance of police brutality within the story itself, and it's in a way that's direct and to-the-point without taking attention away from the story at-hand. I also appreciate her inclusion of a diverse range of characters with varying viewpoints, and the special attention and care she took with her character's' names.
As a 30-year-old white woman, I can't express how much I appreciate this book. It is geared towards younger/teen readers (I admit—I had to Google a few terms, making me sometimes relate more with Starr's parents who ask what a Tik Tok is than Starr herself ;) but it's got a message for everyone, that everyone needs to—and should—hear.
I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in challenging their own biases and/or looking for books featuring BIPOC protagonists by BIPOC authors.
I have been wanting to read this book since before it was even released but despite everyone telling me to read it I kept putting it off for some reason. I wish I would have read it sooner.
This book is one that needs/should be read by everyone. While this is a fictional story it talks about something that is actually happening in todays world. Racism, police brutality, white privilege and so much more. I knew what to expect going into this but at the same time I didn't. this book was eye opening in some aspects to me. Like I know of the injustices that black people face but reading about the extent of some situations I wasn't expecting. Like I didn't realize just how bad things were I guess.
This book is very eye opening and I don't see how you can read it and not finish it learning something. If you haven't read this book yet please do so immediately. I highly recommend it.
This has been on my awareness for two years, on my physical bookshelf for one. It's YA – not my thing – so I just kept postponing it. Mistake.
OMFG.
What a beautiful book. Thomas has an exquisite sense for human complexity, moral dilemmas, for inner beauty and decency. Yes, it's heavyhanded, especially in the goody-goody Kumbaya sense – did I mention it's YA? – but I may have been needing that just now. I found questions to ponder and ideals to live up to. I found a horrible new insight, one I hadn't considered: blame. In addition to the powerlessness and anger that targeted communities must feel, there must be some people who feel (inappropriately) responsible: “If only I had done X or Y”. What a crippling burden.
Yet I think it'll change one day. How? I don't know. When? I definitely don't know. Why? Because there will always be someone ready to fight.
right now
Nothing I can say about this exceptional book that hasn't already been said. A must-read for everyone.
Wooooof this book is incredible. I could not stop listening. Listened to the whole thing in one day.
This was a good story. I believe it was categorized as YA. It was a tale I've heard or read many times, and sadly, it occurs more often than many people realize. This would definitely be a good book for anyone who lives in very affluent areas, anyone who is living in denial of the hate in this world, and actually, just everyone.
This book's got me all kinds of fucked up. As an African-American adolescent, this book really spoke to me. Scenes with her dad got me emotional because he reminds me of my dad so much. I recommend this book. It's totally worth the read!
Exceptional! Important enough to be read by every young adult and every adult. White and black.
The characterization in this book was phenomenal. Plot unfolded in a way I didn't expect. Riveting and so worth reading.
As white people, we need to continually check and be educated on our privilege and prejudice, in order to become a better ally. This book does just that. Diving into Stars story grew my understanding of the realities that minorities & brown people face, and helped me grow in my empathy and desire to be more of an ally. I found myself so absorbed into this story, that I had to remind myself this is fiction, and I cannot read news articles about Khalil's death. It's sobering and empowering all at once, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to read (listen) to this book.
Leest heerlijk weg. Knap om hier een feel good boek van te maken, ik snap dat het verfilmd wordt. Tikje te rooskleurig, dat gezin. Vandaar dat het een hit kon worden.
This book is so important. Thomas tackles some major issues while creating complex and readable characters. I was so drawn in by Starr, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to hear her voice and her story.
Everybody needs to read this. It's as simple as that.
There were times I would find myself talking to Starr in my head, whether I was agreeing with her or trying to help her. This book is so raw that you're 100% there with the characters, and I think it's the reality check that a lot of people need.
El tema principal de este libro a mí parecer, que fue lo que más me hizo pensar, es el racismo en la actualidad que sigue presente por más que se piense lo contrario. Se plantea esta temática a través de la historia de una joven que se encontraba presente en el asesinato de su amigo de la infancia a mano de un oficial de policía. Esta situación causa mucha controversia en toda la comunidad, ya que murió a sangre fría y sin presentar en ningún momento un acto de violencia por parte del asesinado. Pero la policía promueve por medio de la televisión lo contrario, lo que hace que todos los personajes actúen y vayan educándose más con respecto a el racismo y las formas de expresar su dolor ante la injusticia.
Yo, personalmente, nunca he leído un libro como este que me haya movido tanto. Me di cuenta de muchas cosas sociales presentes en cada país pero con diferentes minorías que son las que más se ven afectadas por los movimientos gubernamentales. Me pareció una visión única dentro de la literatura para jóvenes adultos dentro de la categoría Contemporánea. Fue una maravilla encontrar este tipo de información promovida para que se lea.
La perspectiva de esta historia es totalmente social, podemos pensar también que tiene algo de perspectiva histórica, ya que es una situación que se viene repitiendo durante años, quizás a menor escala pero igual. Y también podemos pensar que tiene aspectos psicológicos porque realmente se puede ver en la narrativa cada detalle desde el sentimiento hasta la forma de construcción de un pensamiento moralista.
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Sometimes you appreciate a creative work so much that simply buying the book is not enough. You look for a Kickstarter or an IndieGogo or a Patreon or a Kofi, hoping for more ways to support the author. This is one such work, a great debut novel. I only have one criticism, and that's that the main cast was too perfect. I don't mean that they led charmed lives, because they didn't; what I mean is that in almost every situation, when facing almost every challenge, they acted how one might hope they would act. Like, you know how sometimes you say or do something, and two days later you're like awww, maaaan, I should've said/done this other thing, that would've been so much better. Most of these characters, most of the time, act and react in an almost ideal way; and, in so doing, their credibility is somewhat diminished. That niggle out of the way, there is so much here to love. The Carter parents interactions are wonderful, as is Starr's ability to appreciate them and see her parents as individuals separate from just “Mom” and “Dad”; this ability speaks to a maturity far beyond her 16 years. The whole family dynamic, in fact, is so great: there is so much love, compassion, and empathy. I look forward to reading whatever Angie Thomas has next in store for us. (I was on an airplane without in-flight Wi-Fi while I was writing this, so I wasn't able to look up that what she has in store for us is [b:On the Come Up 36578443 On the Come Up Angie Thomas https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1549338526s/36578443.jpg 56364068] and it just came out a little bit ago and I must buy it immediately.)