The Hate U Give
Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. NY: HarperCollins
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is about 16-year old Starr Carter. Starr is constantly switching between two worlds---the poor, mostly back neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school she attends. These two worlds come crashing together one night when she attends a party in her neighborhood. A fight breaks out during the party so Starr and Kahlil, her childhood best friend leave. On the way home, they get pulled over by a white police officer, and Khalil questions the officer's motivation for the stop. The officer commands Khalil not to move and he returns to his car with Khalil's ID. Khalil opens the door to check on Starr and the officer, who mistakes a hairbrush in Khalil's hand for a gun, shoots, and kills Khalil. Starr must now deal with, what we find out, is the second friend's death in her neighborhood. Tensions rise between the neighborhood and the police, which is weighing heavy on Starr since she is a witness to the injustice.
With the Black Lives Matter movement currently happening in the US, this book is a must-read! We are shown the many sides to the violence and injustice felt by many black Americans today. This novel does not shy away from racism, drugs, gangs violence, or police brutality.
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