The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)

by Angie Thomas

Bahni Turpin (Narrator)

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.
Source: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062677082/the-hate-u-give/

• ISBN10: 006267708X
• ISBN13: 9780062677082
• Publish Date: 28 February 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: Balzer and Bray
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 11 hours and 50 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

November 26, 2017

Full book review is up on Word Revel.

_________

November 22, 2017

Initial thoughts: My back hurts because I didn't move from my spot the past three hours, reading The Hate U Give. This is so powerfully written, has so much heart and an incredibly strong voice. Given the subject matter, I can't say I loved this book. It cuts too close to reality, which is a horrible one.

As an outsider who doesn't even live in the US, it's hard to grapple with and understand what it's like for Black people who have to fear for their lives the moment they're born. I still don't understand why innocent lives are lost at the hands of the very people who're supposed to protect them. But I did learn a little more about the complexities of choosing to speak up or be silent when the justice system is so bent against Black people.

The Hate U Give is such an important book, that I join everyone else who implores the world to read it.

_________

Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[luddite]

This is an excellent book. This is what good fiction does - help you understand a world, a time, a life vastly different from yours by providing you a window to peer into the lives of others.

Excellent ensemble of well-developed characters, an immersive narrative style, well-paced: all these elements only add to an excellent story, personalizing an arc of events we've seen splayed over news cycles all too often, and adding more power to it. And that was important for me, getting a glimpse of the personal stories here, to go along with the academic arguments against police brutality, systemic oppression, protest, resistance. The editorial decision (I presume) to not delve deep into these pedantic arguments serve this book well. It's the reinforcement of the idea of community and how they deal with everyday assaults that drives this book home for me.

Highly recommended.

[liz089]

This was something else. So powerful.

It almost made me cry a couple of times.

Just.. a very strong and powerful novel that everybody should read.

5 Starr's ;)

[Sarah Says]

Beautiful, powerful and brilliant!

The Hate U Give is a truly captivating and moving tale. My heart reached out to Star. I hated that she had to hide parts of herself to be accepted into white society. I hated that she had to witness the senseless death of loved ones. I hated that she was treated differently because the colour of her skin.

Knowing something happens and experiencing it are two different things. I think this book takes the open minded reader one step closer to understanding what it is really like to be on the receiving end of such hate.

There were some truly moving and powerful scenes between Star and her daddy. Both of Star’s parents were standout characters for me. Both were doing their bit to hold the world around them together, while attempting to make it better. It was a breath of fresh air to see such positive role models. Strong, supportive and loving parental characters tend to be lacking in YA.

The story is faced paced, confronting and beautiful. I cannot fault this book, not only does it highlight important social issues, the writing is immaculate.
Buy this book! I urge you to go buy two copies, one for yourself and one for a teen you know.

“Pac said Thug Life stood for ‘The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody’.” The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody – It sure does mate, it sure does.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

After reading this, I can see why The Hate U Give has been on the NYT Bestsellers List for about a decade (only a slight exaggeration). The Hate U Give is important, topical, and so powerful, and it deserves all the hype it has been getting. I read it in less than a day, partly because I was challenged to, and partly because it's an incredibly gripping read.

I have to say, it took me a while to get used to the dialogue in this book. There's a lot of slang and local dialect going on, and, obviously, being from England, it's entirely different to what I'm used to. However, by "a while", I mean about forty pages, if not less. The writing itself is captivating, and by the halfway point I stopped getting pulled out of the story by the dialogue and just rolled with it.

Starr is a wonderful protagonist. I loved how Thomas showed her battling with two different sides of herself, and I loved how Starr overcame her inner conflict. She was a really interesting character to read about, and definitely a memorable one. 

The relationships in this book were my favourite things. Starr's parents are a legit OTP, Starr and her siblings had the best relationships, and then there were the various relationships between Starr and her friends, and Starr's siblings and other family members.

I don't have anything to add that other people haven't already said, really. I cried, the book was great, and I'd definitely read it again. I'm looking forward to reading whatever Angie Thomas comes out with next, because if it's up to this standard then I know I'm going to love it.

[writehollydavis]

4.5/5 stars. Great message, writing style, and a wonderful cast of characters. Story dragged a bit for me at times, but other than the pacing, a perfect story!

[inlibrisveritas]

Read this...if you only read one book this year, make it this one. I don't care if you're in your 60's and that this is YA, it needs to be read.

Full review to come.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

~*This review first appeared here on The Bent Bookworm!*~

I’ve been trying to write a review of The Hate U Give for weeks and weeks now. It’s difficult to put my thoughts about it into a cohesive form, so I’m just kind of going to put a few things out there. Also, I’m aware that this book is HUGE because of it’s subject matter and representation. I read it BECAUSE of that, because I know that I am in the majority and I want to understand what the minority goes through and feels. I realize a book will never give me a complete understanding, but I do think reading #ownvoices books can help. The entire point of reading is to learn and to travel and experience things in our mind that we can’t or don’t have the opportunity to experience in our place in the world.

THUG is an important book because it so thoroughly places the reader into another person’s shoes. Because it was written by someone who has been there. She didn’t have to do research to see how Starr and her friends and family would talk – she knew, because her family is Starr’s family, her town is Starr’s town. This isn’t someone from the outside looking in and writing about it, this is someone writing what they have seen right in front of them.

Read The Hate U Give to see the world outside your comfort zone. Read it to understand why people have and do react the way they do to words, implications, and events. READ. IT.

The truth casts a shadow over the kitchen—people like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right. Maybe.

The Great:

- Angie Carter does a fabulous job of giving her characters unique voices. I could hear each character distinctly and it was amazing. I felt like I was following Starr around, eavesdropping.

- I was completely immersed in the story. When the pivotal point of the story, the shooting, happened, I felt like I’d been sucker-punched. I felt sick. I had to put the book down and go compose myself. At first I tried reminding myself that it was just a book, but of course that didn’t work because OH YEAH STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS PRETTY OFTEN and IN OUR WORLD and…yeah.

- This book helped me understand a lot of things. It helped me see a lot of things for the first time. Every town I’ve ever lived in (except in Korea, heh) had two sides and I never completely understood why it was that way, when segregation was a thing of the past decades ago…supposedly. Starr’s struggle to be more, her struggle with her feelings for Chris, and to bridge what seems to her (and to the reader) to be the two sides of her life, encapsulated everything I’ve ever been confused about or wondered why when it came to those two sides of town.

- FAMILY. I freaking love Starr’s family. Her parents’ relationship isn’t perfect but it’s there. Her entire family – her blended family, there are step and half brothers and sisters in there too – is there for each other. They pull together. They may picker and fight but in the end they are there and it’s amazing.

The Other Thing:

I, personally, was really disturbed by the wrecking of the town and the looting/destroying of property that went on during some parts of the book (mirroring, obviously, a lot of actual events as well). HOWEVER. What really came home to me was that while no, I didn’t agree with the characters doing it, I finally understood to some extent why. I understood that it was a form of expressing how angry and scared Starr and her friends and neighbors were, of the injustice and prejudice that seem to meet them at every turn. Did that make it right? No. Starr even says so later. But I finally had some sense of why things like that happen.

Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.

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[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been getting so much hype lately, especially from those in the US. It's such an important book, but I was worried; I've read books that have been hyped before and been let down. But The Hate U Give is worth all the hype it's receiving and then more some. It's absolutely incredible.

A powerful and moving story inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, The Hate U Give follows Starr in the aftermath of seeing her best friend, Khalil, shot and killed by a police officer. It's a hugely emotional story, and you'll feel so angry and so upset as Starr struggles with how best to fight for justice, despite her growing fear of the police and her own safety.

Starr lives in a poor, black neighbourhood, Garden Heights, where gangs rule, and goes to a posh private school where most of the students are white. At school, she's automatically cool simply for being black, but she's always watching what she says or how she reacts to what's said or done; use too much slang, she'll be seen as ghetto, react with an attitude, she'll be the sassy black girl, react angrily, she'll be the angry black girl. In Garden Heights, she feels she can be herself, but also that she doesn't fit in; she doesn't know most of the teens because she's never around. She's either at school, or she's working at her dad's store - and is known as "the girl who works at the store."

After witnessing Khalil's murder - because that is exactly what it is - Starr is full of grief, but also traumatised. This isn't the first time she's seen someone fatally shot; when she was ten-years-old, she was there when her friend Natasha was shot and killed in a drive by shooting. What's worse, Khalil was shot by a cop, and she is the only witness. She wants to do all she can to get justice for Khalil, but as a witness, if people know, she'll get attention that could put her in danger. So her family agree that she doesn't tell anyone; no-one at Garden Heights, no-one at school. But when giving a statement to the police about what happened leads to the police deciding not to charge the police officer who killed Khalil, Starr feels like she's failed him, that she hasn't done enough. When she is approached by someone from Just Us for Justice, an organisation that tries to get justice in cases like Khalil's, with encouragement from her daddy, she learns that her voice can be a weapon, and she can speak up against police brutality.

But The Hate U Give isn't just about getting justice for Khalil, although that is the focus of the story. It's also about what it's like to live in Starr's neighbourhood. It's a place of poverty, real poverty. Starr and her family are lucky that her father was left the shop he worked at by his previous employer - the only person who would hire him after he came out of prison. They're doing ok, well enough to send three children to a private school, but it wasn't always like that. And there are people who are still struggling - going without food struggling. Add to that the gangs in the area, who sell drugs to people who have no money to buy them, who recruit children, and your heart just sinks for these people. This is fiction, but I would genuinely feel a little scared whenever King, a gang leader, would show up int he story. He poses such a very real threat to Starr and her family. Life is hard, really hard. Like Starr, when you hear about young guys who join the gangs, you will think, "What are you thinking?!" Like Starr, you'll judge those in a gang. You'll start stereotyping them. But as the story goes along, you'll come to realise these people don't feel they have any choice when their families are starving. These guys aren't necessarily as bad as you think. Some of them are really good guys, guys who just have very few options available to them.

This story is also about family, and my god, Starr's family! They are adorable. Not in a cutesy way, but in how fiercely they love each other, in how close they are. Starr's parents are so protective, and rightly so considering what Starr has witnessed, and what she has to do as a witness. Khalil's death angers the whole neighbourhood, and they express their anger through rioting. Garden Heights isn't exactly safe right now, and her parents argue about how best to keep Starr and their whole family safe. And they're angry, they are so angry; that their daughter had to witness something horrific, that she is pressured to give her statement, that her statement ends up meaning nothing, that Starr isn't safe right now. They are a religious family who pray to Black Jesus, and are proud of the black activists who came before them, with pictures up in their house and in their store; Malcolm X, Huey Newton, the Black Panthers. Starr has such a fantastic relationship with her whole family; her parents, her older brother Seven, her younger brother Sekani, and her Uncle Carlos, who is a police officer. Starr fights and has arguments with Seven, but they are also so protective of each other. and it's just wonderful to see the love that this family has for each other. They have such a strong bond, and I think it's rare to see such close families in YA; they don't always get on, they'll have disagreements and fight, but they are still so close. It's just wonderful.

There is so much more I could talk about; Starr's relationship with her school friends who don't understand her life in Garden Heights, the casual racism she experiences, her relationship with her white boyfriend and how she feels about their relationship after all that's happened. But this review is already so long. There are just so many layers to this book. This isn't a story about a boy who was shot by the police, but about the people; the people it affects, the people who live in places like Garden Heights, the people who are always, always, given the short end of the stick because of their skin colour. It's about the people who are always fighting for justice, fighting to be on equal standing, fighting to be seen as the people they are. This book is so powerful. It's more than just a story, it's activism. For those like Starr, it shows them that they are seen and understood, and for the rest of us, it shows us the reality of police brutality, the lies and the cover ups to justify another death of a black man, and it's a call to arms that says this is not ok, this is not acceptable, and we have to stand up, speak and fight too - all of us. Read this book and learn. Read this book and face the truth. Read this book and join those already fighting.

The Hate U Give is so incredibly imporant. Please, just read this book.

Thank you to Walker Books for the proof.

[readingwithwrin]

"People are realizing and shouting and marching and demanding. They're not forgetting. I think that's the most important part."

This is a review I've really struggled on writing, not just because I want to get it right. But because I also wanted to educate myself on certain things. Please if I get anything wrong let me know so I can change it and learn from this.

Starr is a teenager who is trying to go back and forth between her rich white school and her home life in an "unsafe" neighborhood. This is all she has known, she knows that by going to a different school she is being given different opportunities to the ones she would have had if she went to school in her neighborhood with her childhood friends. As can be expected this causes a divide and a fine line she has to balance on to keep everyone happy. Sadly that all comes crashing down one night when her childhood best friend Khalil gets shot and killed.

Now I'm not going to say anything else about the other events that happened after Khalil dies because I feel like they are all what makes this book so much more special and I don't want to ruin this for anyone.

"Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing that."


Lets think of some happier moments now. Starr relationship with her boyfriend Chris. Now I felt like this one wasn't going to last due to Starr not wanting to talk about certain things that were affecting her for fear of what he was going to say, how he was going to react to them. But it did through Chris's persistence and willingness to learn and change his mindset and to be there with no questions answered until after the fact.

"Thats the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be."

Overall I think Thomas did a wonderful job of not only making me see things through Starr's eyes, but really understand how they all felt about this tragedy.. A young man's life was taken too soon and it shouldn't have been. This is something that has been happening time and time again and honestly every time, I've felt sick to my stomach. Because of how the media tries to spin things and make the victim look as if they deserved it. It's not right, but sadly I don't see it changing quickly.

"I hate that I let myself fall into that mind-set of trying to rationalize his death. And at the end of the day, you don't kill someone for opening a car door. If you do, you shouldn't be a cop."

If you haven't yet read this book, I strongly urge you to do so. It is worth all the hype surrounding it!

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