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

by Angie Thomas

Now a major motion picture, starring Amandla Stenberg

No. 1 New York Times bestseller

Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · National Book Award Longlist · British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year · Teen Vogue Best YA Book of the Year

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.

Want more of Garden Heights? Catch Maverick and Seven’s story in Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas's powerful prequel to The Hate U Give.

PRAISE FOR THE HATE U GIVE

"Stunning." John Green

“A masterpiece.” The Huffington Post

“An essential read for everyone.” Teen Vogue

“Outstanding.” The Guardian

"This story is necessary. This story is important." Kirkus (starred review)

"Heartbreakingly topical." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A powerful, in-your-face novel." Horn Book (starred review)

• ISBN10: 1406372153
• ISBN13: 9781406372151
• Publish Date: 6 April 2017 (first published 28 February 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Bianca]

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?

— A very relevant read, raising awareness on the Black Lives Matter movement. I believe the writing could've been more impactful/powerful, but it was a great book with a really important message nonetheless.

[Kelly]

Starr is a beautiful young woman, passionate, intelligent with a wonderful sense of community. Born into the public housing system and at ten years of age, Starr witnessed a child's life stolen while playing in the street, her parents insisting Starr attend a predominately Caucasian school along with step brother Seven in order to ensure their daughters safety. Starr's parents are wonderful. her father a local business owner after spending time in prison, a former King of Garden Heights in the gang community. Starr's mother is a local nurse, wonderfully maternal and both parents pillars of the community and a rarity in young adult.

The Hate U Give is a compelling narrative that explores firearm legislation, racism, police brutality, racial profiling, homicide, organised protesting and rioting. I found the narrative confronting, not as a Caucasian reader but as an Australian. A mother who grieves her only child who's life was stolen by gun violence isn't a Hollywood narrative, The Hate U Give will provide readers with perspective and the harm of perpetuating stereotypes.

I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down.

Now I am that person, and I'm too afraid to speak.

An interesting aspect is the concept that African Americans are pressured by white society to conform both directly and indirectly. As Starr attends a school where the majority of the student body is Caucasian and as only one of two students within her peers who is African American, feels the need to conceal her cultural identity, perhaps a result of the white lens viewing African Americans as being inferior. In that regard, I felt as though the narrative was also inclusive of white readers, to connect to a fictional character in order to place the onus on white society for being exclusive.

Hailey was a character who used casual racism against her peers and in particular, friends Starr and Maya, who is of Chinese heritage. Her comments are deeply offensive and it touches on one particular scene in which Starr is speculating as to why her friend Hailey unfollowed her on social media after posting graphic images of a young black man who was slain. It is later revealed by mutual friend Maya as to why, but it highlights the nature of uncomfortable white communities when confronted by African American injustice. In particular, white America.

The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone

The narrative also acknowledges African American societal references, such as musical influences, activists Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and the Black Panthers, a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organisation who fought for black rights against society and the United States government.

The Hate U Give is a powerful and compelling narrative about the racism that divides communities and racial profiling that results in black lives being lost to police officers who have vowed to protect the community. Around the world, awareness spread. Not of the black teens and adults being murdered by white police officers but the white lens coverage focused on the riots that proceeded this horrific injustice. Television media being relayed from the streets were quick to condemn the angry and justified protests, but it was through various social media avenues is where the genuine and unbiased, unprejudiced reports were being shared. By those protesting. The Hate U Give allows readers an opportunity to delve into the lives behind the headlines and why the #blacklivesmatter movement demands attention.

Compelling. Confronting. Influential.

To my brilliant ladies Tika, Brittni, Ari and Blessie who guide me, never tire of my white girl questions and place me in the box of shame.

[Stephanie]

This book is really hard to rate and review. Just read it. It's worth it and needed.

[Heather]

This was one of the most anticipated books of the year.  I preordered it and started reading as soon as it downloaded.  It is worth all the hype.

I think a large part of the effectiveness of this novel is the complexity of the characters.  No one is a stock character with only one relevant character attribute or motivation.  This allows a lot of discussion among the characters on a huge range of topics.

Starr - She is 16 and lives in a neighborhood that she thinks of as the ghetto but she doesn't want anyone else to call it that.  She witness her best friend Natasha get killed in a drive by shooting when they were 10.  After that her mother sent her to a private school in a safer neighborhood.  She feels like she is living a double life at home and at school.  She's not sure she fits into either place.  She has a white boyfriend that she's too afraid to tell her father about.

Khalil - He grew up with Starr but they don't talk much any more.  His mother is a drug addict.  After he is killed, he is described as a drug dealer and a gang member but the truth is harder to come by.

Maverick - He's Starr's father.  He was a gang member but is out of it now.  He was in jail for three years when Starr was young.  He owns a grocery store in the neighborhood.  He is adamant that they are not going to move to a safer neighborhood because they need to help remake the one they live in.  He's drilled Black Panther quotes into his children to teach them to survive.

Uncle Carlos - He is a policeman who grew up in the neighborhood.  He helped raise Maverick's kids when he was in jail and there is still some tension between them.

Add in Starr's mom and her brothers and the rest of the extended family in addition to the friends from the neighborhood and her school and this is a rich cast of characters with multiple points of view.



Khalil is driving Starr home from a party when they are pulled over.  He is pulled out of the car and then shot while standing beside the car.  The police and the officer's family describe it as a shooting of a thug who was going for a gun.  Starr knows there was no gun.  Khalil looked into the car to ask if she was ok.  Now she's dealing with the grief and trauma of witnessing his murder.

At first no one knows that she was the witness.  She wasn't named because she is a minor.  She is unable to talk about it to her friends at school even though it is a major news story.  There is even a walkout supposedly in protest of his killing but mostly was just as an excuse to get out of class.  As she sees people around her react to the story of Khalil's death she is forced to face racism in her friends that she had been ignoring before.

Should she break her silence and talk about what happened?  She talks to the grand jury but should she go public?  What will the repercussions be for her family and her neighborhood?  Talking publicly will bring up issues like gang violence that no one talks about for fear of retaliation.

This is a vibrant and layered story about life in a poor community in an inner city.  It shows an intact African-American family with open love and affection between the parents.  That's rare to find in books.  I'll leave all the analysis of black representation to others but I thought it was amazing.

I would love to hand this book to any white person who has ever thought All Lives Matter was an appropriate response to Black Lives Matter or who thought that a police killing was justified because the person was probably up to no good.  I doubt they would read it but this book needs to be out in the world being read by everyone.

The title comes from Tupac.  This clip was referenced in the book.  He explains what THUG LIFE means to him.

 

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Oh, this book. Look, if you read nothing else this month, make it this book. (Also, maybe don't read it on a plane, because you will have the feels, and the older gentleman sitting next to you will feel very uncomfortable with your tears and rage. No, scratch that- read it anywhere you can.) Nothing I can say will ever do The Hate U Give justice but... I will do my best to convince you to read it, because I promise you, it is a game changer. And beyond just the sheer importance of it, it is flat out a damn good book in general. Here's why:

1. This is one of the most important and remarkable books I have ever read. I mean, if you read the synopsis, I think you can understand why we all must read this. But The Hate U Give is truly the whole package, in addition to being a critically necessary book. I was of course angry- and not just at characters in the book, but just at society in general. I read this right after the Women's March, right after the dawn of the apocalypse inauguration, and so my emotions were already on high alert. And yours need to be, too.The Hate U Give shines a light on so, so many injustices and wrongs in our society in a way that will absolutely make you unable to not think about the impact of Starr's experience in our world.


2. This book will cause you to feel all the things. Oh, no emotions will be spared, I promise. Yes, anger will be one of them. But there's so much more than that. There's so much love and joy, even in the darkest of times. There are moments of humor, of awkward teen moments, of relationship and family dynamics happening all around Starr. In the midst of death and hate, there is life. There is hope.


3. Starr's family is incredible. Not perfect, as no one is, but just... oh, I adored them so. They loved each other with a fierceness that came jumping out of the page, one that I admired so much. Starr even comments on her parents' relationship being adorable- even though she knows as a teen she should be rolling her eyes. It was so honest, and so sweet. When times got tough, they were there for each other, in a way that is so real, and yet so underused in young adult books in general. She has solid relationships with both parents, and an uncle, and of course they have ups and downs, but they are so wholly functional, and the importance of this, and presenting it in such a positive light, is a fabulous message for readers.


4. There is a romance, and I enjoyed it, but it did not steal the focus of the story. And just as important as the romantic relationship dynamics are those of Starr's friendships. Or in some cases, “friendships”. I was so pleased at how in depth these were explored, and at how authentic they felt.


5. Starr has so much growth during the book. Just like any young woman, she is figuring out so many things about herself. She has moments she isn't terribly proud of, and moments that she realizes just how far she has come. It is beautiful watching her grow, and learn, and overcome.

Bottom Line: This book is one of those rare books that I can say with absolute certainty will never, ever leave me. Starr's story, from start to finish, is gorgeously written, dynamic, and beautiful, even in its most heartbreaking moments. I promise that this is a book that you need to experience for yourselves.

[layawaydragon]

Read through in two sittings in one day, the Sunday before Presidents Day.

It's amazing as alllllllllllllllllllllll the hype says it is. Immediately engaging and immersive. Funny and sweet and poignant. It covers every angle and possibility, from black cops to all lives matter. It's brilliantly crafted, well written, and is going to be taught in schools for a long damn time. I'm honored to have watched Angie Thomas grown and gain the recognition she deserves and experience this book while everything is fresh and raw.

Give yourself time, space, and permission to ride all these emotions and absorb the education so many people, especially whites, are needing.

Let me get this out the way--------In the beginning there's a mention of "hoedom" that rubbed me the wrong way as well as complaining about another woman's attire. Uncomfortable, but honestly not that big a deal and there'd have to be a HUGE reversal in YA literature before I'd knock THUG for it. It's minor and only stands out because everything else was really on point and my awareness of these criticisms that enforce slutshaming patriarchy has increased.

I put this behind spoiler tags because people blow shit out of proportion and some white feminists are just looking for bullshit excuses to tear this masterpiece down when they slutshame and rag on black women all the time for no damn reason besides racism.

I really wanted to not mention the hoedom nonsense, but it's girl fighting slut shaming nonsense and leaving this out felt like lying. Yet mentioning it makes me feel bad because of said white woman looking for a fight. Ugh. /rant. -------

It really took me back to Ferguson. No justice, no peace. Throwing back that tear gas ALWAYS gets me.

I'm sure it was done by several people, but that one iconic photo we're all thinking of is of Edward Crawford. One of several Ferguson protestors later found dead in cars. Rest in Power, Edward.

The fight isn't over. We, white people, cannot forget because it's no longer in the news or trending. Cops are stilling killing people. Flint still doesn't have clean water.

I don't know what else to say, besides my heart hurts and it's time to put in more work.