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

by Angie Thomas

[nannah]

(4.5)

I'm pretty sure this should be required reading for all white people. Its writing style makes it really easy to get into, but also shows people the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and really portrays well the racial bias, racism, and microaggressions that happen when yet another black person gets shot (murdered) by a cop.

There are two different Starr Carters. One lives in a poor neighborhood and another goes to a high school in which her classmates live in literal mansions. They act differently and speak differently, and Starr takes pains to make sure their lives never meet.

And then her childhood best friend is shot by a cop right in front of her, creates a national stir, and this delicate balancing act between these two worlds is shattered.

Okay, so I'm white. My input on the book's topic isn't one that's going to be valuable (or even wanted), so I'm going to stay out of that. But what I can say is that this book was pretty hard to put down, even if there was some lag in the longer sections. And I definitely cried at the very end, when the author listed names I recognized from real life.

This book definitely makes an impact.