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/
The Hate U Give was such a raw and emotional read for me. I don't think I will ever fully understand how hard it is to be Black in America. However, I do think Ms. Thomas managed to at least make me feel a little bit of what it's like. With each diverse book I read, I become more aware of my white privilege, and I think I have always been aware that I have it. To me, reading a book like The Hate U Give opens my mind more, and it also makes me want to help fight for equality! The Hate U Give is very well written, and I think the fact that it was written from a first person point of view made me really walk a mile in Starr's shoes. Her fear, her frustrations, her grief and her fight all felt relevant and realistic to me.
COYER Summer 2019 Treasure Hunt: Read a book that has been turned into a movie. 3 POINTS
