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

by Angie Thomas

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

The Hate U Give is a powerful novel and everyone should read it.

I don’t care if you are a twelve-year-old South African girl or a wrinkly, crotchety white American man. Starr’s story casts an uncomfortable light on the things that are wrong in our society and in ourselves. She tells the world like it is, but not for a single moment does Angie Thomas preach to her readers. She is raw and real, and if it makes you uncomfortable... well, it should. Every once and a while I got a novel that makes me want to talk about the themes more than the story or the characters. That’s where I’m at. When I post the review on my blog in a couple weeks, I’ll talk about the racism theme. I’ll try to focus on the book here.

First of all, the writing is flawless. Angie Thomas ropes you in from the first sentence and never lets you go. Folks, I am on vacation heading overseas to Europe (this is dropping on Goodreads from Ponta Delgado - ola!) and I would rather sit here and reread this book than go sit in the hot tub, chill in the spa, or play Deal or No Deal. I’m going to return it to the library though because I can reread it at home. 😊

All the characters represent something - strength, joy, hope, fear. The transition between Starr’s two selves is positively and perfectly uncomfortable. The difference between choice and expectation are wonderful/enraging. Honestly I just want to give Angie Thomas a hug. And this book sure wasn’t written for a 28 y/o white girl like me.

If you’re on the fence about reading THE HATE U GIVE, let me give you a bit of advice. If you’re worried that the story is overhyped, don’t be. It lives up to expectations and is fantastic. It has the potential to be a single sitting read. If you’re worried this book is going to be preachy about racism... it’s not. It’s brutally honest, but I never felt like anyone was pointing fingers at me and calling me a sucky person. And if you’re worried that this book will make you uncomfortable... well, I hope it does. Because people who can identify unsavoury traits from the characters in this novel within themselves need this book.