The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Grade: A
It’s so rare that a book actually lives up to it’s hype for me these days. But this one totally did. Sixteen-year old Starr is the only witness to what happened the night her and her friend Khalil are pulled over by a cop and Khalil winds up dead in the street.
I think first of all the writing is really great especially concerning character. Starr’s voice carries this story. She’s already going between two worlds living in a run down neighborhood with her parents and also going to a fancy (mostly white) school with her brothers. She’s smart. She’s kind. She’s sweet. She has good friends in both places. Hell, her favorite Uncle is even a cop.
There’s parts to where she thinks and regrets how she’s lost touch with Khalil over the years and remembers an old childhood farewell they would give each other that made me tear up. Starr might honestly be one of the most vibrant and relatable characters I’ve read in a long time. All the characters are good and I really feel like Thomas’ ability to bring everyone to life and give even the side characters a strong voice is what made this book for me.
The shooting itself was also really well done. I mean you know that it’s coming. I was prepping for it the minute the cop pulled them over but it was still somehow sudden and shocking. I felt like I was right there with Starr and amazingly not an ounce of it felt emotionally manipulative. Also Starr’s dealings with the police throughout and her panic attacks and fear were really well handled.
Her parents made me roll my eyes a few times. But you know what? Considering the lack of parenting in a lot of YA books (especially the one I read right before this one) I just went with it and loved them in the end.
There’s so many things worth discussing in this book- so much so that I feel like I have to tell myself not to ramble on too much about it and give things away. It’s definitely an important read these days and I was so happy that it lived up to it’s hype. Angie Thomas is an author that I’ll be looking for in the future.
Recommend: Yes!