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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Book Review


Reasons For Reading This Book:

As I mentioned in my reviews of Homegoing and Such a Fun Age, I am reading books on different topics this year. One of the topics I chose is race and racism. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been on my want to read list since the movie came out in 2018. Every time I am looking for a new book I always check my library to see if the ebook is available. In April I was finally able to get my hands on the ebook. I first became interested in this book when I saw a trailer for the movie. Since watching the trailer and reading amazing reviews of the book I knew I wanted to read the book not only so I would understand the movie, but so I could finally say I had read this highly recommended book.

Content of the Book:

Starr Carter is a sixteen-year old lover of basketball. As a sixteen year old she struggles with her identity as she is living in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy suburban prep school she attends with her siblings. Starr's life is forever changed when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil by a police officer. Khalil's death gains national attention and that brings along reports, protests, and speculation that Khalil was involved in drugs and gangs. Everyone wants answers to what happened that night and Starr is the only one who can give them. Starr's actions or lack of actions following that night not only effect her but also her friends, family and community.

What I Liked About the Book:

Where do I begin? I'll first say that the narration of a sixteen year old girl was spot on. To make a point of including descriptions of outfits and shoes added to the character development and supported that the narrator was a teenager. These details also painted a visual and full picture of Starr, her friends, her family, and her community. I was a big fan of the addition of the sneaker hobby, it made Starr a more personable character. The descriptions!! Everything was so vivid and detailed. Angie Thomas painted every scene so clearly you could easily picture every little aspect. As a reader you felt every emotion felt by every character is this book. Its a heavy and emotional roller coaster of teen drama and serious real world drama. The emotions of this book were so beautifully displayed that you felt like your were right there with Starr watching her experience this time in her life. At times I was worried that Angie was going to pull away from the sixteen year old narrative, but that never once happened. With the plot of this book revolving around a fatal shooting of a black teenager by a police officer you can expect mentions of BLM, police brutality, and many other aspects of discrimination. I had read in reviews that people felt like this book was very much anti-police and felt like the whole point was to bash the police. In my opinion this is could not be further from the truth. Yes, the book includes anger, frustration and retaliation towards the police, but it also paints the picture of helpful and good-intentioned police officers. I do not feel like this book in anyway completely bashed the police. I feel like it gave a well-rounded picture of the good and the bad. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, my intent with reading this book was to gain an understanding or image of a world that I am not a part of because I am not black and have and will not experience the same things that Starr did. This book met and exceeded that intent of giving me the opportunity to read about a world I do not have experience in. I could continue with more that I liked about this book but I think I have made my point. 

What I Disliked About This Book?

Because I feel like I can't just rave about this book to give it a fair review I have to say something that I disliked. This really is not a dislike but something that could turn people away from reading it, the length. It's print length is 480 pages. It's a commitment, but in my opinion it's totally worth it. I was so captivated by the story that I read it before my 14 day library rental was up. That was a lot of reading for me at the time. 

Would I Recommend This Book?

Without a doubt yes!! Even though this book is in the genre of young adult, I feel like everyone can benefit from the experience of reading it. I recommend this book to anyone who is on the fence about reading it, wants to read it before watching the movie, wants to learn more, and simply wants a captivating realistic story. I say go get yourself a copy!!

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