Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: February 28th, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 453

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Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Okay, this review is probably going to be short and sweet since it has been so long since I read this book. 

What I DO remember about this book is that it was SO good! It will make you angry, it will make you sad, it will open your eyes and enlighten you. Starr is such an amazing character. She has to go through things that no kid should have to go through. But she's so strong and handles it so well, despite the strong (likely) possibility of an unfavorable outcome.

I loved the family dynamic in this book. I loved how much Starr's family all loved and cared for each other. It's so refreshing to see a full, functional family for a change. 

Another thing I really liked about this book was the sense of community in Garden Heights. I loved all the interactions between the different people and seeing how much they all loved their community. That's not something I recall seeing in really any books and I enjoyed it.

A couple of things I remember wanting to talk about regarding this book:

-While I was reading this book, I remember thinking that Sekani was an odd name. And I love that this was actually addressed in the book and that it totally put me in my place. I don't remember exactly what was said, but I remember I liked it. But I feel like I can't really say anything about anyone's name because I feel like Cyra is an odd name.

-I was so so so glad when Starr stopped putting up with Hailey's crap. She was a really rotten friend and it made me sad to think that Starr had to be a different person around her white friends at school.

Overall, this book was fantastic! I was a bit late to the party on reading this one, but I would definitely recommend it if you are also fashionably late to this party. It is powerful and deserves every single ounce of hype that it gets and MORE! I hope it's on the NYT list FOREVER!

Have you read The Hate U Give yet?