Rave Review: "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Quick Summary

Type: Novel

Genre: Young adult fiction

Summary: "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." Read Time: 3 days

Rating: 5 stars

Review

I don't remember when the last time I cried so hard at a book was.

The overarching plot was predictable - of course it was. It was a reflection of what we see too often in real life. An unarmed black person is murdered in cold blood by the police. It is a tragedy. People protest, even riot. A lot of people are pissed off, some people support the cop because of that 'Back the Blue' bullshit. In the end, the verdict is as expected.

What made this novel so powerful was the personal touch. My heart broke as Starr tried to cling to what her life had been before while trying to cope with the death of her last remaining childhood best friend. Not only that, but my heart broke as she struggled to balance her two lives. Over and over again, my heart broke for this girl.

There were some things I found a little unrealistic. That being said, I realize that this is a young adult fiction and there does generally tend to be a 'happily ever after'. So people turning on King en masse and DeVante somehow surviving the King Lords (despite having been beat up and kidnapped by them) to turn witness did feel optimistic. However, I don't live anywhere close to gang territory so maybe it's not as unrealistic as I might think it is.

The (bleak and possibly unrealistic) optimism of the ending doesn't do much (or really, anything) to take away from the greatness of the rest of the book. All the characters are crafted with care and depth. Even though the story is told from Starr's point of view, we get good glimpses into the hopes, dreams, principals, morals, motivations of the people around her, making for a very rich story.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It's a great book.

Edit: this book has stayed with me since I read it. It's the only book that genuinely made me cry this year. I loved it, and I realized it deserves to be counted in my all-time favorites, so I'm upgrading it accordingly.