Angie Thomas is the author of the award-winning, #1, New York Times bestselling novels The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Concrete Rose as well as Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. A former teen rapper who holds a BFA in creative writing, Angie was born, raised, and still resides in Mississippi. You can find her online at www.angiethomas.com, or on Instagram and Twitter.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor black 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, Khalil's death is a national headline. 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 destroy her community. It could also endanger her life.
I'm not sure what else I could say about this book other than what everyone else has said! This book was a fantastic read from start to finish—chilling and touching, anger-inducing and heart-wrenching and heart-warming all at once. This is because Thomas cuts right to the core of the injustices handed out to Starr, her family, and her community, while also never once forgetting to look at the good stuff too—the way her family loves one another, the way the neighborhood comes together to support Starr and her family, and the friendships Starr has forged along the way.
One of my favorite parts about the book as a whole is Starr's voice, and how she talks about code-switching between her two different neighborhoods. Part of why this stood out to me was because Amandla Stenberg's foreword to the paperback edition of my copy focused on how she, too, felt very much the same way growing up. I am a firm believer in that having a strong narrative voice is a good indicator of why YA books make it to TIME's Top 100 Best YA Books of All Time list, and that is very much true for The Hate U Give. Starr doesn't pull her punches with her depictions of everyone and everything. She tells it to you like it is, while still finding ways to have grace and kindness where applicable.
Another aspect of the book is how nothing felt like a movie—especially as far as the time allotments with the justice system. Everything at the beginning happens very quickly—of course it does! Khalil's murder and the instant fallout happens in the largest chunk of the book because everything must feel so immediate. But then, once the case makes its way into a justice system, the book splits into different sections, showing how long it takes for cases to move through the system. It's absolutely insane how long it takes to "get justice." Angie Thomas depicts that movement through time very well, and in a way that raises questions for the reader about so many things, from Why hasn't this changed yet? and How can we do better? and What can we do to get justice for people just like Khalil and Starr and their neighborhoods? Luckily, the paperback edition includes some resources in order to guide readers towards what they can do. And, there's always something we can do.
For more of my reviews of books from the TIME's Top 100 Best YA Books of All Time, click here. You can find more from Angie Thomas online at www.angiethomas.com, or on Instagram and Twitter.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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