Book Review #716 - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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.

My Rating: 8.5/10

I was a little slow at being convinced to read this book because I didn't feel like I would be able to relate to the themes explored and also because the hype intimidated me. After reading however, I cannot believe how wrong I was as the book ended up being my second favourite read of 2017. 

I absolutely loved this book cover to cover and it really opened my eyes to a lot of cultural issues in the US that as an Australian, I knew absolutely nothing about such as Emmett Till. 

Starr was such a likable protagonist. I loved her whole family dynamic. Her relationship with her parents (especially her father), her brothers, and even her uncle was really realistic and not something we see enough of in YA novels.

What I didn't expect from this book was the amount I learnt about the Black Lives Matter movement which was something that I loved. The fact that these events are still happening in the modern world is shocking. 

Every single character in this book was so incredibly fleshed out and even the minor ones served a larger purpose. 

This book was very community focused especially in the 'ghetto' where Starr and her family live. The fact that her family have the means to move somewhere safer but CHOOSE to stay there shows just how much they see the members of their community as extended family. 

I'm never really good at reviewing the books that I really loved so to summarize the above, this book was really good and I definitely recommend it.