The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Posted on behalf of students in ENGL 350: 21st Century African-American Literature

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. Click for catalog link.

Location: Center for Childrens Books (non-circulating)
Call Number: S. T3614ha

Location: Allen Hall
Call Number: 813 T3614ha

Location: Florida Ave Residence Hall
Call Number: 813 T3614ha

Location: Ikenberry
Call Number: 813 T3614ha

Location: Illinois Street Residence Hall
Call Number: 813 T3614ha

Location: Uni High Fiction
Call Number: Fiction T3614ha

The Hate U Give is a novel written by Angie Thomas. She focuses on the life of a black 16 year old teenager, Starr Carter. Starr lives in Garden Heights but goes to Williamson Prep, a private school with predominantly white students. This causes conflict in Starr’s life because she often has to switch back-and-forth between personalities. She doesn’t want to be ghetto compared to her school friends and she doesn’t want to seem too white when around the neighborhood kids. Thomas also focuses on racism, brutality from the police, and using your voice to make a change. Two of Starr’s childhood friends were killed. Natasha was killed in a crossfire. Khalil was killed in front of Starr by the police. This causes things to be shaken up in Starr’s life. She wants justice for Khalil.

Her friends at Williamson don’t understand her primarily because she comes from a different background. So, when they ask Starr about Khalil she denies knowing him. Although, that was her best friend for as long as she can remember. Khalil wasn’t a saint but he did what he needed to do to provide for his family. He was killed by an officer because his brush was mistaken for a gun. With nobody to talk to, this fills Starr with grief, fear, confusion and anger. As a witness to Khalil’s death she begins to actively protest for him when the officer does not take blame for wrongfully killing Khalil and is not indicted. These are real problems for Starr. However, her school friends use this as an excuse to ditch school. Some even believe the officer did the right thing because he killed a drug dealer. This leads Starr to act distant, including from her white boyfriend, Chris.

Things aren’t so great in the Garden Heights. Starr’s father, Mav, is a former member of a gang. He tries his best to steer his kids away from having a life like that. On the other hand there is King. King is the person “feeds” the neighborhood streets. The neighborhood eventually turns on King when they realize he does more damage than good. Mav also learns to accept his kids for who they are and trust that he has raised them to do the right things. This includes him finally accepting that Starr has a white boyfriend. Starr leaves readers with the thought that she will not remain silent and she will continue to be an activist and fight the injustices around her.

The idea of this text is to bring light to the issues that exist with racism and stereotypes in the modern day. Thomas’s main point was to show how racism can manifest in your own neighborhood. It can be shown through violence and/or police brutality. She shows how the main character, Starr, handles a situation when she is faced with discrimination from her peers, authorities such as police officers, and judges. This helps Starr find her identity in her blackness. Thomas’s purpose was to help other teens gain political awareness and to develop the courage to use their voices to stand up for justice.

People should read this book to gain an inside look into the effects of police violence and brutality on the lives of African Americans within the United States. In addition, this book would be useful for people who want to gain more knowledge on the African American community who live in current day society of the United States; Additionally, this novel can help an individual understand how the media portrays police brutality when it involves white-on-black violence, as well as the unfairness and racial biases that still exist within the criminal justice system.

Reading the book was an astounding and an eye opening experience for me. The author took current news and tragedies and made it into such a beautiful masterpiece. I really love the fact that the author emphasized Starr’s feelings and how the death of her friend affected her. I Also love how Starr’s parents were very supportive after she witnessed her friend get murdered by the police for simply holding a hairbrush. Altogether, this was a very emotional novel. Beautifully written and put together.

Angie Thomas. Click for author webpage.

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