The Hate U Give ♦ Angie Thomas | Review

Because [b:The Hate You Give|53522062|The Hate You Give|Angie Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613832668l/53522062._SY75_.jpg|49638190] is the most impactful book I’ve read in a very long time, it was kind of a challenge to get the right words for this review. As you read this review about this book, which is pertinent and instructive, sadly similar events pictured by this book are happening day in and out all over the world.



The Hate U Give ♦ Angie Thomas

Opinion

At the beginning of this review I have to say, as a German reader I had my difficulties with the dialogs (slang) at first and I always wanted to correct the characters with their grammar. But because I did want to have the original experience of the story, I had to adapt. After a couple of pages in, the flow of reading caught in. I can’t tell how the slang was translated in the German version, or if there was any at all.

This book was influenced by the #BlackLivesMatter movement, which gained traction after sixteen-year-old Starr saw her best friend, a black kid who was unarmed, slain by a police officer. Because there is hardly to never any justice for these senseless tragedies, Starr is afraid to speak out and struggles with what to do all the time.

Being uncomfortable is essential for change, and That Hate U Give will make many people feel that way because it is true and honest. And a lot of people’s lives are going to be changed by this book. I sincerely hope that everyone who reads this would begin to educate themselves about the issues facing the world today and stop ignoring them. The Hate U Give is a work of genius that will be a frequent source of inspiration for years to come. Books are the most effective and impactful tool we have.

The fact that the cops won’t automatically perceive me as a threat merely because of the color of my skin also makes me feel privileged. And as a white person, privileged I am. I know I won’t ever have to consider the potential that a routine traffic stop could become more hazardous just because a police officer becomes tense. I used to take that for granted without being aware of it. But after reading The Hate U Give, I won’t be able to keep doing so.

Bottom Line

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of the most significant movements taking place nowadays was examined in The Hate U Give, which then presented it to the world’s youth and also older generations as myself, as a story. That present ended up being one of the most popular books in recent memory. The movie adaption is as powerful as this book is. I recommend reading and watching both.


This review was first published at The Art of Reading ( )

REQUIRED READING FOR ALL HUMANS

A great book stays with you, like a dozen shot tequila hangover. The Hate You Give is the type of book that will stop you in your tracks, take your breath, and make you evaluate yourself. The Hate You Give is riveting and an absolute must read.

Sixteen year old Starr is caught between her worlds of white privilege school, where she and her brothers, Seven, and Sekani, commute 45 minutes to get the best education available, and the ghetto where she lives, where bullets spray her neighborhood, and colors equate to gang loyalty.

While at a party in her ‘hood over spring break, shots ring out and she and her best friend, Khalil dash for his car and take off, only to get pulled over by a white cop. Unarmed, Khalil is shot three times in the back and dies on the street with Starr holding him. What follows is expected, rioting, opinions, lack of justice, and lines drawn between blacks and whites, including at Starr’s 99% white school and with her white friends.

I read for many reasons: entertainment, relaxation, education. I try to stay away from the over-hyped, I don’t tend to know if something is a movie (I’m more of a nose in a book kinda gal rather than eyes on the screen), and I do my best to stay well-rounded (read: I try to see all sides). But there are some things that need to be shouted from the rooftops. YOU NEED TO READ, THE HATE YOU GIVE.

Angie Thomas’ debut novel, written some years back, is as relevant then as it is today. Read this book. Look inside yourself, your knee-jerk thoughts and behaviors, and see if you too don’t come away hungover, wrung out, and emotionally exhausted. We must do better. ( )

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Death of a brother and a child in the past mentioned, murder, blood, grief and loss depiction, racism, racist slurs, gun and gang violence, physical assault and injury, hospitalisation of a person, fire, explosions, imprisonment, drug and alcohol abuse
Score: Nine points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

The Hate U Give succeeded where other novels failed. I've read books like this before, but none were as outstanding as this one. I wanted to read this story for a while after seeing it in my recommendations, so I picked it up from a library I went to. When I finally read and finished the narrative, it was spectacular. It's the first five-star read of the year.

It starts with the first person I see, Starr Carter, living as if she's split in two. One half lives in an impoverished neighbourhood while the other lives in a PWI. Everything looks typical until a person shoots and kills her best friend, Khalil, who is unarmed. The book is slow but I can understand since it's over 400 pages, yet it still feels like every page is necessary.

I liked that the author allowed me to connect to Starr more as she developed, and I appreciated all the other characters in the fictional composition. They're all realistic and complex. The author explores the themes of racism and injustice well as I could see how people can make subtle racist comments and how they can be in solidarity with each other. The climax is bittersweet as I see crowds protesting over Khalil's death, all while the police do nothing about the culprit. When I closed the final page, it never felt like I left The Hate U Give at all, since that world is, unfortunately, so similar to the one I live in, especially when there are people against injustice in real life. The sneak peek of On the Come Up immediately made me want to read it and other creations from Angie Thomas. ( )

I read this for the "A New York Times Bestseller For More Than 10 Weeks" part of my 2018 reading challenge. It was fantastic and insightful and real, it didn't read as too childish or too adult, it found it's voice perfectly. And it's a voice everyone needs to hear. ( )

This is a young adult book that is an excellent opening conversation about race relations that should be assigned reading in every American high school. The protagonist, Starr Carter, lives in two worlds: the tony, mostly white suburban prep school she attends in another town where her uncle lives -- a police officer who acted as a father figure while her father was in jail earlier in her childhood -- and her gritty urban neighborhood. These two worlds diverge when Starr witnesses the fatal police shooting of her best friend since childhood, Khalil, an unarmed black teenage boy. It is a well-written first-person narrative. ( )