Book Review #54: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Hey Guys x

It's been just under a month since my last book review (probably longer by the time I finally upload this!), and in that time I've fallen in love with reading over and over and over again, and this book has certainly helped with that.

It's about a girl called Starr Carter. Starr lives in two worlds, the 'ghetto' where she lives and has been brought up, and the 'white' area where she goes to school, and where all her friends, and her boyfriend, are. Her life's work is making sure that there two areas never collide. However, one night Starr witnesses the murder of her unarmed best friend by a police officer. And suddenly Starr is thrust into a world of riots and activism. But when her worlds collide, and it's time to speak out, will Starr be able to find her voice?

I thought this book was incredible. There's a lot of hype surrounding it and it certainly deserves every bit of hype that it's getting because it's worth it.

The story itself is so poignant. The issue of police brutality is one that seems never-ending, there's always an incident or a story involving the police doing something that people frown upon. And even if you've been under a rock and haven't heard these stories on the news, just google it, because there's a plethora of stories to choose from. And physical examples - the video of the shooting of Oscar Grant is still on YouTube, and the film version of that horrific incident, 'Fruitvale Station' has been out for a while.

It's something that you can't ignore unless you physically choose to, even if you're not black, and I think this book is an amazing depiction of this story from as close to the victim's point of view as you can get: his best friend.

The book doesn't portray anyone involved in this story as perfect. The victim of the incident, Khalil, isn't a model citizen. Yeah, he sold drugs. But what this book puts emphasis on is that there is not one aspect of his personal life that should be used to justify him getting murdered in cold blood while he was unarmed and not a threat. There's nothing that makes it right that the officer decided to pull the trigger, and nothing will ever make up for the fact that a young boy lost his life. And if this sounds a bit deep for the life of a fictional character, it's worth remembering that there have been so many incidents exactly like this one, with unarmed people taken too soon when they weren't threats. Again, let's go back to the example of Oscar Grant.

And then there comes the character of Starr, and her decision to speak out. Before reading this book, I would have said that I probably wouldn't speak out, because I'd be too scared of being tarred with the criminal brush, or that someone might do something to me if I 'snitch' - but after reading this, if I was in her situation, I would definitely speak out. If bad things happen and everyone stays silent about them, how can we expect change to occur? I'm not saying we should all go out and riot, but silence doesn't help either.

Starr is such a strong character, particularly because of the way that she frequently describes herself as being 'weak'. To her, having fear is being weak. But to me, and to her mother in the book, what makes her strong is the fact that she doesn't let her fear stop her from doing what's right, and that's such an important part of this story.

What was good?
I can't decide which character I loved more. Taking Starr out of the equation, her parents are just complete goals, and I love them both enough to wish they were mine. Then there's her brother Seven, who I'm kind of in love with. I think that might just be because I've always wanted an older brother and he's the exact one that I'd like to have. Plus her boyfriend Chris, who is white, is the perfect example of being an ally to someone of colour. He knows that he can't fully understand how she was brought up, or how she thinks, and he doesn't try to. He asks questions, he learns, he tries. And that's more than anyone can really ask for.

And then, from the perspective of a black girl who has to choose who to portray herself as in a world where her fellow students are 95% white, I completely identify with the way that Starr worries about being true to her community. If you're a black person who's ever been told that you 'sound white' or 'why do you like white boys?' or anything on that level, you know exactly what I mean. It sucks, but it's something that shouldn't stop anyone from living the life that they want to live, Starr included.

What was bad?
In all honesty, there's not much that I would criticise about this book. The only thing I would say is that I wanted to hear more from the character Maya - I didn't even know she wasn't white, but Chinese, until at least halfway through the book. Even though she's not a main character, having the dynamic of someone that doesn't fit into the white world or the black one would have been really interesting.

Overall
What are you waiting for? Read this book. I can't say any more than that, just read it. It's important, and empowering, and amazing. And just because it has a black protagonist doesn't mean that it's not a book for everyone, because it really is.

Lou