Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Summary: The Hate U Give is about a teenager named Starr. Starr is African-American and grew up in a low-income area called Garden Heights. Although she grew up in Garden Heights, she does attend school with her peers from her neighborhood. She attends a predominantly white private prep school called Williamson Prep. At this point Starr feels as if she is living two separate lives and doesn't really belong in either. Her friends back home criticize her when she speaks like she does at school and her friends at school are insensitive to her culture back home. One night, Starr attends a party with a friend that gets busted by the police. Her best friend Khalil offer to give her a ride home and she accepts. As they are talking in the car, Khalil gets pulled over by a police officer who happens to be white. The officer asks the two teenagers to get out of the car and when Khalil turns around to check on Starr, the police officer shoots Khalil three times in front of Starr. Khalil dies in the street. As the story of Khalil is reported on by national news, Starr's role in the story gets hidden. She is kept as a secret witness and is forced to keep her trauma to herself and no seek the helps from friends that she needs. Eventually Starr allows two investigators to interview her at the advice of her uncle Carlos. Starr listens to Carlos because he took care of her when her father was sentenced to 3 years in prison from a crime that he didn't commit which he did to keep a gang leader out of jail. When Starr's father return's from prison, he leaves the gang which is allowed by King, the leader, the man her father took the fall for. When the police is set free from killing Khalil, Starr's neighborhood turns in to ground zero for protests and marches against police brutality. Starr's white friends have a hard time understanding why Starr is joining in the protest. Some of her friends go so far as to make racist comments toward Starr and Khalil. Even though Khalil's killer walks free, Starr commits he life to bringing about social change and keeping Khalil's memory alive.
Strengths: The Hate U Give is a hard-hitting book that deals with many social issues of the day. Angie Thomas tackles racism, police brutality, the media, grief, violence, drug use and the Black Lives Matter movement. Students will connect with Starr immediately and understand her struggle of living two separate lives, not really knowing where she fits in. Students will clearly see Starr's heartbreaking struggle as she becomes the voice of a movement.
Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MM8OkVT0hw
Similar Books:
- Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
- Swing by Kwame Alexander
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Other books by Angie Thomas:
- On the Come Up
LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read The Hate U Give
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