Thursday, April 20, 2017

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas book thoughts


Title: The Hate U Give
Series: Standalone
Author: Angie Thomas
Published Date: February 28th, 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 444
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
Read: April 2017

Goodreads Synopsis

"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."

Rating: 5/5 stars

Check it out on Goodreads!

Some Quotes:

"Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black."

"Brave doesn't mean you're not scared, Starr." she says. "It means you go on even though you're scared. And you're doing that.""

My Thoughts

TW: Racism, racial profiling, abuse, fire, police brutality

Honestly I can not do this book justice no matter what I say. It's an own voices book inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. It's honest, raw, heart-breaking, unapologetic and unafraid. It's truly powerful. My white behind's opinion on this is not really important, but I have got to reiterate how truly powerful and important this book is, especially in today's world! I don't care if you don't normally pick up YA or Contemporary, this book is really in a category all on it's own and I highly recommend EVERYONE pick it up! I may not be able to do the book justice but i'll certainly try to write a review for it.

Honestly at the very beginning the characters were annoying me in the "typical annoying teenagers" way and I was seriously worried i'd be the one person to not like it and feel absolutely horrible about it. This was not the case! It quickly showed the why and picked up. No word was unnecessary.

I'm sure there are people out there that are going to be worried it's anti-white and anti-cop. It's not. It does however show the hard truths that black people have to live with everyday and how exhausting it is. It squeezed my heart through-out the book. It made me think, and hard. You can mean well, truly mean well, and still be racist without even realizing it. And so often people just let it slide...how are things going to get better and change then?

Even though it's heart-wrenching there were laugh out loud moments and messages of hope. It's hard-hitting but still full of hope. There are sweet moments in it too.

It's angry yes. And it shows why. The journey Starr goes through in this book...I don't know how to describe it but it's amazing. The journey to understand herself, her place and society. I don't think i'm saying it well.

The writing is well done, no wasted word. It's easy to read and sucks you in, while still packing powerful punches. The characters feel very real. Emotional, flawed and go through character development. Starr truly comes into her own by the end and in becoming a woman. I love Starr's voice!

It talks about so many important topics. Racism, as well as how racism kills, code switching, police brutality, interracial relationships and more. It has strong family bonds in ways we're told don't exist anymore. It's relate-able. I grew up in a poor neighborhood where as a kid I was used to hearing gunshots too. Heck some made it through our roof, don't know how that happened but for awhile we had buckets in our house because of it. I remember saying "Mom..I need a bucket" because it was raining in the middle of my bedroom. I didn't realize as a kid how messed up it was that gunshots didn't faze me. And I know my white self still has a lot of white privilege. Privilege isn't a dirty word. But now I feel like i'm getting off track. Like I said though it's relate-able in so many ways and will be even more to others.

The characters in this book aren't just characters. They are real people, living in today's world. I've never felt characters more alive and true.

This book made me ugly cry. It made me have to put it down multiple times so I could get myself together. It also made me stay up late in order to finish it, which I never do. It also made me cry at a prayer...and that kind of stuff normally makes me roll my eyes.

I'm trying to be vague as I believe this is a book you need to experience for yourself. This book packs powerful truths that need to be heard. Please, if you can, get a hold of this book and read it! Yes, i'm begging you. It is truly deserving of all the hype and more. These messages need to be heard! Yes, especially if you are white. This book deserves every bit of the hype!

2 comments:

  1. I have heard so many amazing things from this one. Can't wait to find this one of my bookshelf! So glad you enjoyed it; great review!
    Morrighan @ Elysian Fields Reviews<3

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    1. Thank you for reading & commenting! ^_^ I hope you enjoy it too when you get to it! :)

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