The Hate u Give by Angie Thomas

 The Hate u Give by Angie Thomas

Bibliographic Data 

Thomas, A. (2018). The hate u give. Balzer + Bray, An Imprint Of Harpercollinspublishers. ISBN:9780062871350 

Summary 

This is the story of a 16-year girl named Starr who lives in a rough predominately black neighborhood, but she goes to a prep school that is white. One night when she goes to a party in her neighborhood and gunshots are fired Starr runs out and meets up with a long-time childhood friend Khalil who offers to give her a ride home. On the ride home they are stopped by a police officer and Khalil is shot and killed. Starr is now faced with the challenging task of explaining the truth of what she saw at the shooting even though it could cause a lot of harm to her neighborhood and cause her trouble at her prep school. 

Critical Analysis 

The author Angie Thomas wrote a book that gives the outside world, who does not live in a rough neighborhood, an opportunity to see how life is in a rough neighborhood. The character of Starr is very complex, and the reader sees her struggle. She portrayed herself one way when she was home with friends and then she portrayed herself another way when she was at her prep school. The reader admires who Starr is working to become. The reader sees the change in her character moving from fear to courage. She even has the courage to stand up to her white “friends” at school. Publishers Weekly stated, Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large. This review had me reflect on what I was reading. Starr chose to speak about the undervalued lives in her neighborhood knowing that there could be repercussions. Angie Thomas molded Starr into a beautiful person in her own skin who finally showed who she was when she stood up for Khalil and spoke the truth. 

Reviews and Awards 

Horn Book Guide Starred, 10/01/2017 

African American sixteen-year-old Starr Carter lives a life caught between her rough, predominantly black neighborhood and the "proper," predominantly white prep school she attends. This precarious balance is broken when Starr witnesses the shooting of her (unarmed) childhood friend Khalil by a police officer.  

School Library Journal Starred, 01/01/2017 

The first-person, present-tense narrative is immediate and intense, and the pacing is strong, with Thomas balancing dramatic scenes of violence and protest with moments of reflection. 

Booklist Starred Reviews, 12/15/2016 

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two very different worlds: one is her home in a poor black urban neighborhood; the other is the tony suburban prep school she attends and the white boy she dates there. Her bifurcated life changes dramatically when she is the only witness to the unprovoked police shooting of her unarmed friend Khalil. 

Awards: 

Coretta Scott King: Author Honor 2018 

Kids Book Choice Award: Winner 2018 

Michael L. Printz Award: Honor 2018 

 

Connections 

1. Read the prequel Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas 
2. Read Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s book All American Boys. 
3. Turn and Talk: When you read the title The Hate U Give, what did you think the story was going to be about? 
4. Quick Write: Starr must decide to tell what she witnessed and be a voice for Kahlil knowing there could be repercussions for her family and community. What would you do and why?