The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, is a fiction novel and a stand-alone book.
The Hate U Give follows sixteen-year-old Starr Carter as she navigates her life after watching
her best friend, Khalil, get shot at the hands of a police officer after attending a party with him.
She already feels out of place at her predominantly white prep school and wants a way out.
After witnessing Khalil’s death, Starr takes up the activist route and tries to pursue justice for
Khalil after the police decided not to take against the officer. Starr does everything she can to
advocate for Khalil all while realizing that the system was not made for people like them.
Racism and police brutality are both issues that Starr must now grapple with after everything
happened. In this novel, Angie Thomas explains Starr’s journey navigating her personal life and
internal thoughts along with school.
The Hate U Give displays a powerful message about advocating for justice in the face of
adversity. We learn about perspectives we might not have when Thomas explains Starr’s
journey doing interviews and being on trial to get justice for Khalil. This message gets across
very effectively, and Thomas uses the proper amount of ‘show, don’t tell’ to explain the
significance of what she is talking about. I enjoyed this book for the way it was written and the
informal language to make it seem relatable. It appeals to all audiences with its message, but
the slang and informal words spoken by the teen characters makes the reader feel as if they are
living in the world of Starr Carter. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and the message, and I think
Thomas tied it all together well.