The Hate U Give: Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give is, without a doubt, the number one most important novel that I’ve read so far in 2018, and it’s very unlikely that anything is gonna take its crown by the time December rolls to a close. The realistic characters, put together with the heart-wrenching plot made it a fantastic read. I found that if I wasn’t laughing I was crying, and if I wasn’t crying, I was seething. Thomas sends readers on an emotional rollercoaster with this book and I absolutely do not regret jumping on for the ride. I’ve already agreed to borrow this to my older brother and my dad, hoping that they’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I’ll definitely be seeing the movie adaptation once it’s released in the UK and I hope it does the book – alongside the many families who unfortunately can relate to this text – justice.One of the biggest reasons I enjoyed THUG so much, was the Carter’s family dynamic. They’re filled with so much love and care for one another that it brought the entire story together. To go through something so difficult at such a young age, it’s no surprise that Starr ends up struggling immensely with guilt and her sense of belonging. Even though she doesn’t know anybody who understands what she’s going through, the support she receives from her mother, father and brothers was beyond beautiful to read. They may have been strict and didn’t at all hold back in asserting their role as her parents, it’s clear that their only concern was Starr’s happiness and safety.In addition to that, was the character development. We see the main character go from this teenage girl who feels like she has to have two personalities to fit into the two different social groups she belongs to, to someone who becomes comfortable enough to allow all of their friends into their world completely and learns to be proud of who they are deep down. It wasn’t only Starr’s personal journey that we get to witness though. It was also her father, her brother and her friend, DeVante, who by the end of the novel were all different to how they started. To have a front seat in the story of their growth as individuals and as a group was amazing.The amount of stereotypes in the novel made me question it at first. However, I realized that they played a huge role in the story. Yes, Thomas portrays black characters as having their own dialect, being drug dealers and basketball players, their neighborhoods being incredibly violent and dangerous, but, none of this justifies the fact that the police officer murdered an unarmed child – Khalil. In real life, the media (and the system in general) label black victims of racism with all these stereotypes and more, using them as reasons why they were targeted or seen as suspicious, reasons why police officers (who spend years training for how to react in volatile situations without ending a life), panic out of fear. I interpreted the author’s inclusion of the stereotypes as a way to show that although this all may have been true in Khalil’s case, the police officer is still nothing more and nothing less than a murderer.If it isn’t obvious, the book made me very, very angry. It got to the point sometimes where I had to put it down and take a break. Something about me is that I get really invested in things that aren’t real, whether that be a novel or a TV show or a film, or even a news story that has nothing to do with me. That same thing happened here. Certain moments made me want to grab a bullhorn and scream at the top of my lungs, others made me cry so hard I couldn’t even see the page. Starr’s interview with the police, the murderers father speaking out, Hailey – all these things had me reaching for a pencil and scribbling inappropriate words into the margins. The Hate U Give, made me feel. A lot. And I loved that.There were some aspects of the novel which I appreciated, but that others may be put off by. One of these, was the fact that none of the characters were perfect. Every single one was flawed, and the reason this only made me fall even more in love with the story is that it’s so realistic. We’re all human and we all have faults in our behaviors and beliefs. Much like the use of the stereotypes, this only goes to show that no matter what, murder is murder, and murder is wrong. The second thing that some readers may consider a deal-breaker, was the dialect. The novel is written from Starr’s perspective, and she talks like the stereotypical Black-American teenager. Despite the fact that I myself am used to hearing people talk this way, it was still a little strange getting through the first chapter as I’ve never read the voice before. However, it was easy to get used to and eventually I didn’t even notice it. The plot is so intense that the style of writing was like background noise.All in all, The Hate U Give was a wonderful book. Heartbreaking, hilarious, infuriating and wonderful. I’m giving it 5 out of 5 stars and telling you with an aggressive amount of passion to read it as soon as you’re able. Tell all your friends I said to read it, tell your family I said to read it, and then read it again yourself.Thanks for stopping by!P.S. Don’t forget the tissues!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a book that has been on my TBR for such a long time and one that I have been continually putting off reading because of the MASSIVE hype that surrounds this book. There is a reason that there is so much hype around it and why it is so heavily popular and I can't believe how long I have left this book sitting unread on my shelf. I am now thankful to have read it and I can appreciate it so much and it is an important read and one of the few books that 100% deserves all of the build up that surrounds it.This book has such a powerful and impactful message within Every. Single. Page. As a white reader, and as a reader from a different country, this book gives me an important insight into a world that where discrimination and hate is in the forefront of peoples minds and something they have to fight against daily, which is why books like this are extremely important. Reading this book when I did, with the death of needless death of George Ffloyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others, made this books and the events taking place within it, that much more powerful, truthful and overall heart-breaking. Even though the story and plot are current with what is happening with today's events, what makes this book even more relevant and devastating is the fact that this wasn't written for or about the things that are happening at the moment, but about things that have been happening for decades and are STILL happening! How Black people have always been discriminated against and where justice has always failed them! This book is a great example of what can happen when you are doing everything right, but that still doesn't matter, only that you still only get judged and suffer, because of the colour of your skin.When I was younger, I was taught that the police were there to help protect me and if I was lost, scared or in trouble, then they were there to help me, first and foremost.  However, reading this book and listening to stories, that is not always the case for everyone. Within this book Starr states how she was sat down when she was young and had 'the chat' from her parents about the police, the same chat as a lot of other black children. A completely and opposite chat to the one that I had. Whereas I was taught that the police were there to protect me, Starr was taught that Police are dangerous, who look at the colour of her skin and prejudge her, and that there is no justice for what they may do. That their actions will be classed as 'Justified' and they can get away with murder. And history as proved that to be true!This book is a great piece of writing that not only opened my eyes to the injustice. With Starr, you get to see her character trying to deal with the aftermath of this needless shooting, trying to deal with grief, all while trying to fit in to a school that only has one other black student. How friendships change and develop, how to find your true self, and yet you still get some moments in this book that make you laugh, which loosened the build up of tension, that was definitely needed and were perfect.The Hate U Give is a book that I strongly recommend to everyone and anyone of all ages!

I especially appreciate the grows of Starr as a person, her way from a girl who tried to fit in among White racists to someone who stood up for justice. This book stays with me for long since I read it.