The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas Book Review


Written By: Angie Thomas

Published by: Balzer and Bray in 2017

ISBN: 978-0062498533

Plot Summary: Starr Carter is a teenage girl who lives in a low income African American household and neighborhood. Her best friend Natasha was killed in a drive by shooting and Starr lives with having seen that happen every day. Starr and a childhood friend named Khalil go to a party in her old neighborhood where a gang fight happens so Khalil and Starr decide to leave. They are pulled over by a police officer on a suspicion of a broken tail light but things go awry when the officer shoots Khalil several times and kills him. Starr chooses to not say anything to the police when she figures out the narrative is that Khalil brought it on himself. Starr does testify at the court case but the jury chooses not to indict the police officer which causes people from Starr's neighborhood to start protesting. Starr gets hits with tear gas but throws it back and vows to become more involved with her neighborhood and what is happening. 

Critical Analysis: This book gives a very poignant and hard look at racism in America and how it affects people differently based on the color of their skin and the socioeconomic bracket that they fall into. This story could be straight from the headlines with everything that has been happening in America and it gives many different perspectives on where people fall short from the way that people treat each other in the neighborhoods to the way that the justice system treats people who are different. Tupac's Thug Life is also mentioned many times throughout the story as it is a motif that provides some meaning towards the cycle of hate and violence that is being experienced in Starr's neighborhood.

Reviews: Kirkus Book Review

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.

Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.

This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)

Connections: Students can look into seeing how they can impact their communities in healthy ways through volunteering. Here is a list of community organizations and nonprofits that students can research and figure out where they want to help. 

https://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/communities.htm


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