THE HATE U GIVE – Review

I read this fantastic book a few weeks ago here is my review 🙂

The Hate You Give
Angie Thomas
Pages 438
Rating ★★★★★

What an amazing book! Simple as that. I loved it from the first chapter to the end. And now I want more! Can’t wait for Angie Thomas’s next book to hit the shelves and of course, for THUG to hit the movies. Super excited!!!

This really is a relevant and important YA book tackling the topic of #BlackLivesMatter. The main character and protagonist, Starr, witness her best friend being brutally shot by a police officer. Starr is struggling with what happened and whether she should speak up and tell the truth, even though it could endanger her life.

I really liked Starr as a character. She was complex, as a character should be, but also easy to emphasise with. Though, the first days after Khalil was murdered I felt like Starr’s reactions to his death wasn’t quite believable. I can’t fully explain why I felt that way, maybe it was just me. But again everyone grieves differently.
I also really liked Starr’s character development. How she at the beginning of the book kept her two different “worlds” apart but how she managed to unite them in some way in the end.  Especially the part where Chris stays in Garden Heights during the protest/riots. That was cool but also in a way hilarious 😀

Apropos hilarious this book is actually really funny! It is dealing with a very serious topic but manages to be funny at the same time. It is a very clever move from Angie Thomas and shows her skills as an author. Humour is needed even in hard times. And I do believe it helps readers to get through the book more easily with a bit of humour and I also believe that the book gets out to its audience way better this way.

I have learned that as a white you can never really understand what it is like to be coloured or a minority for that matter. But I believe Angie Thomas and Starr explains how it is to be coloured in a way so that white people can just begin to understand what it is like. I definitely learned some things about being a minority reading this book and I think everyone who reads it will.

This book isn’t just a story, it isn’t just a way of telling white people how it is to be black in America. This story is an indictment of the exciting reality, it is a piece of art that pushes for liberation!

I believe that The Hate You Give’ and Starr will one day become a classic and I recommend everyone to read this book. It is something quite special!

– Nicoline (:

Have you read THUG? Or have you read other books dealing with similar topics?