The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. A book that sat on my to-be-read shelf for well over a year before I plucked up the courage to read it. Well actually it came out of my TBR jar, but previously I was too scared to read it.
If you were around for 2017/2018 Bookstagram, you will know that it was one of the MOST TALKED ABOUT book of the year and the hype around it was insane! Everyone and their dog were raving about it.
As it turns out, I’m a sucker for YA. I haven’t read many but the ones I have, have been my absolute favourites! For example – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds. And The Hate U Give is no different.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
5 out of 5
Published in 2017, by Walker Books
You can order a copy from Amazon, Waterstones
Blurb: Starr Carter’s world is shattered when she is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.
My thoughts: To sum this book up with one word, would be to ask for an impossible. The Hate U Give is honest, brutal, inspiring, eye-opening and straight infuriating! An absolute must read in my eyes.
I fell in love with Starr from the beginning. An extremely courageous and smart character. Living in the “hood” but going to an all white school, trying to fit in. Embarrassed to be herself. Her struggle to be two different people to fit her surroundings was an interesting point of view.
I hope none of them ask about my spring break. They went to Taipei, the Bahamas, Harry Potter World. I stayed in the hood and saw a cop kill my friend.
This hit hard, man. I felt for Starr so much; although her parents were hardworking, the area she grew up in meant she would be different to her privileged friends.
I was seething throughout the story. I hated how the case was handled, I despised the potential cover up, I was angry how Khalil was painted to be something other than a child who was killed by a cop over a hairbrush. Thomas really made me feel emotions I haven’t felt for a long time whilst reading a book.
Everything in The Hate U Give felt real, raw and honest. There was no sugar-coating; no trying to make it “sound correct”. That’s what I loved the most about this book.
And whilst it isn’t “based on A true story”, in reality The Hate U Give is the stories of all of the kids unlawfully killed by the very people who are meant to keep them safe and protect them; and who’s murders weren’t looked into properly and were brushed under the carpet.
Good-byes hurt the most when the other person’s already gone.
As I said, an absolute must read. This goes straight up on one of my favourite books of all time. It hit me right in the feels and no doubt will stay with me for a long time.
Have you already read The Hate U Give? Let’s talk about it!
Awesome post! Keep up the great work! 🙂