There were 13 reviews posted of this book in CBR9. There isn’t much more I can say about this book that hasn’t already been said by all of those wonderful reviewers here. While my life experience could not be farther from Starr Carter’s, I’m thankful to Angie Thomas for giving me the opportunity to spend some time with her.
The basic premise of the story has been discussed at length here and just about everywhere, so I’ll just list some of the things that will stay with me long after I write this review.
- Parents being torn between protecting their children and helping their community.
- The strain of having to cultivate and maintain two personas: one that is a set of expected behaviors for your neighborhood and one that is expected outside of it
- Hiding racism behind sarcasm and humor
- Forgetting that a sixteen year old is a child
- Having two best friends die in front of you before you are old enough to graduate from high school
- How easily someone’s life and death can be appropriated
- Fearing those who are supposed to be protecting you
The Hate U Give is about so many things. While it certainly wasn’t Thomas’ job to educate me, there was a lot for me to learn here. Or, maybe not to learn but to understand. I need to work harder at reading more, thinking more, and understanding more outside of my own bubble. I need to see someone other than myself more often in the books that I read.
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