Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - Entrepreneur Generations

With The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas has pulled off a novel to fit our "now" better than any other I have read. Our narrator, Starr, is a 16-year old black girl, who is attending a private school full of mostly white kids. Early in the novel, she is hanging out with a childhood friend, Khalil, when she becomes the only witness to his death at the hands of police officer. This passage is truly powerful and moved me to tears; when the two of them are pulled over, Starr recalls how she, when she was 12, was taught lessons by her parents about what to do if she had to deal with a police officer, but Khalil -- whose mother is an addict, and who was raised by an elderly and sickly grandmother -- was not taught these lessons. Khalil is shot while sticking his head into the car door to check on Starr.

The novel follows the aftermath of the crisis, as Starr navigates all of her worlds: her crime-ridden neighborhood, which is populated with gangs, and her suburban private school. Starr has a stable home life, with a mother who works as a nurse and a father, an ex-convict and ex-gang leader, who runs a neighborhood convenience store. Starr's white classmates are far separated from her world, but it's not until after Khalil's death that she recognizes their racism. Further complicating matters is her white boyfriend, who can recite hip hop lyrics and regularly sings the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song to Starr, and Starr's uncle, who was a father figure while her own father was in prison, and also happens to be a decorated police officer. As Starr copes with witnessing the tragic murder of her friend, she must also deal with her changing relationships with her friends, her family's reactions, and increasing danger for her brothers and father at the hands of both the police and gangs in the neighborhood. Ultimately, she must make a choice whether to testify before a grand jury against the police officer or not; a civil rights lawyer becomes a mentor and ally.

Angie Thomas's novel may be classified as "Young Adult," but that's just because the narrator is 16 years old. The Hate U Give is a complex work of literature, beautifully written and bold in its ambitions to delve into contemporary issues of race, police violence, prison, and sex. It's also wildly successful, and often had my heart pounding in anticipation or empathy. Starr is a compelling narrator, and we see her grow from a relatively innocent and naive child to a forceful young woman willing to do whatever she can to make sure Khalil's black life mattered and isn't forgotten. In the wake of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and countless others, Thomas has given us a novel that reflects and responds to our times.

This novel is imminently teachable, even with its adult issues and occasional strong language. Our kids deal with the content of this novel every day, and The Hate U Give is a gift to teachers, readers, and students alike. Angie Thomas has created a classic.

This was my first read of the summer, though it was a listen on Audible, narrated by the wonderful Bahni Turpin (who also narrated Underground Railroad and The Help, two of my favorite Audible listens in the last few years).




from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/2wD8lC8 Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - Entrepreneur Generations

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