8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller!
“Absolutely riveting!” —Jason Reynolds
“Stunning.” —John Green
“This story is necessary. This story is important.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Heartbreakingly topical.” —Publishers … Green
“This story is necessary. This story is important.” —Kirkus (starred review)
“Heartbreakingly topical.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A marvel of verisimilitude.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A powerful, in-your-face novel.” —Horn Book (starred review)
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
Want more of Garden Heights? Catch Maverick and Seven’s story in Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas’s powerful prequel to The Hate U Give.
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It feels wrong to say I enjoyed this because it’s about real issues and struggles, but yeah. I read most of the second half in one day in two sittings, so. It’s so well written AND important! I’ll be recommending it to everyone.
I’m not sure I can add anything to all the positive reviews. This book is beautifully written, exploring depths of emotional terrain that are vital for our time. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end. It’s a YA novel that every adult should read. Angie Thomas, with this debut novel, has written an important book that will stay with you long after the final page.
I received this book very excited because my friends said it was amazing. Unfortunately, when I started reading this, I was highly disappointed. It is very inappropriate and I don’t recommend this book at all.
This book was better than the movie, with its action-packed scenes, realistic characters and tragic but true and uplifting storyline.
An exquisite debut novel by Thomas. I really have no words but–a must-read.
OMG‼ I fell in LOVE with this book‼‼It is Sooo AMAZING‼If you read this book YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT ‼‼‼‼‼
I heard so much about this book and it was even better than I expected. Everyone should read it. I went into it knowing very little about the plot, and I think it’s better to have no preconceived notions.
One of the best books I’ve read in 2018 and still resonates with me this 2019. When I saw this book in the bookstore amongst other hyped YA books, I didn’t have second thoughts buying this. I may have been a year late reading this, it may have taken me a while to devour every word and every chapter in this book, but I am extremely satisfied and overwhelmed with my experience after reading this masterpiece.
Angie Thomas’ writing is as strong as the forces of nature – pulls me back to earth with its heart-pulling gravitational force, Starr’s strong personality draws me in like a magnet, and the whole story hits me like a lightning and explodes like a volcano of emotions. I don’t know how else to describe this, but one thing is for sure. Starr and her mom and everyone else in this book ripped my soul, shattered my heart, enlightened my mind and opened my eyes to the real world. Angie Thomas deserves to be praised, adored, loved and respected by all facets of life. The Hate U Give is the Book of Love.
’nuff said.
it was really good it makes me feel like were all equal … we all bleed red and people really shouldnt bully … i like this saying that kinda goes with this book
“you know my name , not my story”
I loved it painful to put down and tells the truth
The Hate u Give may be not as prose heavy as I enjoy, but it’s real, it’s gritty, and it’s sobering. The MC, Starr, is believable, her unique situation parallels dual cultures like a reverse Save the Last Dance where instead of the white chick going to an all black school, it’s the black girl at a white privileged prep school but still lives in a black community. The author parallels it to Fresh Prince. There is all sorts of content that may be triggering for young adults from parties where drinking, drugs, and slut shaming is rampant. Also, violent situations and lack of social justice are themes for The Hate U Give, so I’d rate it Pg 14.
Some books are worth the triggers.
With all that said, the real issues facing blacks are presented in such a deep way that it will gut anyone. Some powerful quotes reveal themselves in this book:
“At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them.”
“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”
My personal favorite. “That’s the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”
“I can’t change where I come from or what I’ve been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me? That’s like being ashamed of myself.
Or a whole conversation revolving around why there is so much crime in black communities and why the marginalized there have very little say and choices. Pretty much a lot of what Martin Luther King Jr. preached.
This is not a hate white people book. I come from white privilege and I own and recognize how prominent harmful mentalities stemming from my culture are to blacks, how they reflect on them poorly, and the subsequent anger that arises from those mentalities, those stereotypes and tropes. Blacks are not a pet project that require saving as many slave masters viewed in times past. Nor are they such a menace that we need to separate our pretty, white picket-fenced lives from theirs so we don’t get stained. Or even ignored and left to their own devices and communities where lack of opportunity is prime, where violence grooms children in different ways, and where those with power either act as vultures swooping and others take no responsibility to help or cannot help or become dead themselves.
I also love how this book captures little moments. These shooting stars shine on issues such as sexuality and #metoo, hired labor of minorities, interracial dating, how trauma impacts one, and more.
A profound and impacting book for young adults but one I’d suggest many parents reading, too so they can explore these issues with their kids in the right context and with the right conversations. A perfect book series for adults to read subsequently is the After 12 Series. If She Were Blind is the first.
P.s. The Hate U Give is an abbreviated rap phrase by Tupac for The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody. Acronym: Thug Life
I absolutely lived it it is one of my favorite books
Premise: Sixteen-year old Starr has to navigate between two worlds: a mostly rich, white one at Williamson Prep high school and the other her mostly black neighborhood with gangs and drugs. But when she witnesses her one of her best friends get killed by a cop, Starr has to figure out who she is, who she needs to be, and how she can make it through this challenge.
The characters
The characters are written vividly here. A Great job done by Thomas to bring out the uniqueness, voice, and color of each main character. I related instantly to this cast of characters because they seemed so real.
Star having to employ “double consciousness” (code switch) to navigate her world was written very well. It surprised me that kids still had to employ these techniques, because this generation in general seemed so open and accepting of each other. The fact that she had to hide part of herself is a life lesson I wish she didn’t have to learn, but it is done very realistically here.
Plot
I was drawn to how funny these characters and some scenes were. What could have been a depressing, tremendously political subject became very relate-able and understanding. When you have that balance of emotion: the mundane with the serious, the silly with the sobering, you’ve got a page-turner. The riot scene almost seemed comical with the rag tag band of teens, tear gas, and TV reporters. It brings levity to a very serious situation which pushes readers forward.
In general, this was a wonderful book that everyone–not just YA readers–should read, especially in these times of societal division, blatant rampant racism, and police brutality.
Amazing book. Loved it from start to finish!
I teach at a middle school where kids call the nearby towns “the ghetto”. They are highly privileged middle class kids who do not know much about the world outside their Southern Californian beach town. I brought this book into my classroom because John Green recommended it, and they love John Green novels. I ended up buying 4 copies of this book and cannot keep it on my shelf. All 4 copies have been checked out, with parent permission, since September.
I loved this book. Starr Carter’s transformation was masterful. The many points of view considered in this novel were well done. It is an important read for a YA audience and adults alike.
This book really takes you to what the characters are feeling and really puts light on modern day issues and stereotypes.
A must read for high school students.
I thought is was a good book.
A must read!