Published in 2017, The Hate U Give is an urban-fiction novel for young adults by Angie Thomas. The story, set in Garden Heights, chronicles the life of the analytical and sharp black teenager Starr Carter, as she battles injustice in her part of this cruel and unjust world.
The story describes how the sixteen-year-old moves between two worlds: the poverty-stricken neighborhood where she lives and the elite suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed childhood best friend Khalil by the Police. What everyone wants to know is the truth. Enraged by the prejudice and racism that have engulfed her, Starr – the only witness of the incident- is willing to provoke an uprising.
Could she muster the courage to do it? Will her testimony finally shed light on the police brutality and their racial injustice? These questions kept me hooked until the very end of the book. This novel was the definition of a page-turner: I could not take my eyes off of it for even a second! Above all, Angie’s descriptions of the events were so profound and clever that I was left dumbfounded all throughout the novel.
The Hate U Give is by far the most heartbreakingly influential book I have read. If you are a supporter of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, this novel is not to be missed!
A* novel review by Aminath Haalaa Haleem (Th. Atoll School / ESL Enrichment Class)