Review: The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

“Miss him, allow yourself to miss what could have been, let your feelings get out of whack. But like I told you, don’t stop living.”

The Hate U Give tore me up a little bit. It’s about a sixteen year old girl, Starr, living in a poor, predominantly black neighbourhood in America, but going to private school in the suburbs. At the start of the book, one of her close friends is shot by a policeman and so begins a story that questions how the police treat the black population in America and how that treatment affects people and neighbourhoods like Starr’s.

I started with the quote I did because there were so many times in this book where completely relatable exchanges happen…but then you remember that they are to a sixteen year old girl because she has seen two of her best friends get shot before her eyes in her short life. Argh! My heart!

I struggled with my own privilege as a white/caucasian person, especially living in Australia, and often caught myself thinking “Why doesnt she just do/say/ignore X?”. The very simple answer was always because that’s not something her heritage or neighbourhood let her as simply as, say, mine would.

I strongly encourage you to read this debut novel. It is a fantastically written YA ‘easy’ read that is anything but simple.

*Rating: Very highly recommended to anyone

I’ll sign off with another quote from the book that I think captures how lost and confused the events of the book make Starr feel: “I leave. I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t know much of anything anymore.”

M x

Buy it here

*I am going to try to avoid ⭐ ratings on this blog, because they’re complicated and not everyone will enjoy the same things I do (crazy concept, I know).
Instead, I will just stick to recommendations (or lack thereof).