The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Rating: 5 stars
Published: February 28th 2017
Goodreads Synopsis:
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.
Funerals aren't for dead people. They're for the living.
I'm essentially echoing the words of thousands of others who have read and loved this book, but everyone needs to read this book. Now. It speaks volumes of the issues that POC in America deal with, because of those who cannot overlook the color of one's skin. The Hate U Give is evocative, powerful, and moving.
