The Hate u Give

4.5 stars

This is a really, really good book. Despite the page length, it’s a very quick read. The book keeps your attention and you won’t want to put it down. The writing style is conversational and you feel as if you’re a fly on the wall listening to the characters talking. There is a lot of slang and cursing, but it’s not off-putting as it seems true to the characters. The book is very current and thought-provoking.

Starr Carter straddles two worlds – the poor inner-city neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy suburban prep school that she attends. Starr slips in between these two worlds and manages to keep them relatively separate until she witnesses the fatal shooting of one her childhood friends, Khalil. The two were in a car that was pulled over by a police officer. During the encounter, unarmed Khalil is shot and killed by the white officer.

The aftermath of the shooting rocks Starr’s world. The killing makes national headlines. Public opinion is split between supporting the officer by calling Khalil a thug, gang-banger and drug dealer and outrage over the shooting. Protests erupt in her neighborhood. Starr and her family are intimidated by the police and the local drug dealer and Starr must decide if she will stay silent and anonymous to protect herself and family, or speak up to try to get just for Khalil.

I highly recommend you read this book.