The Hate U Give – Book Review

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I think there is a decent consensus that the book is generally better than the movie, especially when it comes to expressing the narrator’s thoughts. That’s why when I saw a giant ad for The Hate You Give movie, I went out and bought the book, and it did not disappoint. The story stars 16-year-old Starr, a girl who grows up in Garden Heights ( the mostly black and quite poor neighbourhood) but goes to a rich white school. It follows her heartbreaking story as she deals with the shooting of her childhood best friend, and I must say it is an emotional rollercoaster. The author is very talented in how she reveals the characters in the book, and spreads out their introductions in a way that isn’t overwhelming, and we actually have time to feel we get to know them. The most notable thing about this book is that despite it being fiction, it feels so REAL. Every one of the characters is so fleshed out, and feels like a real human being. Some characters go from being on Starr’s good side and end up on the bad side, but it’s not because of any external force on the character, it’s just because the situation hadn’t allowed that part of her to be let out yet, which is something very common in real life people.

I know all the dances and all the rappers that they talk about here, which will almost definitely lead to this book feeling extremely dated, but it contributes to feeling like it’s a real world, which of course it is. Starr’s white boyfriend, Chris, is the only off thing in the book. Everything he says and does is such a cliche, but I think his character in the book is the only one which is not based on anything in Thomas’s life, and is only there to act as a separate viewpoint into the chaos which overwhelms Starr’s neighbourhood. Sometimes when we here about racism, it’s easy to think it’s a thing of the past, but if you want to open your eyes to the perspectives of others living in the western world today (which I think is something everyone should do) then you should read The Hate U Give.

Rating – 👍👍