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Read: May 9 – May 17, 2021
This book was amazing & also VERY relevant. I purposely avoided watching the movie because I wanted to enjoy the book first. Sometimes movies leave out certain details from the book that it is based on. I’m happy I waited to watch the movie because the movie didn’t have the same effect as the book & there were A LOT of details that were changed.
This book made me feel every emotion possible. I laughed, I wanted to cry, I was angry, disappointed…you name it and I probably felt it lol.
Books like The Hate U Give need to exist. It tells a story that needs to be told. Whether people want to believe or not, scenarios in this book exist in real life and sometimes they need to be highlighted (even if it is in the form of a fiction novel).
This book is about Starr and how she navigates through life experiencing a cop shoots and kills one of her unarmed childhood friends, Khalil, right in front of her.
What I loved about this book is how much I could relate to her upbringing. I grew up in Chicago. I did not live in a nice neighborhood. It wasn’t always the safest to just go outside and play with your friends. So I understood that aspect of her life.
When you are young, it’s true that sometimes when you are around people who’s life and upbringing is the complete opposite (& what you may feel is “better”), you feel you need to hide that part of you because deep down you are embarrassed. Some people may call this code switching, but as a teenager, I don’t think it’s that, I think it has A LOT to do with not wanting people to judge you.
I loved the character development of Starr & how it showed her growth dealing with her circumstances. I love how she it shows her growth in dealing with her friends, her boyfriend, family, etc. I love how it shows that some people will truly never get it, but on the other side, there are some people who understand from the start & there are some people will go the mile to understand because they truly care.
Some people read books like this and instantly feel that it’s “bashing” white people. That’s not what I saw. I saw Angie Thomas write a book about an experience, an experience that many BIPOC experience and the story was amazingly written.
I would definitely recommend this book, especially to Young Adults.
-Tiffany ❤
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