The Hate You Give


 






The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas is a novel about a sixteen year old girl that deals with racism, police brutality, and activism after she witness her friend being murdered by the police.  Starr attends a predominantly white school where she feels like an outcast.  One evening she attends a party where she runs into her best friend, Khalil.  Suddenly gunshots erupt by a gang and Khalil offers Starr a ride home.  On the way home a police officer pulls them over.  When Khalil questions the reason for the stop, the officer pulls him out of the car and searches him.  The police officer commands Khalil not to move while he walks to his car.  When Khalil goes to check on Starr, the officer shoots him and kills him.  Starr can only focus on what happened and begins to feel awkward with her white boyfriend.  Star´s uncle is a police officer and he convinces her to go to the police about what she witnessed.  She later learns that the police decide not to prosecute the officer responsible for Khalil´s death.  This causes an uproar in the community and there are an outbreak of protests.  Starr´s father, Maverick, tells her that only speaking out can break the cycle.  Starr learns of a gang member reaching out to her father to help him leave the gang.  Starr sees this as an opportunity to make a difference to someone similar to Khalil.  After her father is harassed by the police, Starr makes the decision to no longer stay silent.  She learns that if she testifies the cases will go in front of a grand jury, and Starr agrees to this.  Months later the grand jury releases a not guilty verdict which results in more chaos.  Starr decides to join in with the protests.  It becomes violent with tear gas and molotov cocktails.  Throughout her journey, Starr vows to keep standing up for what she believes in and to continue fighting for justice for Khalil.

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. NY: HarperCollins

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