The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: Book Review

This was such a fantastic read that I easily gave 5 stars to. It has definitely earned it's place as my all time favorite stand alone...yes, replacing The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (which is now my second all time favorite stand alone).

Go check it out on my Book Reviews page here, or on my Book of the Month page here. Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. Cheers!

Book Review [Spoiler Free]

Let me just start off saying that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, is my all time favorite stand alone...yes, it replaced The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (which now is my second most favorite stand alone, of all time). The Hate U Give told the story of sixteen-year-old Starr, who lives in a poor black neighborhood, and attends a fancy suburban prep school. Starr manages to keep the balance between these two worlds, that is, until her childhood best friend, Khalil, is shot and murdered unarmed, by a Police Officer. Starr learns to stand up not only for justice, but for her whole community. She learns countless of valuable lessons through this story, but also learns not to be ashamed of where she comes from, or the color of her skin. This book was extremely easy for me to get into, and I was immediately hooked from page one. This novel was told from the perspective of Starr, who was the main character. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the author really gets into the heartbreaking details of injustice, in the heart of Garden Heights. I really enjoyed the relationships in this story, and found myself relating them to my own. Her family were very close, and you can tell that Starr’s parents ultimately really cares for her, and want what’s best for her, after the tragic murder of Khalil. Especially the parts where her dad would try and make her laugh, in the darkest situations. I thoroughly enjoyed the set up, and format of this story, and appreciated this read. I felt as though the author really took her time to describe what is going on, on the Black side of the Black Lives Matter community. This was a very important read, as what is in this story, is what is going on throughout America today. My favorite character in this story, of course, was Starr. I personally could relate to her so much being a biracial African American female, living in a poor black neighborhood, and going to a preppy school. Not only have I witnessed shootings in my neighborhood, but also constant racism from the school I attend, or when I am around, or in, that general area. Not only did I really enjoy the dialect the author choose in this story, but I can also really relate to how the characters speak. It’s a lot slang that I am exposed to daily, and I felt as though I were talking to people in my community, while reading it. Overall, I really loved, and enjoyed this novel! This was such an fantastic read, that I recommend to everyone around the world. As a person of color (POC), I felt very connected to this book, and think that this is a very important read even if you are of a different race. I also could relate to this story very much, and found myself angry, and sad for Starr. We all only want one thing. Justice. I also really loved the Tupac references in this story, and how he was inspiration for the title of this book. Such a fantastic read, that my words can’t put to justice! I highly recommend it, and I will definitely be picking this back up again!