Book Review: The hate you give by Angie Thomas
Originally published on http://www.asunnyspot.com.au/
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, Khalil’s death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Starr’s best friend at school suggests he may have had it coming. When it becomes clear the police have little interest in investigating the incident, protesters take to the streets and Starr’s neighborhood becomes a war zone. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could destroy her community. It could also endanger her life.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is without a doubt the greatest, if not most powerful, book you will read this year. It is necessary, it is groundbreaking and it is topical. It is also one of the most overwhelmingly sentimental reads I have ever had the pleasure of reading and I truly feel so grateful to Angie Thomas for what she has brought into the world.
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, The Hate U Give (T.H.U.G.) details the complex life of Starr, a black teenager who witnesses her unarmed friend Khalil, get shot by a police officer, changing her life as she knows it. Starr lives in two separate worlds, one with her family in Garden Heights (a predominately black neighbourhood permeated with gang wars) and the other at a private "bougie" school in Williamson Prep where Starr is one of the few black students.
To me, The Hate U Give made every other book feel insignificant. It tackled issues such as police brutality, gang wars, white privilege, domestic violence, drug use and interracial relationships. The themes addressed were ones of great importance which are too often silenced in Young Adult fiction. The politics of the book itself cannot help but provoke serious thought from its readers and its potential to challenge mind-sets is undeniable. Angie Thomas left no storyline undeveloped and over the course of 464 pages, it lays the perfect grounds for a movie.* I could not stop turning pages, action and heartache were everywhere, activating every feeling within me.
"Williamson Starr doesn’t use slang—if a rapper would say it, she doesn’t say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her “hood.”"
One of the greatest things about T.H.U.G is that it basically silences the argument that diverse fiction is exclusive and unnecessary. It's compelling and influential narrative is diverse fiction and #ownvoices personified (it is so accurate and so authentic) and the message it leaves is clear. Angie Thomas brings forth some much-needed truths, dismantling a system which undervalues the lives of people of colour and reduces them to a hashtag, another statistic without justice. Her debut is revolutionary.
As a biracial teenager (African American and Australian), this book did SO much for me. Having grown up with an African American culture that has greatly shaped my identity, I have never truly felt represented within YA fiction - an issue all too familiar to minority groups without a voice in literature. Sure, being white passing and Australian (I recognize the level of white privilege I have and the fact that it has shielded me from the systematic racism experienced by other Women of Colour) I have been able to relate to protagonists within YA fiction based on a few various characteristics or interests. However, it wasn't until reading T.H.U.G that I realised not only how it good it felt to see a huge portion of your identity reflected in a book but how badly I'd been craving it.
"Funny. Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people's lives too. Saving them from their "wild African ways". Same shit, different century. I wish people like them would stop thinking that people like me need saving."
My heart was overwhelmed with how much I found myself identifying with and rooting for Starr - despite her being way braver than me and admittedly living a reality quite different to mine. I resonated with Starr's need to accommodate and to a degree, assimilate. Carefully choosing what parts of herself she revealed to avoid being stereotyped and tokenized. I could relate to the feelings of irritation at microaggressions she dealt with, especially the way she bit her tongue when her friends casually made insensitive and sometimes downright racist comments.
“It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black.”
I related to her unconventional family, who were loving and protective fighters loyal to one another and dismissive of that whole half-sibling bull. They were a family. Tight-knit and ride or die. Ultimately, incredibly endearing and captivating. They reminded me so much of my own tribe and the way we were raised to be. Literally, I lose count of how many times I said to myself, "Oh my lord, my Mother says that to me all the god damn time" or "Oh my lord I feel that way all the god damn time". That's the power of diverse fiction right there. It's honestly indescribable. They were characters who talked, looked and behaved like me and my family. I want to protect, befriend and dance with them all. Argh, they are all so precious to me! This book is so precious to me! I can't imagine how moved other black readers felt when reading this. “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right. Maybe.”
There were so many dynamic subplots and secondary characters which really enriched the plot of the story. The unexpected involvement of Devante, the exploration of Starr's relationship with her white boyfriend Chris and the role of Starr's police officer uncle Carlos, were all subplots that really interested me. But then again, every facet of this book interested me. I never knew it was possible to fit so much into 464 pages - surprisingly, not long enough.
T.H.U.G. debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller list, and no one has deserved that more than Angie Thomas. It is an amazing milestone for Women of Colour and for diverse fiction, a must within our community. Congratulations! Angie, I am making it my personal mission to ensure everyone reads your book - but with tissues in hand because it is so bloody emotive and raw! T.H.U.G. is dare I say...flawless. It's going to be the next big thing, I just know it.
Thank you for providing me with more than just a new favourite book. Thank you for giving me a slice of representation. Thank you for giving People of Colour representation. Thank you for drawing attention to and educating others on the many black lives who did not receive the justice they deserved.
To end, in the wise words of Tupac I quote, "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody."
Since this review was written, The Hate You Give has been granted the right to be adapted into a film. The screenplay is currently under production and is set to feature Amandla Stendberg, Regina Hall, Issa Rae, Sabrina Carpenter, Kian Lawley, Common and Anthony Mackie just to name a few.
This film is going to start some much needed conversations and I can't wait for it to hit cinemas next year. Go Angie!!!!!
