From Goodreads,"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood 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, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. 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 upend her community. It could also endanger her life."
Goodreads - The Hate U Give
Awards and Nominations:
- National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (2017)
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Young Adult Literature (2017)
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (2017)
- Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature (2017)
- Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction (2017)
- Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Goodreads Author (2017)
- Goodreads Choice Award for Best of the Best (2018)
- Carnegie Medal Nominee (2018)
- NAACP Image Award Nominee for Youth/Teens (2018)
- Odyssey Award (2018)
- Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2018)
- Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2018)
- Coretta Scott King Award Nominee for Author Honor (2018)
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2018)
- Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (2018)
- Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2019)
- Lincoln Award Nominee (2019)
I love reading books that are in the news and making waves. This book is definitely one that has been in the spotlight both for the book and the movie release. For many, this book is a reality. I bought this book about a year ago and just now got around to reading it since the movie was being released. I was determined to read the book before watching the movie, and I am so glad that I did.
The Hate U Give follows a teenage girl named Starr who lives in two different worlds. Half the time she is the typical kid at a prestigious school in a good neighborhood. The other half of the time she lives in a poor neighborhood where gangs run the streets, being black is a crime, and staying alive is the goal. Starr unfortunately witnesses the murder of one of her childhood friends at the hands of a cop. Starr has to make the decision to stand up and speak out or to stay silent to avoid problems.
I'm going to start with my thoughts on the book, which was by far my favorite between it and the movie. I love that the book took place over the course of weeks, but there wasn't a struggle to determine how long it had been. Thomas had neatly separated the book so that we knew how many weeks it had been since the shooting. I also love that she tackled such a topic that is plaguing news headlines. I feel like we constantly hear about a white police officer shooting someone who was unarmed or not a threat. I feel like our society is so quick to pick a side and make a judgment call. This book really focused on what really happened versus the information that was presented to the public. Things were being released to the public that were false and that was dramatically skewing people's opinions. I think that we as a society need to stop taking sides on situations and focus more on the fact that all lives matter. This is a hard subject to talk about and to cover, but it is a real thing happening. My heart breaks that people are losing their lives based on the color of their skin and that they "thought" they had a gun.
While I loved the book and the entire topic and approach, I disliked the movie. This is going to contain a spoiler, but the ending made me SO angry. At the end of the movie the gang leader King and Starr's dad start to approach each other, both reaching for their guns. Starr's dad reaches for a gun that isn't there. At this point the movie shifts and we realize that Sekani has pulled the gun and is aiming it at King. The cops show up and pull guns yelling at the kid to drop the gun. Starr ends up stepping in front of him to shield him in case they decide to shoot. This whole scene was a sham and never happened in the book. I was so mad that they added this in to make the story have a more dramatic ending that had a point to it. I feel like if I hadn't read the book then I would have thought the ending was great, but because I did it really just killed the movie for me. I was also upset that DeVante was removed from the movie and that the things that happened to DeVante happened to Seven. DeVante wasn't a huge character in the book, but he still had an important role and was well missed from the movie.
Overall, I enjoyed the book way more than the movie. This is an important topic that is so prominent in media today. I think that we all need to give more love and less hate. This book does have curse words in it, but it is still a powerful book. I give it 4 stars. I think teenagers would really enjoy this book, especially since it is so relevant.
The Hate U Give follows a teenage girl named Starr who lives in two different worlds. Half the time she is the typical kid at a prestigious school in a good neighborhood. The other half of the time she lives in a poor neighborhood where gangs run the streets, being black is a crime, and staying alive is the goal. Starr unfortunately witnesses the murder of one of her childhood friends at the hands of a cop. Starr has to make the decision to stand up and speak out or to stay silent to avoid problems.
I'm going to start with my thoughts on the book, which was by far my favorite between it and the movie. I love that the book took place over the course of weeks, but there wasn't a struggle to determine how long it had been. Thomas had neatly separated the book so that we knew how many weeks it had been since the shooting. I also love that she tackled such a topic that is plaguing news headlines. I feel like we constantly hear about a white police officer shooting someone who was unarmed or not a threat. I feel like our society is so quick to pick a side and make a judgment call. This book really focused on what really happened versus the information that was presented to the public. Things were being released to the public that were false and that was dramatically skewing people's opinions. I think that we as a society need to stop taking sides on situations and focus more on the fact that all lives matter. This is a hard subject to talk about and to cover, but it is a real thing happening. My heart breaks that people are losing their lives based on the color of their skin and that they "thought" they had a gun.
While I loved the book and the entire topic and approach, I disliked the movie. This is going to contain a spoiler, but the ending made me SO angry. At the end of the movie the gang leader King and Starr's dad start to approach each other, both reaching for their guns. Starr's dad reaches for a gun that isn't there. At this point the movie shifts and we realize that Sekani has pulled the gun and is aiming it at King. The cops show up and pull guns yelling at the kid to drop the gun. Starr ends up stepping in front of him to shield him in case they decide to shoot. This whole scene was a sham and never happened in the book. I was so mad that they added this in to make the story have a more dramatic ending that had a point to it. I feel like if I hadn't read the book then I would have thought the ending was great, but because I did it really just killed the movie for me. I was also upset that DeVante was removed from the movie and that the things that happened to DeVante happened to Seven. DeVante wasn't a huge character in the book, but he still had an important role and was well missed from the movie.
Overall, I enjoyed the book way more than the movie. This is an important topic that is so prominent in media today. I think that we all need to give more love and less hate. This book does have curse words in it, but it is still a powerful book. I give it 4 stars. I think teenagers would really enjoy this book, especially since it is so relevant.
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