Scott reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
.
4 stars
Great characters
Hardcover, 473 pages
English language
Published Aug. 7, 2018 by Balzer + Bray.
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
4 stars
(101 reviews)
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. (front flap)
Kadomi reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Absolutely outstanding book.
16-year old Starr Carter is a black teenager who goes to a white school. One night she is witness to a cop killing her friend Khalil for no reason, and this event changes her whole life.
Absolutely engaging cast of characters, told in a gripping way, wish every teenager read this book. Or anyone really.
I don't have the words to praise this book enough.
doug reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
As the critic's quote on the cover of my copy declares: absolutely riveting.
This should replace either To Kill A Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, or The Great Gatsby on high school curricula. It doesn't have the same literary value but it's far more relevant than any of those. It might get kids more interested in reading.
Ellemir reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Dieses Buch gibt einen interessanten Einblick in das Leben schwarzer Teenager in den USA, eine Lebenswirklichkeit, die von unserer nicht weiter entfernt sein könnte. Die Protagonistin bemüht sich, einen Spagat zwischen dem Leben in ihrem Stadtteil und der Person, die sie in der vornehmlich von Weißen besuchten Schule vorzugeben scheint.
Angenehm ist mir aufgefallen, dass zwar nichts beschönigt wird, aber gleichzeitig kein erhobener Zeigefinger zu spüren ist.
Books That Burn reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
The Hate U Give is about racism, family, and figuring out how to keep living after the teenage MC sees a friend shot in front of her by a cop.
The plot flows really well, conveying the several-month wait between the shooting and the eventual verdict with sections spaced out over time but with smaller and smaller page counts. It mean that the immediate events felt very condensed but the focus was always on when something updated for the MC (whether in her persona life or the case). That pacing also worked to show how the two parts of her life were separate by having them actually feel separate for over half the book, then gradually bringing them together with enough time passing for the finale to feel natural. They had time to grow (or to choose not to), and even minor characters felt more complete because of it.
I …
The Hate U Give is about racism, family, and figuring out how to keep living after the teenage MC sees a friend shot in front of her by a cop.
The plot flows really well, conveying the several-month wait between the shooting and the eventual verdict with sections spaced out over time but with smaller and smaller page counts. It mean that the immediate events felt very condensed but the focus was always on when something updated for the MC (whether in her persona life or the case). That pacing also worked to show how the two parts of her life were separate by having them actually feel separate for over half the book, then gradually bringing them together with enough time passing for the finale to feel natural. They had time to grow (or to choose not to), and even minor characters felt more complete because of it.
I love the way that the MC’s relationships with members of her family are handled, particularly with her mom. There are a lot of conversations where it conveys that the other person has different information or life experiences behind their reactions in a way that sets them up as separate people without diminishing the MC’s sense of her own agency. It consistently conveyed that other people around her were doing things and having conversations that may or may not intersect with the main plot and helped them feel like main characters who just happened to not be point-of-view characters. Her relationships with them and her understanding of them as separate people also changes throughout the book, as the often literally life-or-death situations which arise (the shooting itself and the tense events afterwards) push her to see different side of them and to reassess things she already knew.
Heads-up that there are a lot of references to H*arry P*tter because this was published before JKR’s transphobia became mainstream knowledge.
The plot flows really well, conveying the several-month wait between the shooting and the eventual verdict with sections spaced out over time but with smaller and smaller page counts. It mean that the immediate events felt very condensed but the focus was always on when something updated for the MC (whether in her persona life or the case). That pacing also worked to show how the two parts of her life were separate by having them actually feel separate for over half the book, then gradually bringing them together with enough time passing for the finale to feel natural. They had time to grow (or to choose not to), and even minor characters felt more complete because of it.
I love the way that the MC’s relationships with members of her family are handled, particularly with her mom. There are a lot of conversations where it conveys that the other person has different information or life experiences behind their reactions in a way that sets them up as separate people without diminishing the MC’s sense of her own agency. It consistently conveyed that other people around her were doing things and having conversations that may or may not intersect with the main plot and helped them feel like main characters who just happened to not be point-of-view characters. Her relationships with them and her understanding of them as separate people also changes throughout the book, as the often literally life-or-death situations which arise (the shooting itself and the tense events afterwards) push her to see different side of them and to reassess things she already knew.
Heads-up that there are a lot of references to H*arry P*tter because this was published before JKR’s transphobia became mainstream knowledge.
Eduardo Santiago reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This has been on my awareness for two years, on my physical bookshelf for one. It's YA -- not my thing -- so I just kept postponing it. Mistake.
OMFG.
What a beautiful book. Thomas has an exquisite sense for human complexity, moral dilemmas, for inner beauty and decency. Yes, it's heavyhanded, especially in the goody-goody Kumbaya sense -- did I mention it's YA? -- but I may have been needing that just now. I found questions to ponder and ideals to live up to. I found a horrible new insight, one I hadn't considered: blame. In addition to the powerlessness and anger that targeted communities must feel, there must be some people who feel (inappropriately) responsible: "If only I had done X or Y". What a crippling burden.
Yet I think it'll change one day. How? I don't know. When? I definitely don't know. Why? Because there will always …
This has been on my awareness for two years, on my physical bookshelf for one. It's YA -- not my thing -- so I just kept postponing it. Mistake.
OMFG.
What a beautiful book. Thomas has an exquisite sense for human complexity, moral dilemmas, for inner beauty and decency. Yes, it's heavyhanded, especially in the goody-goody Kumbaya sense -- did I mention it's YA? -- but I may have been needing that just now. I found questions to ponder and ideals to live up to. I found a horrible new insight, one I hadn't considered: blame. In addition to the powerlessness and anger that targeted communities must feel, there must be some people who feel (inappropriately) responsible: "If only I had done X or Y". What a crippling burden.
Yet I think it'll change one day. How? I don't know. When? I definitely don't know. Why? Because there will always be someone ready to fight.
Do not make my mistake. Read this right now - there is no better moment. Read it, energize, and keep the momentum going. And let's work towards the day when people will read this, not with recognition, but with disbelief.
Oh, and I did not cry once throughout the book. But my eyes may have sweated once or twice.
May Anderson reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I actually read this book earlier this year and absolutely loved it. The book was very emotional. If you have not ready yet you may want to have tissues ready and for some parts make sure your anger is in check because some things will push those buttons.
I watched the movie over the summer and I recommend people to watch that as well.
fiainros reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I'd heard quite a bit about this book and had been hoping to read it for a long time. A fellow bookcrosser invited me to participate in a bookring for it, and it came my way this month.
This book deserves all the accolades it has received. It's a great read! My only concern is that it is already a little dated only two years after publication. I don't know how you tell this story without it becoming dated. I strongly recommend that this book go on your reading list now and you read it now.
I read this right after reading Sula by Toni Morrison, which is an interesting and difficult convergence of stories.
Starr is a believable 16-year-old girl, with all the concerns of one with the added burden of living two lives, one at home and one at school. Add in the events in the second chapter …
I'd heard quite a bit about this book and had been hoping to read it for a long time. A fellow bookcrosser invited me to participate in a bookring for it, and it came my way this month.
This book deserves all the accolades it has received. It's a great read! My only concern is that it is already a little dated only two years after publication. I don't know how you tell this story without it becoming dated. I strongly recommend that this book go on your reading list now and you read it now.
I read this right after reading Sula by Toni Morrison, which is an interesting and difficult convergence of stories.
Starr is a believable 16-year-old girl, with all the concerns of one with the added burden of living two lives, one at home and one at school. Add in the events in the second chapter of the book, and this story becomes an emotional roller coaster.
Thank you to Spatial at Bookcrossing for loaning this book to me.
Axl reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Very touching (some parts I cried a little for Khalil the purest angel) and engaging, I was angry for the injustices perpetrated here and I can't even imagine if something like that happened to someone I love.. This book is also very centered on the family and they are all so cute, the mom, dad, brothers, all the family really, their history is complicated but there is so much love here uwu. Starr and Maia are babies (Hailey can choke tho and so can King), it had also a lot of funny moments! Voila a good story as the hype suggested^^
Kibrika reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
It's really good, but to me it felt simple and american. It reminded me of The Wire television series, but a clean, short YA version with some more current themes added. If you don't mind simple (in the sense that it's short, straightforward, has one main character) and american, then it'll be great.
Jessie reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Powerful, timely, gorgeously written. Starr is a beautiful example of how even the quiet among us can raise our voices against injustice. And the audiobook truly enhances the experience in wonderful and heartbreaking ways.
Bodo reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book should be a must read for teenagers <3
nikmahie reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
YES YES YESSSS! I love it when a story starts up a fire deep inside. Damn. What a great book! I must say that I had to adapt a bit to the slang English, but it made it all the more real to me. I loved every bit of it. This is a must read for everybody. You better be buying this book right now!
loppear reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on Goodreads
4 stars
Great YA that doesn't pull punches - serious discussion of race, social class boundaries, and complicated lives in and out of black poverty and police violence, as experienced by a believably teenage female protagonist. As a friend on here said, would make an amazing all-school read for high schoolers or undergrads.
arkadione reviewed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Review of 'The Hate U Give' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Liked this story. Felt authentic. It's a story that needs to be told so white people can understand a little more what is like to feel powerless with the police and a system that seems rigged against them.
