Erin's Reviews > The Hate U Give

Wowie. This is a tough book. I definitely do not feel qualified to say anything on it. I finished this in less than 24 hours. I cannot believe that we live in a world where this happens. On the regular. Where children get gunned down by cops who claim they were frightened for their lives. It would be one thing if this was a fictional story, but we all know it isn't. There's a list of names at the end of this book, and we all know each of their stories, because they are all the same. I am so tired of living in a world like this where children, based upon the colour of their skin, are taught how to interact with authority so that authority doesn't view them as a threat, at the same time they are learning to tie their shoelaces.

The Hate U Give was nothing like I expected it to be. I knew what it was about, of course, and I knew that it was one of the most recommended books of last year. I don't know if it was my own naivety, or that I am so deep within my privileged Canadian life that I simply thought a made-up story wouldn't be able to have as deep an impact on a person than a real story that appears on the news. It seemed so fresh, so real, and that is the hard part. I'm not going to sugar-coat it - this was hard to read. There were several times that I tried to take a break and go do something else, but I couldn't last more than 5 minutes away from it. I knew that I needed to get to the end of the story, even though I knew how it would end. How Starr knew it would end. How we all knew it would end.

Starr was such an interesting character. In fact, her whole family was. There is a kind of love there that is evident that not all families have. The way they accept and protect each other, through good times and bad - or even worse - is something that is so refreshing to read. They encourage each other, and warn each other. It's as if each character knows the deep thoughts of the others. There wasn't one particular moment that I was upset with a character for their interactions with another. They all seemed so genuine that it didn't feel like a story at all. It's because of this that I am simply astounded that this is Angie Thomas' debut novel.

There is so much about what goes on in this novel that I know nothing about - that I will never know anything about. I can't possibly imagine what it would be like having the life that Starr has. Balancing her real self and her Williamson self. Watching as her friends say and mean things without even realising the damage they are doing. I think one of the best parts of this novel is the strength that Starr builds up to finally stand up to Hailey. At first, she seemed to be a typical ignorant white girl, who grew up living a life where racism doesn't exist and side quips like she makes are normal and not harmful. Over the course of the book, it's easy to watch as her attitude escalates, and how Starr begins to realise that she is no better than the people who stand behind the cop who shot Khalil. I was extremely impressed that Starr let go of her fully by the end of the book, because Starr deserves way better than her. Even if Hailey were to "come around" and apologise for all the things she said and did, I would be disappointed if Starr let things resume and go back to the way they were. If there is one obvious thing this book does, it propels Starr into the person she will spend her life being, who stands up for herself, her friends, her family, and her neighborhood from the discrimination and racism that is far too prevalent in a 21st century world.

The thing about this book is that I immediately want to go and share it with someone. It was given to me by someone who had no reason to give it away and took me completely by surprise. Now, this is definitely a book that should be read over and over again because it is that important, and I really want to keep it on my shelf, but a huge part of me wants to pass it on to the next person. I want to share it. I need to share it. I'm tired of wanting others to know the kinds of stories that go on in our world, because they shouldn't be happening. We shouldn't force the opening of eyes. We shouldn't have to need to. But we do.

I don't know if my thoughts and opinions on this means anything. Or even make any sense. All I know is that this book is important, even though it shouldn't be. Please take some time to add it to your shelf, read it, and think about its place in the world today.

This review also appears on my blog in a longer, more cohesive post here.