The Hate U Give

Wow!  Did I ever feel sheltered, ignorant, and fortunate after reading this book.  My friend, Steph, has been an advocate for The Hate U Give for a year or so.   Our tastes often intersect, so I figured it time to follow her lead on this book.   I found myself immersed in a storm  of chaos,  fear, and inequality so powerful that I it hardly seems possible to exist in the same world I occupy.  But it does.

Angie Thomas' book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, shedding blinding light on an issue that should no  longer be part of our human history.  16 year old Starr has witnessed two deaths in her young life.  The first was at age 10, the second was the intentional murder of her friend, Kahlil, by a white police officer.  

Kahlil is stopped for a minor traffic violation in a neighborhood associated with thugs and drug dealers.  Neither Kahlil, nor his passenger, Starr, is armed, yet the officer drags him out of the car, and in short order, shoots and kills him.  

Starr is left to deal with the aftermath of being a witness, knowing that in all likelihood, the officer will not be charged.  Complicating matters is Starr's life, balancing between two different worlds.  She lives in a poor, African-American neighborhood, but her parents have chosen to send her to a fancy suburban prep school. Kahlil's death opens a flood of terrors for her, including recognizing how removed her school friends are from the reality of her day to day life.  She questions her own loyalty to her neighborhood, her family and her race.  

Of course, there are elements I did not like, but writing about them would just be a bunch of blah blah blah compared to the significance of this well told, important story.

thanks for stopping by.