Book Reviews / Contemporary Fiction / General Books / Young Adult

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – #BookReview

Dini @ dinipandareads23 Comments

Goodreads: The Hate U Give
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Fiction
Reviewed: August 2018
Panda Rating:

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Side note: I reviewed this book in 2018 and well, this was really at the start of when I started reviewing books more. I think I probably could’ve said a lot more about this book but I just really sucked at writing reviews back then, which you can obviously tell!

โ€œSometimes you can do everything right but things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing rightโ€

I think this book has shot to the top of my best reads in 2018 and I think it will be one of the books I recommend people read if they ask. I cried countless times and laughed like crazy while reading this. I loved the Carter family and their relationship with each other; I loved that despite the tough situation Starr found herself in, the family could still find reasons to laugh and they continued to live their life doing good and right. I also loved the sense of community that was shared too. It was like a shared commiseration of their situation but still, they didn’t let that get them down.

Honestly, I admit that I found Starrโ€™s attitude a bit childish/petulant at the beginning, I realized that I was expecting her to act like an โ€œadultโ€ and to speak from that โ€œadult perspectiveโ€. Once I realized how sillyย myย perception was, and I changed how I viewed her character, I realized that Angie Thomas perfectly captured a young teenage girl who is not only going through the typical โ€œhigh school dramaโ€ but is also trying to navigate her way through the two worlds she straddles, without having to diminish herself in any way. She struggles but she gets there in the end. It was a heart-wrenching, heart-warming journey that I’m glad we got to go on.

โ€œBrave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means you go on even though you’re scared.โ€

This book covers such important issues (prejudice, injustice, racism) that unfortunately havenโ€™t lost traction in todayโ€™s “modern world”. Itโ€™s disheartening, frustrating and mind-boggling to know that issues people faced decades ago are still an issue today – itโ€™s like humans havenโ€™t progressed and we’ve only regressed. Okay, Iโ€™m discounting all the good people in this world, but itโ€™s frustrating to know that people are still so arrogant and so blind to their privilege and that they refuse to acknowledge that they are, indeed, privileged…

Anyway, before I go on a crazy rant about this, I will say that I recommend everyone read this book. I hope people read this and come away with some understanding. Thomas provides a glimmer of light amidst the darkness with this one.

Have you read The Hate U Give? What’d you think of it?
Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

23 thoughts on “The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – #BookReview”

  6. I adore The Hate U Give – it is, hands down, one of my favorite contemporary novels. Everything works so well in it – and like you said, the portrayal of a teen just figuring things out is very spot on. I also loved how Angie Thomas put a lot of thought into creating supporting characters who felt just as real as Starr – her family, her friends and her boyfriend in particular really stood out to me. Great review! ๐Ÿ™‚

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    • I loved Starr’s family and friends just as much as I loved her. Although, that one friend of hers (I forgot her name) really got to me with her Tumblr comments and attitude. SO frustrating! But I definitely agree it’s one of my fave contemporaries too, and I wish everyone would read it! Thanks so much ๐Ÿ’ž

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  7. Iโ€™ve had this one on my TBR for a long time. Iโ€™m waiting for my mood to be in the right place to read it but it might be worth just reading it. Thereโ€™s never a perfect time! I adored the way you described this book and shared your thoughts on privilege. Itโ€™s a shame we havenโ€™t come as far as weโ€™d have liked! Lovely review ๐Ÿ’™ Jen

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    • Waiting for the right mood is definitely a good idea, but I’d highly encourage you to read it! Haha it’s emotional and heavy, but also uplifting in its own way. It is sad that we haven’t come as far as we’ve thought and hoped, and I feel like we’re regressing in so many ways (different countries to various extremes) and that’s honestly the most frightening part of it! There’s too much fear in this world… But before I get all melancholy, I’ll repeat again that this is such an amazing book and I want everyone to read it ๐Ÿ˜‚Haha

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