"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

 

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💬: Sixteen year old Starr Carter lives two lives. One life is in the poor black neighborhood that she resides in and the other is in the suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy tension of having to live in both worlds is shattered when she witnesses her childhood best friend, Khalil, get murdered by a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. News spreads about Khalil's death and it soon becomes a headline across the nation. Rumors spread that Khalil was a drug dealer and a thug, but Starr believes that nobody knows who Khalil really was. Even her own best friend from school says that Khalil had it coming. When the police neglect the incident, it becomes clear that civilians must take matters into their own hands. Protests break out and Starr's neighborhood becomes a battle zone. And no matter what their opinion is, everyone asks the same questions: What exactly happened that night? and Why did Khalil get shot? Starr, as the lone witness, is the only one who can answer those questions. But as violence and brutality continues, she soon realizes that her identity must be kept as a secret. 

👍: What I liked most about this book was well... everything. I loved how the author compared and contrasted the two very different worlds that Starr lives in. Throughout the book, she tries to balance both worlds while dealing with the traumatic loss of her best friend.  This book is written from Starr's perspective which gives the reader an insight into how chaotic it is to try and live in two worlds at the same time. Because this book is written from Starr's perspective, we get an emotional and heartbreaking view on the events that occur.  Through it's beautiful writing, the book  and incredibly heart-wrenching.