The author is from my city. She a native, me a transplant from another part of the state. We have friends in the same writer circles thought we haven't officially met each other. I say this not to to boast but to bring home that this story felt REAL to me because of that.But beyond geography, Thomas gets that black experience where you have to straddle multiple worlds. Not black enough and not enough of a model minority. Interracial dating. Racist white friends who insist they aren't racist. Having to cut those people loose. Dishonest and abusive law enforcement. How it feels to grow up in a less than safe area. Just regular culture in America. This town could be anywhere.Starr is a very authentic character with an authentic voice. The situation she is in can and has happened everywhere in the United States and in other countries. This story was hard for me to read at first because it was real. It isn't a fantasy. The ending is hopeful but not clean. It makes you think.While the book is about a serious and prevalent topic, it also has funny moments. I laughed hard at some parts. The Harry Potter gang theory, the catfish scene, just random dialogue.I'm glad I read this book. We need more black voices and other voices outside of the white lens. Stories written for us by us.Great job, Angie and I hope the movie captures this story well. Maybe one day the narrative in this unfair and unjust racist world will change.

I haven't had the opportunity but forever I have been wanting to talk about The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I read this book in March and it etched it's way into my core scratch by scratch.This book was more than a now book. It was a now-and-always book to me. It seemed to reach back in the past to the days of Good Burger and Hey Arnold to the days where black people win at everything and the culture is constantly appropriated to the uncertain days ahead of us. This book seemed to preach the words and the thoughts and feelings of black people and women everywhere to me. I know that I cannot know if that is true because I cannot know all the experiences that black people everywhere have but something about Angie's writing was like a resounding voice. An echo into a cavern and it was like...there was a light answering back. This is a book that I wished I had before my official teenage years, even. This is a book that is THE book to point at when explaining what you mean when you say that those outside the black experience cannot write as authentically as those within. There is something that was so nuanced, so deeply bound within this book that I personally feel either cannot or is hard to be found in a book with a black MC written by a white individual. There is a soul within, a spirit within it that is so natural that I feel that even decades writing no other individual would be able to style it in a way that is similar enough to be satisfactory. This book was the torch held in the sky by Lady Liberty. So high that it would be difficult, almost impossible for any other light to reach or ever match that torch. That is how I felt and feel at this time.The Hate U Give is a beating heart with so much blood and love and realness inside of it that when you feel it inside of you, it is almost as if you might burst with the joy and the heartache that is this book. I loved how the characters were so fully developed. It was almost as if they were breathing and it pulled me out of wherever I was, fully into the book. I love how the writing is so honest. There were some lines that as soon as I read them, they seemed to bury themselves in my insides. This is a book that if I had the time, I would probably read over and over again.I love the humanity within this book and the rising awareness of complex characters within YA and sometimes morally ambiguous ones, too, because I feel though the majority of us (or so I would like to believe) strive to be good and honest people...The Hate U Give identifies the moral ambiguity within people. Within black people, without degrading the characters or making them out to be less than because of their flaws. The moral ambiguity makes the characters so vulnerable, there they are raw and ripped open for your love. Thank you, Angie Thomas, for writing The Hate U Give

I truly think everyone should read this. In this first novel, the author has written a book from a black teen’s perspective, which parallels the shooting of an unarmed black teenager, as has happened and caused riots here in the USA. Teens can be difficult, and no one in this story is perfect, by any means. But, there are many sides to any story, and this is a thought-filled book that I think people need to read to hear about the black experience in poor, violent, gang-ridden sections of large cities. Through the eyes of a teen, as well as the skillful writing of this new African American author, I believe there is a lot of perspective to be gained. I know many won’t even pick it up because they don’t want to know, but isn’t that part of the problem? Just because someone has not personally had to deal with this, doesn’t mean they should close their eyes and pretend there’s nothing wrong. Enlighten yourself and think about the title, from Malcolm X’s own words. Are you subtly, hiddenly, or openly passing on the hate you learned, whether you are black or white. We need to examine our own conscience’s to see what we are contributing to our society, possibly what each of us could do to improve racial justice and equality in our country.

4.5 stars!“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”The Hate U Give is about a sixteen year old girl named Starr who lives in a bad neighborhood and commutes to a fancy private school. One evening, Starr and her childhood friend Khalil leave a party and are pulled over by a cop on the way home. The cop shoots and kills Khalil, even though he was unarmed.Khalil becomes a national headline, and Starr is thrown into turmoil. The neighborhood she grew up in wants justice, as does Starr. But being the sole witness to Khalil’s murder comes with danger, from drug lords where she lives, and the police everywhere else. Starr had already felt pulled between two worlds before Khalil’s death, and now she doesn’t know what choices to make.“What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?”This is a book that I really hope becomes a worldwide phenomenon. We’ve seen similar stories on the news many times, throughout the years, but I feel the youth of the world have not been given this story in a relatable way. There should be more books like this out there.Starr is what made this book come alive. Her voice, the way she tells her story is extraordinary. Every single moment of this book I felt for this girl: I wanted to stand beside her, I wanted to cheer her on, I wanted to hold her. She was faced with circumstances and choices no one her age should ever have to face. Confronting these events were hard for her, and while she didn’t always do what everyone told her to, she stayed true to herself and handled it the best she could.I felt so many things while reading this book, it really does pull on several different emotions. Being Angie Thomas’ debut novel I am floored by her talent, many writers work their entire life to bring this kind of voice to their characters. I can only see better things to come in the future from Thomas. My only criticism of the book was it felt a little bit too long for me, but otherwise I loved it and will be recommending this novel a lot and for a long time.“Brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you go on even though you're scared.”

I wanted to tweet @ you, Angie, but I couldn't limit my characters enough! I followed you bc of an automated Twitter recommendation, and when I started seeing all the buzz about The Hate U Give, I finally had to see what the big deal was all about. I was sucked in on the first page. Not only are you an incredible story teller, but you got your message across clearly without ever being pushy or preachy. I loved your characters, the depth each one had, the unique perspective everyone offered and all the angles you approached the situation from.I'm a white girl who grew up in a predominately white midwestern suburb, and I feel like you offered me and others like me an opportunity to peek inside another world and build a better sense of empathy and understanding of this national problem. You handled an extremely controversial subject with grace, wisdom, and integrity and I honestly feel like everyone who reads this should finally "get it."Thank you- Haddi