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.”

Wow. This book was phenomenal. it completely lived up to the hype.I have a lot of thoughts on this so here they are (keep in mind this is coming from an Asian American from the Bay Area):I loved how educational it was. It really made you understand the Black Lives Matter movement and the reality of it. It hit every single point and put you right in the middle of it.I also liked how Angie Thomas made brought up big points in really subtle ways. For example, “Funny how it works with white kids though. It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black” (11). That is so true. People only like black culture when it’s cool , but the minute something bad happens to the black community, they distance themselves from it. But the quote that really hit hard was, “Funny. Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people’s lives too. Saving them from their ‘wild African ways.’ Same Shit, different century. I wish people them would stop thinking that people like me need saving” (246). I read that quote and was like, damn, preach it girl!The minority alliance between Starr and Maya made me so happy. It was so good to see a black girl and her Asian best friend team up. Angie Thomas could have done a bit more with it, but it was still nice to see it included. Personally, I think we need more minority alliances because there is more that unites us than divides us and together we can make a big impact. #Asians4BlackLivesI also liked that this tackled interracial dating. It added an extra layer to the complexity of this novel.The pop culture references were a really nice and unexpected touch. I was definitely not expecting High School Musical and the Jonas Brothers to be mentioned in this book.Overall, this book was everything. It should be taught in schools because despite being fiction, it was so informative, thought provoking, and leaves the door open for a lot of discussion.

This is the story of 16-year-old Starr, a girl who witnesses her life-long friend get killed by a police officer while unarmed. She balances between two worlds while the murder makes national news: the one where she lives surrounded by non-traditional families and neighbors who’ve seen it all and gangbangers and business owners in a black community filled with people whose choices are never easy, and the one where she goes to a mostly-white private school at which she becomes a completely different version of herself so nobody knows about her home world. But it’s so much more than that. And that’s why I am going to ask people who can’t relate to this story—particularly white people—to read it as soon as they possibly can.The reason I believe reading books by people who aren’t your and your experience’s doppelgänger is important is because it allows us to pluck at the threads of truth about other peoples’ lives, experiences, secrets at our own pace and in our own heads as we go along (note: I am white). We get to know them, see them, emotionally connect with them. Read enough of these stories, and we become able to see the real people in our world who are represented by those characters. We become more empathetic to and more understanding of their situations, even when they are so vastly different from our own that our knee-jerk reactions to their real-life words/actions/decisions tend to be denial, rejection. A disbelief because it doesn’t seem right or doesn’t feel comfortable.Reading these stories connects us in a way our world needs right now, and THUG is the book we should all be reading.

In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I believe him.I can see this book in decades being required reading in schools. I can see multiple editions—special editions, anniversary editions, movie tie-in editions, and hell, maybe even a graphic novel—being released. I can see this book being read by my generation and passed on to the next generation, and then the next. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects.Why do I feel this way? What do I love about this book? Every f***ing thing. But let me try to be more specific. I love the writing, which is brilliant and absolutely genuine. I love the characters, who are phenomenal and so real. I love the characters’ dynamics as well, which I think is the shining point of the novel. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life.If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. But, The Hate U Give isn’t about a movement. It’s about black lives living, and about black lives loving, and about black lives pursuing happiness and deserving freedom—just like everyone. This novel’s protagonist is sixteen years old, and she lives without an ulterior motive or agenda. Starr is just a girl who experienced a horrific tragedy, and the novel follows her journey through her grief and self-actualizations. I love Starr. I love this book.It begins with the shooting of Khalil on chapter two. It’s harrowing and devastating, but not shocking for anyone who has been paying attention. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Starr goes trough all the stages in a visceral outpouring of grief. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance.Angie Thomas is so damn talented and smart, I’m jealous.I had so many expectations going into this book, but mainly, I was nervous. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off. I expected the subject matter would be intense and that there would be some moments when I’d want to punch a wall. There were those moments when I was heated–intensely emotional, very angry and also immensely sad.But, what surprised me most about this book, and why I love it so much, and why I am going to recommend it to all the people, is that it is beyond multidimensional and multifaceted. Honestly, I experienced the gamut of emotions; I mean every single one. Let’s get all the clichés out there: There were moments when I cried, obviously, and there were moments when I raged also obviously. Also there were so many times when I felt light and joyful, and not just hopeful, but plain happy.There are a lot of scenes, especially the ones with Starr’s family that made me feel practically effervescent, which was made more memorable because they were just so alive in the midst of all the harshness of their reality. As I said, Angie Thomas is so f***ing talented that I can’t stand it. She layered this book with every feeling. I know I’m going on, ad nauseam, but this novel moved me.If you’re planning on reading this then move it up your list! If you’re hesitant about it, for whatever reason, then please take a chance on this book. I am urging you, no, begging you to give Starr a chance, because her story deserves to be told.

This is such an amazing, thought provoking and gut wrenching read. I could identify with Starr is many ways while reading this story. Starr is the key eye witness to the murder of her childhood friend, Khalil and she's put in a tough position. Everyone is so quick to say what they would do in certain situations but when you're point in that situation, it isn't as easy as it seems. She goes through a lot of emotions dealing with the death of her friend and I felt her pain with her. As a person of color I've had several thoughts like Starr. I know what it's like to be judge by the color of my skin. Having to act a certain way so you won't be classified as the "angry black girl". The automatic assumption I live in the ghetto, I don't. This book was such a powerful read and reflected heavily on current situations. I encourage everyone to read this book! White, black, brown, yellow, red, polka dot. Everyone can benefit from reading this powerful read. For a debut book Thomas knocked it out of the park! I loved her writing, the plot and the flow of the story. I felt like I was living it out alongside Starr and her family while reading. I'm looking forward to reading more books by her in the future!