Sunday, March 18, 2018

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
 "


Everyone should read this book. It might as well be non-fiction...it sure as hell felt like non-fiction. I don't live in Starr's world, and THUG is such an eye-opening glimpse into how differently kids in her situation grow up compared to how I did. I get nervous when there's a cop behind me in traffic because getting a ticket would be inconvenient. Kids like Starr grow up being taught how to behave with police officers to hopefully, fingers crossed, if everything goes well, not end up beaten or dead. 

Let that sink in, man.

Kids in Starr's situation are growing up legitimately afraid for their lives. Jesus Christ. 

Read this book. Then give it to a friend and get them to read it.

No comments:

Post a Comment