Monday 22 January 2018

The Hate U Give


The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

 Starr Carter lives in a poor black neighbourhood, but attends a white prep school in the suburbs. She lives two lives, one in each place, but one night these worlds threaten to collide as she becomes the sole witness to the shooting of her best friend, Khalil. Khalil is unarmed and shot by a white police officer, while Starr sits by helplessly. 

The fallout from this shooting affects Starr, her family, and her neighbourhood. Starr's anonymity in the event is what keeps her safe, but when the shooting becomes a national headline and Khalil is portrayed as a thug, a drug dealer, and not Starr's childhood friend, the sweet boy who loves his mama, she struggles between keeping quiet and speaking out. As the only witness, Starr is the one person who knows exactly what happened that night. 

With hope that the system will not fail Khalil, Starr continues her normal day to day existence, but as time goes on, and street protests erupt, she finds it more and more difficult to reconcile her two worlds. She hears comments and sees behaviour with a heightened awareness that leave her deeply considering what she needs to do.

This book is a firsthand account of a life surrounded by racialization and marginalization.It explores and questions white privelege, black oppression, racism, police brutality, discrimination, and prejudice as Starr finds her voice and learns the power it has. 



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