REVIEW: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Since attending Angie Thomas's book event in Bristol a few weeks ago, I left feeling all kinds of inspired, in awe and with my eyes wide open. I'll leave my post on the event here, but you get the jist.
Once I had finished my current read at the time, I moved onto The Hate U Give, and I can't quite explain all the feelings and thoughts that ran through my head, but I'll try. I'd genuinely go as far to say it's the best book I've read so far this year, and also the best book I've read in the last few years. I read books I enjoy, probably fan girl over and hold close to me, but I've never read a book quite like this one. All I can really do is encourage you to read it because the book itself will do the justice that all the hype and praise has been telling you about.
This is a book about Starr, a young girl who witnesses the death of her unarmed friend by a police officer in America, and all of the events that follow this tragic shooting. It is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and is one of the most hard-hitting, raw and thought-provoking books I've ever read. I tend not to read young adult contemporary fiction books because they're usually fluffy reads about girls flailing over books, or addressing harder issues like mental illness, for example. This book doesn't really feel like it fits there, but it does all at the same time. The message that comes across in this book feels too big for the YA contemporary genre and despite Starr being a teenager and therefore it falls into that category because of it, I still feel like this can be read by all ages ⎼⎼ which Angie herself has actually encouraged.
Starr as a protagonist had me laughing for a large chunk of this book (considering the premise) because she's just so real with what she says. Half of what she thought, felt and said, I would've thought, felt and said when I was her age. She was very relatable considering my upbringing was worlds away from hers. Her family relationships were so great to see as in most YA (particularly fantasy), the parents are either left behind, irrelevant or killed off before or after the story has began so having an present and active family was great to see. You could see her real personality come out with her family dynamic in the "hood" and that was great to experience this other half of Starr's personality that her friends from the white school didn't see. Starr is a beautifully fleshed out protagonist, and due to the way her personality came out on the pages, the writing style was just the right tone for this content. The writing makes you feel like you're there. You're in it, you feel it, you are it.
The duration of this book had me laughing, serious at the parts that needed to be serious, almost shedding a tear because otherwise you're not human, and left me with goosebumps right towards the very end. It scares me that this book is based off a reality that so many people in America experience, but I hope that Angie Thomas sends a message with this novel that our generation can make a difference to the lives of coloured people in America in years to come. In summary, I'd urge everyone to read this. The Hate U Give really wasn't something that called to me whatsoever, but it took one person to convince me and I absolutely loved it! If I could, I would've given this ten out of five stars but Goodreads wouldn't let me, so I gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Once I had finished my current read at the time, I moved onto The Hate U Give, and I can't quite explain all the feelings and thoughts that ran through my head, but I'll try. I'd genuinely go as far to say it's the best book I've read so far this year, and also the best book I've read in the last few years. I read books I enjoy, probably fan girl over and hold close to me, but I've never read a book quite like this one. All I can really do is encourage you to read it because the book itself will do the justice that all the hype and praise has been telling you about.
Starr as a protagonist had me laughing for a large chunk of this book (considering the premise) because she's just so real with what she says. Half of what she thought, felt and said, I would've thought, felt and said when I was her age. She was very relatable considering my upbringing was worlds away from hers. Her family relationships were so great to see as in most YA (particularly fantasy), the parents are either left behind, irrelevant or killed off before or after the story has began so having an present and active family was great to see. You could see her real personality come out with her family dynamic in the "hood" and that was great to experience this other half of Starr's personality that her friends from the white school didn't see. Starr is a beautifully fleshed out protagonist, and due to the way her personality came out on the pages, the writing style was just the right tone for this content. The writing makes you feel like you're there. You're in it, you feel it, you are it.
The duration of this book had me laughing, serious at the parts that needed to be serious, almost shedding a tear because otherwise you're not human, and left me with goosebumps right towards the very end. It scares me that this book is based off a reality that so many people in America experience, but I hope that Angie Thomas sends a message with this novel that our generation can make a difference to the lives of coloured people in America in years to come. In summary, I'd urge everyone to read this. The Hate U Give really wasn't something that called to me whatsoever, but it took one person to convince me and I absolutely loved it! If I could, I would've given this ten out of five stars but Goodreads wouldn't let me, so I gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
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