The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Conclusion: Worth It
This book has been a number-one New York Times Bestseller for almost two years. And that’s a long time. A very long time.
So obviously we decided we should read it. And...man. This book earns every week of its spot as number one. Starr is articulate and insightful. So often I feel like we are watching the world around us, weighing carefully what we are told and what we experience and seeing if the two match up. I love watching Starr do the same. We feel the precarious balance she strives to maintain as she straddles two different worlds--her inner-city neighborhood and her upper-crust high school. And we experience her inner turmoil as she not only deals with witnessing her childhood friend get shot and killed by police, but, as news of the shooting hits the media, how people react to the story not knowing that she was there.
That can sound like heavy stuff, but Thomas manages it with ease, and what could, in less capable hands, feel weighty and drag instead feels real and urgent and relatable.
So obviously we decided we should read it. And...man. This book earns every week of its spot as number one. Starr is articulate and insightful. So often I feel like we are watching the world around us, weighing carefully what we are told and what we experience and seeing if the two match up. I love watching Starr do the same. We feel the precarious balance she strives to maintain as she straddles two different worlds--her inner-city neighborhood and her upper-crust high school. And we experience her inner turmoil as she not only deals with witnessing her childhood friend get shot and killed by police, but, as news of the shooting hits the media, how people react to the story not knowing that she was there.
That can sound like heavy stuff, but Thomas manages it with ease, and what could, in less capable hands, feel weighty and drag instead feels real and urgent and relatable.
- Alana
And it isn't just the heavy topics that Thomas handles so well. This book has the amazing ability to handle politically-charged cultural land mines with finesse. And kindness. It’s incredible.
The core of this book is about relationships. Real change happens when you value the people around you.
- Liss
As always, the library is my favorite place to get books. BUT this one is so good you might wants to own it!
- Liss
This Book Reminds Us Of...
Other good contemporary young adult books would be One of Us Is Lying and The Sun Is Also A Star. On the Come Up is Angie Thomas' newest book--so obviously read that, too!As always, the library is my favorite place to get books. BUT this one is so good you might wants to own it!
Have you seen the movie? Any word on that (besides, of course, that the book is better!)?
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