“Girls wear
their hair coloured, curled, laid, and slayed. Got me feeling basic as hell
with my ponytail. Guys in their freshest kicks and sagging pants grind so close
to girls they just about need condoms ...”
This is part of the opening chapter
of THE HATE U GIVE. The story begins at a party before gunshots shatter the
music. Fleeing, 16-year-old Starr is led to safety by her friend Khalil.
Shortly after that, the car they are travelling in is pulled over by police. The
unarmed Khalil is murdered – shot at point blank range by the man Starr refers
to as “Officer One-Fifteen”. She is the only witness to the crime and her
16-year-old shoulders bear the ferocious repercussions.
What makes this novel so compelling is partly its
insights, and the way harsh issues are dealt with. There were times the story
chilled me to the bone, and at other times, I had to laugh aloud. I got to know a host of characters, each
brought to life so well on the page that I felt I was a fly on the wall
witnessing events as they unfolded.
The Hate U Give is an outstanding debut, offering untold
insights into contemporary life for black Americans. The first-person narrative
is a joy to read. Rarely has a book captured my interest so much, refusing to
let ne go until the very last line. READ IT! YOU WON'T REGRET IT FOR A SECOND.
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ABOUT THE NOVEL
One week after it was
published, Angie Thomas’s thrilling debut young-adult novel, The Hate U Give, shot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list for
young-adult books. The story follows 16-year-old Starr Carter, who lives in a poor, predominantly black neighbourhood and attends
a rich, predominantly white school. After she witnesses her childhood best
friend fatally shot by a police officer, Starr confronts the reality of racial
injustice in America, grapples with how she can continue to straddle two
completely different worlds, and is drawn into activism.
Since the
book came out, The Hate U Give (named for a Tupac song)
has reportedly sold more than 100,000
copies, been widely praised by critics and been optioned for a film, with
Amandla Stenberg attached to play Starr.
