Books

The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas' novel follows a teenage girl who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend.

Angie Thomas

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. (From Balzer + Bray)

From the book

I've seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I've Tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down.

Now I am that person, and I'm too afraid to speak.


From The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ©2017. Published by Balzer + Bray.

Interviews

'Our colour is a weapon. You don't see that happening with other people:' black teens react after watching The Hate U Give

4 years ago
Duration 2:21
Black teens talk to CBC News after watching a preview screening of The Hate U Give, based on the bestselling Angie Thomas YA novel.

More about the book

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