The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas

I've been so busy lately with a new house and a new job that I haven't had much time to read, but I made time for this one.

I'm glad that there's a book targeted to the YA audience that puts some fictional perspective on a very real issue. I really couldn't put this down. I wanted to know what happened and felt the need for justice  and for change, but still being able to enjoy life and the little moments in light of such a heavy subject. Although this issue may not seem close to home as a little white girl in CT, I like to think that I'm openminded and rely on science for most of my moral/political/world views. Science says that not only does a person's skin color have no significance on a person's intelligence or biological makeup, but also that shooter bias is a real, experimentally founded thing. This doesn't mean all police are bad, and it also doesn't mean that police are inherently racist. This is an unconscious bias that people may not even realize they have (and it affects both black and white people, this isn't just a problem with white police officers). I won't get into rants on my theories, just suffice to say that I've done a lot of research on the subject as a psych major and also as a decent human being that would like to help make the world a better and more accepting place. BACK TO THE BOOK!

I loved Starr. She's cool as shit. I understood the struggle of having to be different around certain people and the confusion that brings to who you really are. I understood the questioning of her relationship with her friends and boyfriend. But I can only understand to a certain degree, and that's why I'm glad we have a glimpse into the lives of others. Sometimes I felt like the romance was a little overshadowing, but I loved the role that Chris played. He may be a bit ignorant about the challenges that Starr faces on the daily, but he wants to understand and makes an effort to do so. I loved pretty much every main character (besides Hailey obviously). The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I felt like the end was really sudden. There wasn't much of a conclusion, and usually I get that it's like a 'life goes on' thing and we don't get to know what happened after, but I feel like there was still more to learn from the situation. Either way, I hope the book opens up some eyes/minds to what others are going through.