“The Hate U Give” is a ‘stop-what-you’re-reading-and-read-this‘ debut novel by Angie Thomas (and if the National Book Award Longlist accolade is any indication, others agree!)
Thomas tells the story of Starr, a sixteen year old girl from “the ghetto” (her words, not mine) who is living in two very distinct worlds. She resides in Garden Heights, a neighborhood better known for its gangbangers and “King Lords” than the typical residents who run the corner store (Starr’s dad, Mav, has owned theirs for years) or the local pharmacy. But Starr spends most of her day at an up-town private school (Williamson) in the suburbs, a 45-minute commute from her home in Garden Heights, where she transfers after her best friend is murdered in a drive-by shooting when they were only 10 years old. It’s no secret (so no spoilers) that Starr witnesses the murder of her other childhood best friend and that tragic event is the catalyst that Thomas leverages to guide us further into the machinations of both Starr’s psyche and the social psyche of the world around her (including the press, her family, the folks of Garden Heights and her peers at Williamson.)