The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

The Hate U Give follows our main character Starr who witnesses her black best friend get shot by the police. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this book shows how powerful any voice -- especially the youths' are.


Let's start off by saying WOW!

This book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for months and has won so many awards and honestly, I understand why that is.

For quite some time, I avoided reading this book because, well, I felt like I wasn't obligated to. I'm not part of the black community, therefore I can't relate to the main character. I won't be able to connect with her or understand the story. And honestly, I was so wrong.

You don't need to be of black decent to read The Hate U Give. You don't even need to relate to our main character Starr.

But it is important that everyone reads this. Why? So you know what is happening in the world. The reason why I read this book was because I was hoping it would put an impact on me and would enable me to understand what people like Starr -- or her friends Khalil were going through.

This novel is so realistic and so prominent to modern society.

Angie Thomas is a phenomenal writer. I finished the book in around 24 hours because I just couldn't put it down.

The beginning was a little rough for me. The first 20 pages I couldn't really grasp onto, but after the first 20 pages, the book just keep getting better and better.

A book like this is very important especially for young readers to educate themselves on what is going on in society and truly this gives everyone a great understanding, a visual into the lives of others and I think that is very important.

It also gives readers a perspective. When you read, you often get exposed to certain topics, events etc. where you seemingly be more understanding. I read a post once that said people who read are more likely to understand and accept things like racial diversity, lgbtq+ etc. because they understand. And I couldn't agree more.

The Hate U Give gives readers a perspective to be in Starr's position, and to understand what people in this situation are going through.

One of the most important aspects and reasons why I love Starr as a character is because she is not afraid. She hears every false and negative thing said about Khalil, all the drama and assumptions made about Khalil's death and she speaks up about what really happened and I think that is really important.

Starr's ability to use her voice is starting to become more prominent in modern society where the youth use their voices to make a change. The Parkland Florida shooting for example, so many inspiring youth -- survivors are speaking out, trying to protect their friends, family, classmates etc. because high authority fail to do so.

I wouldn't say The Hate U Give inspired this -- because I wouldn't know, but being exposed to this bravery in multiple mediums is very important to society.

What I also loved was how it brought diversity to literature. You don't often read about Black main characters, Asian main characters, Hispanics, etc. and this being a well-known Young Adult novel is important with the upbringing of diversity.

Angie Thomas has a platform to make a change and she used it. She used it very well.

If you want to read the book and check it out, purchase THE HATE U GIVE at Booksamillion.com.