The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Abstract

266 CLA JOURNAL Book Reviews Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. New York: Balzer & Bray--Harper Collins Publishers, 2017. 464 pp. ISBN: 978-0062498533. $18.99 Hardcover. Angie Thomas’s debut novel, released in February 2017, is a timely and wellexecuted book for young adult audiences. The strengths of Thomas’s novel are evidenced in her contemplation of culturally relevant themes like activism, police brutality, and code-switching, which unfold in a first-person, fast-paced narrative. The novel offers readers an engaging story that examines violence against black bodies, micro-aggressions, racism and non-violent protest movements like Black Lives Matter. The novel balances hard hitting moments with familiar cultural references that result in an authentic and genuine portrayal of the challenges of navigating two opposing worlds: white, elite private school, suburban life and an urban, black, close-knit but economically challenged community. The novel’s protagonist, Starr Carter, straddles two lives, her poor, black, and gang riddled neighborhood and the suburban, mostly wealthy, white prep school she attends. Starr keeps her two lives strictly divided, her school friends, including her white boyfriend, don’t meet her neighborhood friends and, likewise, her Garden Heights friends never meet her at the suburban Williamson Prep. All of that changes, however, when Starr witnesses the brutal murder of her childhood friend Khalil by a local police officer. The national news coverage, following real life trends, paints Khalil as a thug and drug dealer.While she grieves with the members of her community, her relationships with her Williamson Prep friends suffer. The local police force rallies around the officer, and the members of the Garden Heights community, angered by the lack of progress in Khalil’s murder investigation, take to the streets in protest. Through all of this, Starr struggles with her anger, fear, guilt and grief as the novel progresses, and she decides whether or not to come forward to testify before the grand jury on Khalil’s behalf. When discussed within the larger discourse of African-American popular culture texts, The Hate U Give would have benefitted most significantly from greater character development. There is a reliance on cliché and all too familiar tropes among the novel’s secondary characters. Other challenges include Thomas’ approach, which reflects moments of 90s nostalgia that many of today’s teens may dismiss as dated. Additionally, The Hate U Give mirrors the code-switching Starr frequently enacts at Williamson Prep, black-splaining rather than smoothly transitioningintocomplexdiscussionsof race.Whenexaminedbesideatextsuchas Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down, a novel in verse that successfully navigates topics of race and gun violence, Thomas’ novel could expand important discussions. Ibi Zoboi’s novel American Street, a National Book Award Finalist for youth literature, likewise tackles issues of race, police violence, and identity through strong and nuanced characters. CLA JOURNAL 267 Book Reviews At the same time, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give has been widely accepted, leading to the 2018 Morris Award for a debut author. The novel was on the National Book Award long list for youth literature and was a Coretta Scott-King and Michael L. Printz honor book. Timelessness is among the criteria for most of the Youth Media Awards, and given the novel’s first-person narrative voice, accessible language and subject matter, the reasons for the book’s accolades are clear. Ultimately, readers will find The Hate U Give an enjoyable introduction to conversations about police brutality and, arguably more importantly, how teens can become their own advocates and speak out against institutional oppression. Latrice Ferguson is a Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania where she studies Children’s Literature. She holds masters degrees in Library Science and Children’s Literature and is former librarian for the Chicago Public Library. ...