The Hate U Give

 

    The Hate U Give is a powerful young adult novel that tells the story of a sixteen-year-old named Starr who lives in a primarily black urban neighborhood, but she attends a private school outside of the community.  This serves as an inner battle for her throughout the novel because she tries not to share or show where she lives when she is at school, however her community feels like she is a traitor because of the "privileged" school that she attends.  Starr's best friend gets mixed up in the drug dealing world and ends up being shot and killed by a police officer right in front of Starr.  She hides her encounter until later in the story, but then sees the value of fighting for injustice.  Starr also is shown by a friend of the family that not every police officer is corrupt and will abuse their power.  Starr continues to believe that she must be an advocate and fight against injustice in honor of her friend.

    I feel that this book is a significant novel for young adults in a time when social injustice and issues with the police force have been brought to the forefront.  Making connections to this story would be easy for young adults due to recent events in the news.  I loved the part of the story where Starr learns that yes, some police officers can be hasty and wrong with their actions, but not all police officers are going to be unlawful.

    I would love to complete a book comparison between The True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and this novel.  I think students would find it helpful to see that similar experiences can arise with characters who come from different backgrounds.  Finding oneself and where he or she fits within society is a battle most young adults fight.

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York: Harper Collins.