Book Review: The Hate U Give
It doesn't happen often, but I love when it does. There's no better feeling than when you get fully enraptured in a novel. For me personally, I haven't had a novel move me the way The Hate U Give did in a long, long time. This is one of those rare novels that instantly transported me into the world of young 16-year-old girl, Starr Carter.
Let me just say, this book may be considered "young adult", because of its protagonist age, but outside of a love interest, there's nothing young adult about this book. The Hate U Give is a novel that sets its sights squarely on the black lives matter movement and hits the bullseye with each flip of the page. Starr witnesses her friend get murdered by the police and what ensues is the look at how a 16-year-old girl put in this horrific situation deals with it. It's an incredible inside look at race relations in this country. It doesn't shy away from anything. We see not only how the community responds to this tragedy, but how it hits Starr herself, her family, and her close inner-circle.
And I think that's what I love most about The Hate U Give. It didn't feel like fiction. It didn't feel anything out of what happens far too often in this country. It also puts you in Starr's shoes and makes you sort of second guess your own pre-conceived notions. It's something that I personally have thought a lot about, and struggled with over the years. The way in which The Hate U Give is able to make this not only a novel about race but about a young girl, regardless of her race.
I absolutely loved everything about The Hate U Give. It's an incredible novel, and I hope that more and more people read this book. It moved me more than once and is something that I think in 2017 shouldn't have to be said, but I am glad is being said over and over again. I don't think The Hate U Give stuck the landing, but the journey was one of most impactful things I've read in years.
