The Hate U Give

Must read!

This book is phenomenal. There is no other way of putting it. What a debut novel. I honestly cannot believe this is Ms. Thomas' first published book. She is a really great writer. I honestly think one should "read" it in audiobook format. The book really comes alive and I feel like portrays the book most authentically. Seriously. GET THE AUDIOBOOK. The narrator Bahni Turpin is honestly so talented and a badass. She does the different characters in Garden Heights so realistically and authentically and I really think it made a difference in the reading experience.

It is YA book on an important and very heartbroken topic of racism, police brutality and the issue of having different sides of you and fitting in as a teenager. The story is about Starr. Her family. Her friends, The different sides of her. Starr is very different, she lives in a black neighbourhood but goes to a very wealthy prep school where she is one of the few black people there. Having these two world and two different Starr's because she never be herself in either place, and even figuring out what the true and who the "normal" Starr is what part of the book is about. That is a underlying process she is doing while simultaneously dealing with the aftermath of a tragic incident.

I love Starr's family. Her brothers, Sekani and Seven, her mom and dad, her uncle Carlos, even her nana. They are all so great and funny. I love their family dynamic, even as dysfunctional as it is at times.

I knew the book was gonna be about the Black Lives Matter movement and I was curious on whether it was gonna be portrayed accurately and truthfully. And, for me? It honestly was. It showed the different protest groups and factions and sides within the movement, but also how the small group of people exploiting a tragedy to loot or riot by letting anger win gets picked by the media to portray the entire movement.

This was an important and meaningful story, and I cannot recommend it enough. I can understand how it win the best debut award on Goodreads and other numerous awards. It is an amazing story and I cannot wait to see the movie.