The Hate U Give

T.H.U.G.

Thug Life.

The hate you give little infants fucks everybody.

This title and lyric comes from none other than Tupac, a rapper constantly referenced in Angie Thomas’ novel that has struck thousands, been turned into a sensational movie, and has been used as an educational tool around the world today.

In case you haven’t heard of it or haven’t gotten around to it yet, the novel revolves around a sixteen-year-old girl named Starr Carter who lives in the fictionalized “ghetto” community of Garden Heights, thought to be based off of a real neighborhood in Jacksonville, Mississippi. 

This predominantly black community houses Starr and her family-prominent characters in their own right-her mother Lisa, her father, Big Mav, and her two brothers.

The story gets started very quickly with Starr reluctantly attending a party where she vehemently believes she doesn't belong, as she constantly is at battle with her “sassy” persona from the hood and her cool black persona at her primarily white school Williamson.

At this party, Starr briefly reconnects with her childhood friend Khalil, whom she’s lost contact with, and after an altercation at the party, Starr and Khalil find themselves fleeing the scene in Khalil’s car, rapping to Tupac and in which the aforementioned title is explained right from the get-go.

Shortly after, Khalil is pulled over for what seems to be no reason at all and while Starr received the “cop talk” at age 12, Khalil doesn’t seem to be on the same page. 

He demands the cop to tell him why he pulled them over and what should have been a brief and quick conversation turns aggressive and toxic in the blink of an eye.

This fateful encounter ends with Khalil reaching into the window to check on Starr as well as reaching for his hairbrush when he is shot several times by the cop, who presumed he was reaching for a gun.

Starr watches as one of her oldest friends bleed out on the street, innocent hairbrush in hand, cowering against the car as One-Fifteen-the officer-points his gun at her as well, an unarmed child.

This is chapter two of the book.

The rest of the book details Starr’s experience of the death of her friend (for the second time) and the subsequent events that unfold. It chronicles her fight for justice and her struggle between what she perceives to be her two selves as well as simply trying to wade through the normal obstacles of being a teenager: friend drama, relationships, prom, and family.

The death of Khalil-a seventeen year old boy-is a symbol for all the other innocent black lives that have ended due to presumptions and assumptions that have ended in cold-blooded murder.

This book is Thomas’ way of not only educating others, but also giving homage to all the real lives lost due to inherent racism, prejudices, and hate. Starr is a strong and relatable character that shows the life of a young black teenager in all her raw amazing forms. 

Starr and her friends learn valuable lessons throughout the book: sense of self, forgiveness, love, hate, bravery, and pride in who one is and where they come from.

This book, while dealing with heavy and poignant themes and used as a platform for many rights and a tool for education, is also highly entertaining, charming, and at times, incredibly humorous.

 Thomas does an amazing job of weaving a narrative that is both solemn and serious as well as modern, relatable, and full of love. It reminded me very heavily of Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of  Part-Time Indian and Christina Lauren’s Aubtoboyagraphy.

All these books tell heavy stories that need to be told-often because their subject matters make people uncomfortable or upset in ways that are deeply psychological, but do it in a way that is accessible to the youth and presented with a hopeful lens that shows the naked truth of the horror of what has transpired, but also the everlasting positivity that comes with educating the masses on such topics and the ever shifting nature of beliefs and values.

This book is a symbol of hope and a love letter for girls who look like Starr all over the world. While at times, I did find that the linear of the narrative was disrupted awkwardly so that Thomas could interject a teaching moment-talking about the nature of African-American names, discussing why young boys like Khalil would sell drugs in the first place, the vicious cycle of gangs, etc, the overall narrative is smooth and lovingly written from the heart.

This book is heavy. As it should be.

But it is also amazing and thought provoking as well as simply a good read.

Recommendation: If you somehow haven’t read The Hate U Give, or, even more miraculously, haven’t seen the movie by the same name, then you definitely need to at some point in your life.

 I understand that during Quarantine at the moment perhaps digesting something of this nature might not be the pick-me-up that you need. That’s okay. But. You still should read this novel at some point in your life. You will be glad that you did and hopefully be a better person because of it.Score:8/10