The
Hate U Give by Angie
Thomas
Rating: 3.5/5
This book hit hard in all the right places. It’s so
important and relevant and I definitely cried. The only reason this isn’t a
higher rating was just because it was such a sudden shift of writing style from
my last read that it took some chapters to get used to reading something
completely different. Transitioning between different worlds so quickly really
threw me off and it took me a second to reset and realy transition myself into
this book. (That sounds dumb, my mind is weird.)
Now, I’m not black so I haven’t exactly faced this kind
of injustice but I am Pakistani-American and Muslim, so the whole minority alliance
was all too relatable. I felt every kind of emotion for Starr and her family. I
felt anger for all the injustice, I felt happy for the little things that made
her happy, I felt sad for her loss and her struggle. It was crazy going from
scene to scene and literally laughing in one page to crying the next second. It
was an emotional rollercoaster unlike one I’ve ever experienced!
I knew exactly how the story would go because of
everything that has been happening in the last year or so, and yet I still felt
the hope Starr felt for justice. I really enjoyed the family interactions and
the little banter between all the different characters. I loved seeing a
primarily black cast of characters and just normal
life even with all the tragedy going on around them. I loved the mini-plots
more than the main plot. I related too much with the struggle of having more
than one persona depending on the situation. I struggled with the same thing in
high school and even now I have to remind myself not to be afraid to show all
the sides of my life instead of hiding a part of who I am just because I’m with
a certain group of people.
Overall, I think everyone should be required to read
this book to gain some perspective. I just really liked that racism was highlighted.
The idea that even if it isn’t considered “racist” you can still think of it as
racist. That it’s okay for a person of one race to say one thing but not okay
for someone not in that race to say. All of this is something to be discussed
and if a family read this together it would really open a discussion and bring
a lot to light. It should even be a school required book (even with the
language, I think this should be appropriate).
I think fans of The
Sun is Also a Star or anyone that wants to read something to raise
awareness to the racial injustice should read this book. I’ve lately been into
reading more diverse books and this definitely qualifies!
Star is All Booked Up 