The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Spoilers below!!!

This is a novel of the times, this is a novel about the  relationship between African-American Community and the police. There is a movement, BlackLivesMatter in which the African American community is shouting that their lives important. This novel gives us a window into what the movement it stands for and what it is trying to accomplish.

Things I Loved:

• The depiction of the parents in the novel. I loved how their mistakes and flaws did not define them, but  that they rose above it to provide for their family.
  • The mother, Lisa got pregnant at eighteen, but still managed with help, to finish high-school and college and obtain a decent job.  The father, Big Mav an ex-con changes his ways and is the owner of a neighborhood store and tries to help the young man in the community.
  • Big Mav as an African-American male is very involve in the life of his children and gives them affection and love. He is not cold, distant or mean. He is willing change and adapt. This very different depiction from the stereotypes that exist of the African-American father figure.
• The Character development of Khalil.  He  was not just a drug dealer who was shot by the cops, but a son trying to save his mother and provide for his family. A young man who chose to say no the  gang life. The author, I felt made a  point by Khalil’s characterization, to state that though he was a drug dealer and did wrong, his life still mattered and should not had been taken so carelessly.
• The solidarity of minorities. I loved how Maya and Starr stood up to Hailey after she made racist remarks.  The author gives a snippet into what other minorities go through of Maya that other cultures suffer racism in different ways.  The author also posits that racist are encouraged when people do not confront it, but laugh it away. When racism is confronted it can be defeated. Though Hailey may continue to make her comments she will no longer say them to Maya and Starr.

Please check it out  this title at your local library.