Format:  Hardcover

Pages: 464 pages

Published: February 28, 2017

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Powerful, riveting, provoking…there are so many words to describe this great YA book. As a teen librarian, I have to read a lot of YA books and there not many that leaves with a resonated a feeling of empowerment and emotional feeling. This book was one of the realist books I have ever read in the longest time. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this book takes a deep look at the shooting of an unarmed black teenager  by a police officer. It approaches an issue that has deeply affected everyone in this country. And this book does a beautiful job addressing issues that concern young teens of this generation. They will feel a personal connection to both the story it tells and the characters who are of that story.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas” →