Her narration highlighted honest insecurities and deep fears. In the beginning, she does her best to keep both diverse worlds separate but as the book progresses, Starr sees that unity is the key to a whole heart. Throughout this story, we witness so much character development as Starr learns to become comfortable in her own skin as well as proud of her heritage. – Starr: Our protagonist is a sweet teenage girl struggling with her identity as she moves between her poor neighbourhood and rich school.

There are many wonderful characters in The Hate U Give so I will just name the main ones: It also made me want to read more books on the subject so I could educate myself on a world I’ve never had to grow up in… This book made me want to help but it also made me feel helpless when I realised there wasn’t much I could do aside from spreading this important message. I cried so much learning about the nature of police brutality. Never have I been judged for the colour of my skin or threatened because of who I am. Not once have I ever struggled with money nor been a victim of racial discrimination. It made me realise that I have truly lived a privileged existence. I experienced so many emotions whilst reading this novel. She finds herself thrust into a world full of injustice that could endanger her life just by what she does and doesn’t say. Starr witnesses the entire event and it changes her forever. On the drive home, Khalil is pulled over by a white policeman – and despite being unarmed or having done anything wrong – is fatally shot.

A dangerous fight breaks out forcing Khalil and Starr to escape in his car. One evening, she attends a party and runs into Khalil, her childhood best friend.

In this heart-wrenching story, we follow 16 year old Starr Carter, an African American teenager who lives in the poor neighbourhood of Garden Heights but attends the prestigious Williamson Prep on a scholarship. I hope by the end of this review, you are moved to pick it up and read it yourself… It gave what I thought to be an already incredible book, so much more meaning. I cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am to have witnessed this talk. She gave an emotional and inspiring keynote speech inspired by the Black Lives Movement, racism and her own experiences with discrimination. On August 27th (yesterday) I attended Angie Thomas’s “YA and Activism” event at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival. This entire post is spoiler-free – only touching on the basic plot, characters, writing-style and my overall star-rating. I am back today with another book review that I just had to write.

Books like the hate you give