Book Review Th e Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Reviewed by Kristy Dolson

There is a virus on this planet. It has been with us for as long as Homo sapiens have existed. COVID-19 has nothing on the widespread infl uence and consequences of racism. Th is is especially true for the systemic racism we see most prominently in the United States. According to Th e Washington Post (Sullivan et. al. 2018), the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent White House commission calling for reforms were kicked off in 2014 by the unarmed shooting of 18-yearold Michael Brown. In 2015, Th e Washington Post began tracking fatal police shootings when 36 unarmed black males were shot and killed by police. In 2017, 987 people were fatally shot by the police. Black males make up 6 percent of the U.S. population, but 22 percent of the total males shot and killed. And while the number of fatal shootings has held steady or fallen, black males are still being shot at in disproportionately high rates. People have been protesting peacefully for decades. But the shootings continue.

It is into this political and cultural climate that Angie Th omas published her inspiring debut novel Th e Hate U Give. While it is heartening to see some police departments make eff orts to reduce their number of fatal shootings, the sad fact is that they are still happening. What is more, in cases of fatal shooting, convictions of the offi cer(s) responsible are rare, and black males are still being unfairly and fatally stereotyped. Even in the most recent case, the death of George Floyd, the fi rst consequence was the fi ring of all four offi cers involved. Th e arrest of Chauvin, the offi cer directly responsible for Floyd’s death, came only aft er protests began. Th e other three offi cers, Lane, Kueng, and Th oa, were only charged aft er days of nationwide protests. Without the protests, these men would certainly not face charges, let alone convictions.

Th omas’s novel has been critically acclaimed for giving voice to the sensitive issues of race relations and police brutality in the United States. Th e protagonist, Starr, is a sixteen-year-old high school student who loves her family, basketball, and her white boyfriend Chris. But she has to keep her identities – home and school – separate. She lives in the poor black part of town but attends school in the rich white neighborhood, where she is one of two

black students in her grade. In order to fi t in, she has to alter her behavior and speech patterns. It is not easy, and it becomes impossible to maintain when she witnesses the unprovoked shooting of her childhood friend Khalil one night when the pair are pulled over by a white cop. Appalled by the racist reactions of her school friends, Starr must fi nd the courage to speak up and speak out against police brutality when her community demands justice for Khalil.

Th e whole book is phenomenal, but the part that stood out most to me was the media spin used to make Khalil’s death seem justifi ed. Th e police and the media worked hard to make the public see Khalil as a gang member and write off his death as inevitable. Starr saw fi rst-hand how this media spin easily soothed the consciences of closedminded privileged people like her ex-friend Hailey. Hailey, a rich white girl, loudly proclaims she is “not racist” but refuses to listen to Starr and makes harmful remarks about her non-white friends. When confronted about these behaviors, she becomes off ended and goes so far as to demand apologies from her friends. We are currently seeing this play out on a national – even worldwide – scale as those without power, trying to make themselves heard, confront the privilege of those with power who condemn the destruction of property and social norms. Th e adults in Starr’s life steered her on the right path of

avoiding confrontation while still letting go of her toxic friend. Unfortunately the real world cannot simply let go of thousands of toxic, rigid, racist individuals – especially when the most powerful man in the world is among them and doing everything he can to stoke the fi res. But it is always good to be aware of media manipulation and to keep an open mind when it comes to any issue. When we start to justify the death of any human, especially unarmed children, then we have lost our humanity. No one deserves to die the way Kahlil did. No one deserves to die the way George Floyd did. And no one should have to live through the trauma of not just seeing her friend die, but to have to defend his right to justice the way Starr did. We have all seen the video. Th at death lives in us now, and we will not stop until justice has been served.

Th is is a diffi cult novel to digest, though an engaging one to read. Written for young adults, Th omas used the fi rst person omniscient from Starr’s perspective to create a solid and stimulating narrative. Th is is Starr’s story, and we think what she thinks and feel what she feels. It is perfect. Th e dialogue is authentic, with dialects and vocabulary changing depending on the people with whom Starr interacts and the situations in which she fi nds herself. Th omas uses a lot of slang when Starr is at ease with her family but loses most of it when she has to be “Williamson Starr” at school or on camera once she starts speaking out. Starr refl ects on this survival strategy early in the book, another aspect that makes me uncomfortable knowing that I am a complicit agent in this kind of language gatekeeping. Th ere are many such moments where readers can pause and refl ect on their privilege. Awareness is the fi rst step to change.

And change is coming, ready or not. As BLM protests and solidarity marches take place all over the world in response to the injustice happening in the U.S., we stand at a pivotal moment in history. If you have not already joined or contributed to this global cause, I highly recommend you pick up Th e Hate U Give and get a fi rsthand account of the trauma that led to this moment. Facts and fi gures and news reports can speak to the history and scope of police brutality, but this novel can speak to the emotional experience of the young people growing up in a climate of hate. And that is invaluable, especially if you are a person who grew up with privilege. Starr’s story is visceral and vital. But it is by no means the fi nal stop on my own personal journey to awareness and change. In the wake of Floyd’s death, my Facebook timeline was fl ooded with articles listing books addressing the issues of racism and police brutality, both fi ction and non-fi ction. I will be doing a lot of reading and refl ecting, and I urge you to do the same as we all do our best to navigate these turbulent times.

hard together to put a stop to police brutality and the systemic racism that allows it. Change is scary, but in it there is infi nite potential. We can actualize that potential together. Read. Listen. Act.

Reference

Sullivan, J., Anthony, Z., Tate, J., & Jenkins, J. (2018, January 6). Nationwide, police shot and killed nearly 1,000 people in 2017. Th e Washington Post. https://tinyurl. com/ycl8gbzh

The Reviewer

Kristy Dolson lived in South Korea for fi ve years before taking a year off to travel, read, and spend time with her family in Canada and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Education and has now returned to Gwangju, where she splits her time between teaching at the new Jeollanamdo International Education Institute and reading as much as she can.