More thoughts on THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas

lrgiles:

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I promised more thoughts on Angie Thomas’s ( @writerzambitionz ) stellar debut, THE HATE U GIVE, and what an appropriate time since we just learned yesterday that it debuted at #1 on the NYT Bestsellers List. If you didn’t know, let that sink in for a moment…a black woman, with an unapologetically black book, that pays homage to #blacklivesmatter, has the best selling Young Adult Hardcover in the nation.

“But,” the aghast publishing industry myth maker clutches her pearls and says, “I thought there was no audience for such things.”

Well…

*I’m* not surprised about the success given that:

a) The book is fantastic. The voices–Starr and every single supporting character– are SO STRONG. I listened to the audiobook and the performance by narrator Bahni Turpin is something to behold. Even if you’ve read it on paper, do yourself a favor and use an Audible credit. So worth it.

b) It got treated like it was fantastic from the start. Everything that happened–the auction, the movie deal, the numerous foreign sales, and the 8 (thousand?) starred reviews, had people chomping at the bit for this one. If it didn’t hit #1, I was ready to call it a conspiracy and start hunting down the Secret Society standing in Angie’s way. Alas, I didn’t have to punch any haters. All is right with the world. 

Anyhow…Angie’s success is well deserved. And watching her succeed is a win for anyone whoever had to appened #ownvoices, #representationmatters, #weneeddiversebooks, etc. to a social media post.

WE BEEN TELLING Y'ALL PUBLISHING FOLKS THE AUDIENCE IS OUT THERE IF YOU CARE ENOUGH TO SEEK THAT GOOD MATERIAL AND TREAT IT LIKE GOOD MATERIAL, NOT JUST SOMETHING TO CHECK YOUR DIVERSITY BOX!!!

So, enough about that. The book’s incredible–get it if you haven’t already. I’m looking forward to meeting Angie in person–I think that’s going to happen at the end of this month when we’re both in Texas for a convention. 

Now, the other thing I’ve been wanting to say about this book…When I was listening to it, there was something very specific energizing me, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. This book punches you in the emotions a lot, so my (thug) feelings were all over the place. It was only after I finished that I gained clarity.

Last week, I was in St. Louis speaking to several groups of students. They wanted to know about how I became a writer, and part of my story involves being extremely frustrated with available reading choices when I was a teen. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but saw no true viable path to that career. I couldn’t find any books with protagonists who looked like me, had my concerns, lived in my era. From my perspective, professional writer was a career where black folks need not apply. I would’ve killed for something like THE HATE U GIVE when I was 14.

Eventually, I discovered writers I could chase, but it took so much effort, almost like one of those obscure side missions in a video game. Like, I think there’s something out there, but how many caves do I need to explore to find it? Well, a lot of young, black writers out there now have a guiding star (or Starr), thanks to Angie. It’s enough to make you cry (Thug tears, though).

When I was a teenager, the best I could hope for in the kinds of books I liked was a maybe-not-offensive depiction of some ultimately unimportant Black (to use our President’s preferred phrasing…another post for another time).

Now, the best an up-and-coming young black writer can hope for is….being the best. Best selling. Best reviewed. You don’t have to be a second class citizen in this industry. So many of our writers are proving it. But, one in particular gets all the props today.

Thank you, Angie. 

Thank you, Starr. 

Thank you Balzer + Bray for doing it right.

‘Til next time, folks.