From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)

Angie Thomas

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2017 Read Harder Challenge

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* Complete 2017 RHC Task List
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last updated Dec 15, 2016 05:50AM

* 2017 Read Harder Challenge
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What Members Thought

Jan 15, 2018 Crowinator rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a-good-cry, ya, genre-contemporary, favorites-2018, 2018-reads, school-hard, ra-those-bookclub-people, ra-ya-contemporary, ra-ya-diverse, also-a-movie-game-show

"SPS yanks book from middle school after parent, lawmaker complain"

https://www.news-leader.com/story/new...

I was shocked and concerned, to say the least," [State Rep. Sonya Anderson, R-Springfield] told the News-Leader. She also questioned some of the characters' attitudes toward law enforcement, noting the dialogue included phrases like "F the pig, F the police."

Way to miss the point, guys. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2017 Kate rated it it was amazing

If the statement, "You're white, you wouldn't understand," is an excuse for you to get offended, or stop listening, or to say it's reverse-racism, or generally to find a reason to discredit the speaker... well, you're part of the problem. The main character says that exact phrase. If you can't be bothered to read the book and understand why that's a totally legitimate statement for her to make, there's probably no reason for you to read this book, except you are exactly who NEEDS to read this bo ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 24, 2017 Samantha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookclub, poc-author-2017

There's really nothing that I can say in a review that hasn't already been said better by someone smarter than I am. But what I will say is that this is an incredibly important read, that I hope becomes required reading in schools across the nation. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 04, 2017 Kristen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, drama, ya, social-issues, aoc, audio-book

This was one of the most important books I have ever read. And one of the most difficult. The murder of an unarmed child at the hands of a cop is never an acceptable event. Turning around and victim-blaming him, trying to say he was in a gang or was a drug dealer doesn't make it ok. It doesn't negate the fact that a cop shot an unarmed child. It doesn't change the fact that, throughout history, we have been systematically taught that some lives matter more than others.

Star Carter was the sole w This was one of the most important books I have ever read. And one of the most difficult. The murder of an unarmed child at the hands of a cop is never an acceptable event. Turning around and victim-blaming him, trying to say he was in a gang or was a drug dealer doesn't make it ok. It doesn't negate the fact that a cop shot an unarmed child. It doesn't change the fact that, throughout history, we have been systematically taught that some lives matter more than others.

Star Carter was the sole witness to the death of her childhood friend, Khalil, and is put in a position where she has to decide whether to speak out against the police who killed him, or to stay silent. If she speaks. she will turn the local gang lord against her and her family. If she stays silent, the cop will most certainly be acquitted of any wrong doing and result in race riots in her neighborhood. She also has to decide how much to tell her rich friends at her fancy prep school who could never understand what it is like for her to have grown up in a gang-infested area of town.

This novel was superbly written, if a tad simplistic in some areas. I remind myself it is written for teenagers and move on. Star is a sympathetic character. I want to give her a hug. She has dealt with entirely too many traumas and hardships, and yet it is not an uncommon story. That is the saddest part of all. Teens should be teens, out worrying that their parents are going to catch them having a cigarette or having sex with their boyfriends and girlfriends or ditching school. They shouldn't have to worry that cops are going to kill them for being black, or that their friends are going to die in their arms on the street, or that their neighbors are going to kill them because they're gang lords who are trying to keep people from snitching.

My only real gripe with the book was that I would have liked for Star to have gotten to confront 115 at the end. I wish the end had been different, but I know too much about history and politics and current events to be surprised by it. It just made me sad. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 07, 2018 Deb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, audiobook, bipoc

Bought this for my daughter, then decided I should also read it. Bahni Turpin did an excellent job with the reading, with really distinct voices for each character.

Sometimes too preachy, but for the most part, I thought the characters and story had depth and complexity. For the white community, these kinds of books are an important education in what it's like to be black in America. Really glad I listened to it. ...more

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