From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Hate U Give

Angie Thomas

Start date: August 1, 2020

Finish date: August 31, 2020

Discussion: MODERN / POPULAR READS

Why we're reading this: Group Pick for Aug 2020 - Bookshelf Catch-Up
Group Pick for Feb '18 - Modern Classics/Popular…more
[close] Group Pick for Aug 2020 - Bookshelf Catch-Up
Group Pick for Feb '18 - Modern Classics/Popular

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What Members Thought

Jun 07, 2020 Shayney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a book that has been on my TBR for such a long time and one that I have been continually putting off reading because of the MASSIVE hype that surrounds this book. There is a reason that there is so much hype around it and why it is so heavily popular and I can't believe how long I have left this book sitting unread on my shelf. I am now thankful to have read it and I can appreciate it so much and it is an important read and one of the few books that 100% deserv The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a book that has been on my TBR for such a long time and one that I have been continually putting off reading because of the MASSIVE hype that surrounds this book. There is a reason that there is so much hype around it and why it is so heavily popular and I can't believe how long I have left this book sitting unread on my shelf. I am now thankful to have read it and I can appreciate it so much and it is an important read and one of the few books that 100% deserves all of the build up that surrounds it.

This book has such a powerful and impactful message within Every. Single. Page. As a white reader, and as a reader from a different country, this book gives me an important insight into a world that where discrimination and hate is in the forefront of peoples minds and something they have to fight against daily, which is why books like this are extremely important. Reading this book when I did, with the death of needless death of George Ffloyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others, made this books and the events taking place within it, that much more powerful, truthful and overall heart-breaking. Even though the story and plot are current with what is happening with today's events, what makes this book even more relevant and devastating is the fact that this wasn't written for or about the things that are happening at the moment, but about things that have been happening for decades and are STILL happening! How Black people have always been discriminated against and where justice has always failed them! This book is a great example of what can happen when you are doing everything right, but that still doesn't matter, only that you still only get judged and suffer, because of the colour of your skin.

When I was younger, I was taught that the police were there to help protect me and if I was lost, scared or in trouble, then they were there to help me, first and foremost. However, reading this book and listening to stories, that is not always the case for everyone. Within this book Starr states how she was sat down when she was young and had 'the chat' from her parents about the police, the same chat as a lot of other black children. A completely and opposite chat to the one that I had. Whereas I was taught that the police were there to protect me, Starr was taught that Police are dangerous, who look at the colour of her skin and prejudge her, and that there is no justice for what they may do. That their actions will be classed as 'Justified' and they can get away with murder. And history as proved that to be true!

This book is a great piece of writing that not only opened my eyes to the injustice. With Starr, you get to see her character trying to deal with the aftermath of this needless shooting, trying to deal with grief, all while trying to fit in to a school that only has one other black student. How friendships change and develop, how to find your true self, and yet you still get some moments in this book that make you laugh, which loosened the build up of tension, that was definitely needed and were perfect.

The Hate U Give is a book that I strongly recommend to everyone and anyone of all ages! ...more

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Oct 15, 2017 Jayesh Naithani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Something to live for, something to die for

Riveting, gut-wrenching, i-can't-breathe topical, authentic, necessary - a few of the many fitting reviewer descriptions. Became a weekend read - could not put it down. Pac wrote in a poem, the essence concisely stated by Angie Thomas in the end - "Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be roses that grow in the concrete." Because in today's world, The Hate U Give Little Infants "Foobars" Everybody (Thug Life). So speak out, a'ight? ...more

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Mar 21, 2025 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2025-books-audio

A young woman witnesses her friend being shot by a policeman. In the aftermath she must decide what it means to witness and how to use her witness to change her community for the best.

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