From the Bookshelf of What is Life without Books…

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

Angie Thomas

Start date: July 1, 2018

Finish date: September 30, 2018

Discussion: Books We Read Together

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of -1 topics — 142 comments total

Books We Read Together

Indie Books vote here 2025
By Aly , Book Monster and group creator · 32 posts · 45 views

last updated Oct 28, 2025 06:47PM

Let's vote A List Books 2025
By Aly , Book Monster and group creator · 11 posts · 23 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:16PM

showing 1 of 1 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Aug 16, 2019 Denise Lauron rated it really liked it

I went into this book not knowing what it was about. I knew that there had been a movie made, but I hadn't seen it.

I was not expecting the story at all. It was an important message told in a clear and interesting way. I feel that it was toned down a bit to reach a larger audience, though. I felt that reaching the larger audience was important, so it being toned down a bit didn't bother me as much as it normally would have. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2017 Ashley Glovasky rated it it was amazing

In a nutshell: Starr, a teenager living in a poor neighbourhood and attending a prep school, witnesses police brutality with the death of her friend Khalil and decides if she wants to wait in the sidelines for change or to take a stand herself.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to everyone, as it mirrors aspects of our society. The change starts with us. This is ESPECIALLY important for teenagers to read so I think parents should read it and then decide if they want to pass it on to teach th In a nutshell: Starr, a teenager living in a poor neighbourhood and attending a prep school, witnesses police brutality with the death of her friend Khalil and decides if she wants to wait in the sidelines for change or to take a stand herself.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to everyone, as it mirrors aspects of our society. The change starts with us. This is ESPECIALLY important for teenagers to read so I think parents should read it and then decide if they want to pass it on to teach their children to challenge society’s injustices.

I read this after seeing rave reviews for this book everywhere. It won best debut author and best young adult awards on Goodreads last year. I understand why entirely.

“I can't change where I come from or what I've been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?”

Starr is at a party that she doesn’t want to be at in her neighbourhood and people are making fun of her for attending a prep school and “acting white.” When the party is abruptly broken up, Starr catches a ride home with a childhood best friend and they are pulled over. Starr witnesses her friend killed by a police officer for doing nothing wrong and her world is shattered. She can’t tell her friends or boyfriend about it out of shame and fear. She quickly realizes, however, that her voice is powerful and that she has to take a stand to invoke change.

Normally I hate books written about high school students because the language is exactly as you would expect. Despite the fact that the writing style and dialogue is as you would expect for a book written for that age group, the actual social and larger narratives were incredible.

The only downfall of this book for me was just closer to the end... It got a little bit too far-fetched and then it was tied up in a neat little bow at the end like everything was right in the world despite what happened to Starr and the trauma she now has to live with for the rest of her life, and the injustice she witnessed. To me it also focused too much on teenage romance at the end, and that’s not what the book is about. Maybe the romance was thrown in there to make teenagers that love Twilight and Eleanor and Park and The Fault in Our Stars happy? I’m not sure. I just thought it didn’t go along with the rest.

Mostly this book is terrifying, because police brutality is not fictional. When privileged people(such as myself) read this book, it makes us fear for humanity and wonder what is to come in the future when we currently live in a society in which things like this happen. Where police prosecute and even kill innocent people and chock it up as “self defense” when really they are just terrible human beings... and they get away with it. All. The. Time.

My hope is that teenagers and young people read this book, and, like myself, fear for humanity and where it is headed and decide not to be this way and decide to speak out against injustice. And perhaps this is what the author is trying to achieve. Young adults and teens don’t typically watch the news or hear about things like this. So maybe the author has tried to reach younger audiences on social discourses by writing this book. And if this was her intent, I applaud her. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2018 Kendall rated it it was amazing

I thought I was prepared for the weight of this novel. It turns out, I was not. This story is heavy. It is heart-wrenching and eye-opening. It is a hard unapologetic slap to the face from start to finish.

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2018 Janna rated it it was amazing

Everyone should read this.

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 12, 2018 Jennie rated it it was amazing

One of the most important books I have ever read!

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2017 M.L. Sparrow rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourite-books, kick-arse-heroine

For more reviews, or to see my favourite quotes from this book, check out my blog at http://mlsparrow.wix.com/mlsparrow

Okay, so I've been putting off reading this book although I was really interested in it. Firstly, because I like to wait a while before reading really popular books until the hype has died down. Secondly, I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. However, I finally caved and I was not disappointed. Yes, the writing is simple and, since I'm not American, some of the referen For more reviews, or to see my favourite quotes from this book, check out my blog at http://mlsparrow.wix.com/mlsparrow

Okay, so I've been putting off reading this book although I was really interested in it. Firstly, because I like to wait a while before reading really popular books until the hype has died down. Secondly, I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. However, I finally caved and I was not disappointed. Yes, the writing is simple and, since I'm not American, some of the references threw me occasionally, but once I'd read the first couple of chapters I was totally hooked. I could have read it in one sitting if not for work!

This book is really relevant at the moment and I can understand why it's taken off the way it has, but this book is about so much more than the main storyline, which is police brutality and the black movement. It's about family, friends, being yourself and freedom of speech. I thought Starr was a great character and loved seeing how she developed and grew throughout the story. I liked how it examines the morals at play; just because people do bad things, doesn't mean they're bad. People do things all the time because they feel they have no choice and then get stuck in situations and just because someone's a drug dealer doesn't mean they deserve to be shot for doing nothing. The ending, the results of Khalil's case, was disappointing, but more realistic because of it; unfortunately in real life it happens all too often.

The only thing that bugged me a little was that, despite Uncle Carlos who's a detective, it felt like all cops were portrayed as the bad guys. Most of them are just doing their jobs and it's the few which give them all a bad name. However, thinking about black parents feeling the need to teach kids as young as Sekani what to do if they're stopped by a cop is just heartbreaking and maddening. Things need to change and if readers of this book didn't somehow already know that, this book should tell them.

I'm in a bit of a book hangover after reading this and need a couple of days just to think about it before starting to read anything else. A book I would definitely recommend. ...more

Like · see review

May 30, 2020 Rachel (Fablefinder) rated it it was amazing

This book blew me away, it is absolutely phenomenal. I picked it up and could not put it down, Starr narrates her story beautifully. She lives in two worlds, her home in what she straight up calls the ghetto and her fancy private school. She feels like a stranger in both because she's afraid to be herself, to be honest, to move past stereotypes and ignore what others think she should be. She's seen tragedy, not just her friends getting shot right in front of her, but the every day oppression and ...more

Like · see review