When I first heard about the book, it went straight to my tbr-list. I’m a staunch defender of equal rights and simply cannot imagine how skin colors can make it so difficult to live together. Even though I have read a lot about American history, it does not make sense to me that it is still such a big issue these days. So, for me, reading this book also meant to immerse myself into an environment that is not at all familiar.
[unpaid advertisement, self-bought book]
My rating: ★★★★★
Expectations
When you read the blurb of „The Hate U Give“, you could assume that the book is focusing on how the police are not treating people equally, depending on their race. Indeed, a black boy being killed by a white police officer is the beginning and center of the storyline. Still, Angie Thomas manages to get across so much more.
The protagonist
The main character, Starr, is living in a poor neighborhood but attends a posh school in the suburbs. Her main goal is not to stand out: She wants to be one of many and tried to adapt to the environment in every possible way. At some point, she is so used to show different parts of her personality in different environments that she ends up not knowing who is really is. This is getting particularly tricky when the two sides of her life collide.
I think not knowing who you really are is just normal in her age. Many teenagers try to find their „true self“, which makes it easy to relate to the character. Anyhow, in Starr’s case, it seems to be extraordinarily hard, because she is not experimenting but changes her behaviors from one moment to another in order to fit in.
Moreover, in a part of the story, Angie Thomas highlights that discrimination is not only limited to white people not treating black people equally. I appreciate that because there are always two sides to the same coin and it makes the book more believable.
Reality check
I started to wonder how close to reality this story is. Even if you ignore the shooting (which is surely one of the more extreme cases), I wonder if e.g. Starr’s life is an exception or if many people face the same issues. I’d like to say that it’s all just fictional, but I strongly doubt it – especially considering that her novel is inspired by a true story.
Conclusion
Overall, Angie Thomas wrote a great book on a tough topic. It must be hard to write a novel on such a polarizing topic without coming across as if you wanted to accuse someone. Reading this book, I felt like all the author aimed for is to create awareness for the issues that exist in our society and to simply tell a thrilling story.
Angie Thomas: The hate u give
Verlag: cbt
broschiert, 512 Seiten
ISBN: 978-3-570-31299-5
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