A Spoiler-Free Review of “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give transcended all expectations, and then some more. It follows an Black American girl, Starr, who grows up in a town infamous for its drug-dealing, gangs, and crime. Like many black communities across the US, it’s also an epicenter of race-based police brutality. Within the first few chapters, an unarmed black teenager close to Starr’s heart is shot dead at under suspicion that he held a gun in his car- and the assumption that he was a ‘thug’. Thus unfolds a criminal investigation that of course, charges the white officer responsible for murder as not guilty. The media tiptoes about the issue, suggesting that because the murdered victim could’ve been doing drugs, could’ve been in a gang, and could’ve been a threat to the officer’s life, that the officer was somehow justified. The victim was a 16-year-old child, murdered, as many tragically are, on the basis of his skin color.

The thing that struck me about this novel was that it dug deep into issues within activism. For example, it touches upon ‘wokeness for face’- the use of activism or support of race, sexual orientation, gender or disability issues as means for personal gain (such as ditching class in support of a so-called-protest, as the privileged students in Williamson High do). THUG also explores selective ‘wokeness’- being passionate about feminism for example, but feeling indifference to issues of race. Thomas brilliantly highlights the problem that even such ‘woke’ individuals make racially nuanced jokes and brush them off as harmless: ‘[y]ou can say something racist and not be a racist’.

“That’s the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

I can’t pretend I’m immensely knowledgeable about race issues in America, neither will I ever experience the kind of institutionalized racism in which the people who are meant to protect you from violence are the ones pulling the trigger. This novel definitely helped me to open my eyes a bit more to the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality in the States, and how racism is so ingrained within society and economy. It was an interesting exploration of such issues in the present context after reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved (which is about a self-emancipated family struggling in the aftermath of abolition in the 1870s American South, see review here).

“Corporate America don’t bring jobs to our communities, and they damn sure ain’t quick to hire us. Then, shit, even if you do have a high school diploma, so many of the schools in our neighborhoods don’t prepare us well enough … It’s easier to find some crack than it is to find a good school around here.”

“When the Khalils get arrested for selling drugs, they either spend most of their life in prison, another billion dollar industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again. That’s the hate they’re giving us baby, a system designed against us. That’s Thug Life.”

However, there was something that I related to, which is dealing with being the ‘token ______” . Starr lives an almost double life, with one foot in a neighborhood thick in gang violence and police brutality- yet enveloping in its tight-knit and fiercely loving community- and another in the privileged, “white kid’s school” a 45 minute drive away (in which she is one of two black students in her grade, aka the “token black girl”). In both communities she feels as though she does not fully belong.

The Hate U Give delves into the realities of people from Black Americans that face unjust incarcerations and police brutality, as well as bringing to the surface the imbalances rooted in America's race politics. I recommend this book especially for teens and young adults regardless of race, because it really does throw you beyond surface-level tolerance and into the revealing depths of how racism is ingrained into our language, entertainment, and actions. The Hate U Give does so while also being a rapid page-turner that leaves you reeling in shock or anger, as well as finding yourself smiling with moments of warmth and love. A full 5/5, highly recommend.