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Published Feb 2017
464 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas's searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does - or does not - say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
Indie Booksellers’ Choice Awards, 2018
"Starred Review. Though Thomas's story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted - and completely undervalued - by society at large." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement." - School Library Journal
"Starred Review. "With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr's natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family. This story is necessary. This story is important." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Beautifully written in Starr's authentic first-person voice, this is a marvel of verisimilitude as it insightfully examines two worlds in collision. An inarguably important book that demands the widest possible readership." - Booklist
"As we continue to fight the battle against police brutality and systemic racism in America, The Hate U Give serves as a much needed literary ramrod. Absolutely riveting!" (Jason Reynolds, bestselling coauthor of All American Boys
"Angie Thomas has written a stunning, brilliant, gut-wrenching novel that will be remembered as a classic of our time." - John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
"Fearlessly honest and heartbreakingly human. Everyone should read this book." (Becky Albertalli, William C. Morris Award-winning author of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
"This is tragically timely, hard-hitting, and an ultimate prayer for change. Don't look away from this searing battle for justice. Rally with Starr." - Adam Silvera, New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not
This information about The Hate U Give was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was having an article about her in Right On! magazine. She holds a BFA in creative writing and can still rap if needed. The Hate U Give is her first novel.
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