I have been trying to figure out what I want to say about this book for literally months now, and I just can’t do it. I give up. The amount of things I want to say are all swirling around in my brain and getting mixed up with each other, and everything is coming out all garbled whenever I try, so I give up and am now officially half-assing this review in a stream of consciousness manner with no regards for structure, and I am no longer […]
It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black
The hype gets it right yet again. I avoided reading Angie Thomas’s debut novel until two days before it was the borrow expired (despite waiting over three months for my turn in the queue). I had heard great things about the book, but some days I’m not up for taking a book-driven tour through the dark places. And the blurb of this one is dark. Just in case you don’t know the plot summary: Starr Carter is a typical high school junior. She plays on her […]
I can’t believe the news today. I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.
You may be wondering, hey, what does a 30+ year old song about violence due to religious intolerance in Ireland have to do with this book about the police shootings of innocent young black men in modern day America? And I’ll tell you, I’m not quite sure. But I listened to this song a lot while I was reading this book and this opening line really stuck with me. There’s been a lot of buzz about Angie Thomas’ debut novel, and all of it is deserved. This […]
Fantastic Take on a Tough Subject
Best for: Anyone looking for a riveting read. In a nutshell: 16-year-old Starr Carter is in the car when her friend is killed by a police officer. Line that sticks with me: “Claim folks need to act peaceful, but rolling through here like we in a goddamn war.” (pg 211) Why I chose it: I’ve been hearing loads of people talk about it. Review: Holy shit. 444 pages. Started yesterday morning on the walk to work, finished it this morning on the walk to work. […]
Hard Topic Done Right
This YA novel has turned into a bestseller and has generated a lot of positive buzz. Angie Thomas, with her first novel, boldly takes on racism and police shootings through the eyes of 16-year-old Starr Carter. Starr is an engaging narrator who straddles two different worlds that will collide, forcing her to make hard choices about who she is and what she ought to be doing. We meet Starr on the night “it” happens. It’s spring break and Starr is at a house party in […]
A stunning debut about police brutality and teenagers.
As you all know, I’ve been trying to expand my diverse books knowledge, and The Chancellor recommended a few that he thought would be great companion pieces to one of my new YA favorites, All American Boys. I’ve already read and reviewed Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down, and today, I finished Angie Thomas’s extraordinary debut, The Hate U Give. The novel begins when our protagonist Starr witnesses her childhood best friend Khalil being shot by a police officer while she sits in the passenger […]
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