11. The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas, 2017) ~ Book Discussion
At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to give myself a break from reading. As a creative writing graduate, reading was something unavoidable, meaning that after finishing all of my final assignments, I needed a rest from anything reading intensive.
That was until the world was forced to open their eyes wide and raise their voices against the vile, blatant acts of racism present in society, sparked by the death of George Floyd. Numerous cases of police brutality surfaced on all social media platforms, highlighting the presence of systemic, and brutal, acts of racism all over the globe, uniting people to protest for Black Lives Matter.
I found myself reading, educating myself through numerous resources which I had found online and through my own university library, signing and sharing each and every petition which I could find under Twitter threads.
That was until the world was forced to open their eyes wide and raise their voices against the vile, blatant acts of racism present in society, sparked by the death of George Floyd. Numerous cases of police brutality surfaced on all social media platforms, highlighting the presence of systemic, and brutal, acts of racism all over the globe, uniting people to protest for Black Lives Matter. I found myself reading, educating myself through numerous resources which I had found online and through my own university library, signing and sharing each and every petition which I could find under Twitter threads.
The current world situation and my resurgence of my need to read reminded me of a book that I had always had the intention of reading but had never gotten around to, The Hate U Give.
Angie Thomas' young adult novel, and No.1 New York Times Best Seller, tells the first person account of Starr, a young black girl who witnesses the unjust death of her best friend at the hands of a police officer. The book follows her in between two worlds; her gang riddled neighbourhood where her friend was shot and her majorly white, middle class high school, as she goes through her struggles with the mourning of her friend, attempting to fit in in a racially unjust world, and inevitably standing up for what is right and having her voice heard.
Despite THUG being a fictitious story, it draws from real life situations, experiences and stories, making reference to multiple real life victims of police brutality and racism in America. The book explores the reality of racial injustice which white people get to witness from behind televisions and social media timelines, and particularly magnifies the reality of how black and minority voices are drowned out by those with power and white privilege, despite the evidence and witnesses brought against them.
The only issue I experienced with the book, and a minor one at that, were it's references to the social media platform Tumblr. As someone who used the platform throughout my teen years, there were a few moments that made me think; "Uh, what? Nobody would just have their blog that easily accessible." Having your blog open to be found by anyone who went your school that you weren't closest pals with would just open a gateway to embarrassment. This could just be a generational writing thing, or a me thing, of course. I just found it unrealistic that someone would find romance with someone from school through Tumblr of all sites, that they didn't know directly.
Overall, I personally think The Hate U Give is a brilliant, and also relevant book for young adults, teens, and even adults to read, particularly to prevent white youths ignorance to the reality of the racism that is present in the world.
It is not a light read by any terms, but it is a read that's worth it.
I would definitely recommend it to those who are looking to expand their bookshelves with reading materials from black authors. If reading isn't your thing, another option would be to watch the 2018 film adaptation!
It is not a light read by any terms, but it is a read that's worth it.
I would definitely recommend it to those who are looking to expand their bookshelves with reading materials from black authors. If reading isn't your thing, another option would be to watch the 2018 film adaptation!
~
I have listed a few resources and links below where you can find information on the Black Lives Matter movement, other world wide issues, and where you can help!:
Focused on links to information and petitions on worldwide issues:
Carrd with links to BLM related petitions, information resources, funds:
Threads/ carrds of petitions which still need signatures:
~ Paige Nicole
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