The Hate U Give

By: Angie Thomas

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Eight starred reviews ∙ William C. Morris Award Winner ∙ National Book Award Longlist ∙ Printz Honor Book ∙ Coretta Scott King Honor Book ∙ Number-One New York Times Best Seller!

"Absolutely riveting!" (Jason Reynolds)

"Stunning." (John Green)

"This story is necessary. This story is important." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Heartbreakingly topical." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"A marvel of verisimilitude." (Booklist, starred review)

"A powerful, in-your-face novel." (The Horn Book, starred review)

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.

And don't miss On the Come Up, Angie Thomas's powerful follow-up to The Hate U Give.

©2017 Angela Thomas (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"[Narrator Bahni] Turpin's portrayals of all the characters are rich and deep, environments are evocatively described, and Starr's fraught struggles to understand life's complexities are believable." (AudioFile)

This Book Changed My Entire Perspective

Tupac. THUG LIFE. 'The Hate U Give Little Infants F*&#@ Everyone.' Those are not a bunch of nonsensical words. There is great meaning behind them- a greater meaning that I ever knew.

This book touched my heart and opened my mind to a world I knew nothing of. The book made me think- and I don't mean 'ponder' for a few minutes. This book made me search my soul and look at the world differently. It made me discuss the message with my children.

Without going into too much detail, our heroine grows up in a world where drive by shootings, robberies, and drugs were normal. When tragedy strikes she has a choice. She can speak up or she can keep quiet and say nothing. Keeping quiet in an area where 'snitches get stitches' is probably the best idea, however breaking a long cycle of silence is a very difficult choice.

I think this book should be mandatory reading in high school. I consider myself quite conservative on the political spectrum, but this is a beautiful written and well thought out book that will make you think twice about everything you know when it comes to stereotypes.

5 giant stars- so grateful I listened to this audiobook.

-Wendi

What a story!

I'm not normally into YA, but I don't know if you would categorize this book as such, and you definitely couldn't pigeonhole into that one genre. It is something of an allegorical tale about the black lives matter movement, and racist police brutality.

But it's not just a diatribe about what is wrong with the world, and the way things should be. That's where Angie Thomas shines, she doesn't sacrifice her story or sense of character development to send a message. This is a real, holistic story about a young woman's coming of age in a fulcrum of racial and political strife, all while confronting the standard and not-so-standard complications of teenage life: communication issues, identity, family, and responsibility.

Bahni Turpin does a miraculous job giving these characters the voice they deserve. There is a lot of style behind the dialogue that I could see might be hard to pull off, but she does it with ease and it draws you that much more into the story.

Raw Reality!

In this world in all societies, there are givers and takers whether you are on Wall St. or you are in some inner city ghetto. Human nature is so heavily influenced by our surroundings that once engulfed it is so hard to get out and make significant changes. The reality of this book is that it takes tremendous courage to stand for who you are and what you believe when there is so much pressure around you to go with the flow. I thought Angie Thomas did a brilliant job of highlighting the day to day courage required by all of us in embracing race, society, and local community to create a peaceful world. Love needs to connect with the color of our blood regardless of the color of our skin.

Amazing, powerful novel for teens and adults

This book starts out with the feel of a Young Adult novel. If it was written for that genre, it quickly transcends it. It is the story of a 16 year old girl, Star, who is a witness to a police shooting that results in the death of her friend. It is narrated by Star, a girl who straddles two worlds - her dangerous inner city neighborhood and her elite, mostly white private school. Star is so believable, as is Star's family and friend groups. The story is riveting, disturbing, sweet, and hopeful. I feel like I have been part of her special and totally believable family. The reader is great. I can't say enough good things about this book. I love coming-of-age novels, and this is a great one. I recommend it for teens and adults, male and female. I am an older white man, and I chose this book because I teach a diverse student body. I thought it might give me better perspective. This important book did do that, and so much more.

One dimensional characters, lazy story writing

I just don’t get the hype - was hoping for a young female perspective Boyz in the Hood or Do The Right Thing, and so disappointed to find a totally predictable plot full of one note characters - from the “good cop” uncle to the “bad cop” shooter to the black pride dad to the white boyfriend, referred to in the book as a ”wigger”. No character evolved or did anything surprising, and since the entire book is written from a single narrator perspective, you don’t get any interesting insights from other characters. I struggled to finish it. The narrators voices, especially the “daddy” voice was annoying. like when your mom read you a bedtime story in a male character voice.

A MUST Read for a better society!

As an English teacher, I have read many, many novels, and this is officially the top of my list as one I would have EVERY student of mine read, and every member of our society, if I could! The perspective Angie Thomas gives in this is exactly one that EVERYONE should hear, understand, and be culturally conscious of. Also, as a lover of audiobooks (and very picky), Bahni Turpin KILLED this performance; I didn't want to shut this book off. The pacing of this novel was perfect. All of the characters felt real and relatable. The best part was the depth of the theme and the way the title is an allusion, a symbol, and an allegory -- if I could give more than 5 stars I would. So read this, then go be the change.

Exactly what I expected

This story was exactly what I expected. I was really hoping for a story about race to open my mind to a new point of view and put me in the main characters shoes. This was lazy, predictable writing. I've actually never been so disappointed in a plot. If I could give this 0 stars I would.

Hated it

Hated it.

What a missed opportunity by the author to present a book that challenges misconceptions....ON BOTH SIDES. This book was completely biased and 100% anti-police. So biased I almost quit halfway through but persevered at 2.0X speed on Audible just in case there was some redemption by the end. Nope.

Facts:

-The fictional victim and his friend have to quickly leave a party WHERE SOMEONE IS MURDERED during a fight. This is the neighborhood at the center of the story. It’s extremely dangerous. (Note that the characters in the book don’t ever discuss or consider that any police in the area that night are likely well aware that a shooting has just taken place at a party...and are probably a little on edge because of it)

-The victim was a drug dealer and was, at a minimum, affiliated with active gangs. (Later, they downplay this fact with a story about how he is only doing it to help his Mom. Well, apparently his Mom also wanted him to get those new fancy shoes and jewelry.) Yes, it would not be possible for the policeman to know he was a drug dealer during the traffic stop. No, it’s not directly relevant to the fact that he was shot. But again, context matters, and the context of this neighborhood is one where there are a relatively high percentage of gang members and drug dealers.

-Once pulled over the victim was evasive and refused to answer basic, standard questions that are not unusual for a traffic stop (“Where ya coming from” and he answers “Nunya (business)”. The policeman asked him to get out of the vehicle, he didn’t immediately comply and was pulled from the vehicle.

-The victim was unarmed

-It was nighttime

-The victim opened the car door and was leaning back inside while the policeman returned to his vehicle to check the ID

-The policeman then clearly overreacted and shot him multiple times.

The policeman overreacted. Yes. I think most people will agree with this. The problem I have with the book is the level to which he was proclaimed a Murderer with a capital M. The author doesn’t understand what murder means.

I can’t imagine a more dangerous situation for a police officer. It’s nighttime. You are in an area that is known to be extremely violent. Any interaction is going to be possibly dangerous and potentially deadly. All facts that are so well understood by the characters in the story that they MOVE OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD BY THE END OF THE BOOK DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS.

So we establish that the neighborhood is unbelievably dangerous. We also establish that the victim did not deserve to die at any level. But we should also the say that a police officer during a traffic stop doesn’t know a person’s intentions. A police officer doesn’t know who is in the car, doesn’t know what they are going to do. Especially under these circumstances...It is reasonable for me to understand that a police officer thought his life was in danger when the the driver suddenly reached back into his car unexpectedly.

The story was fine and the characters were mostly likeable. A lot of cliches. Bad writing (oh, the rose bush that the dad keeps tending to represents the family! ...Eye roll...)

It was an easy read. But I was hoping for a book that would challenge preconceived notions on both sides. Total failure.

At best, this is a book that should just be ignored. At worst, it is dangerous and furthers a broken mindset where police are the enemy. The central character is a hero at the end for throwing tear gas at the police? The police that are in her neighborhood trying to stop rioters from burning down businesses? Nothing in this book makes sense.

One complaint

This book was very good. I loved the narrator. My only complaint is this: She made the white girls' voices sound VERY valley high. Like... from the movie Clueless. I don't think anyone actually talks like that. It was very exaggerated. For a book on race, it think that was insanely stereotypical and a bit offensive.

Not perfect but close

Actually I don't know how close to perfect this book is. The novel itself has some minor flaws (e.g. Male characters lack nuance) but keeping in mind that it's a YA first novel I wouldn't hesitate to universally recommend it. If you're a stickler about no curse or vulgar words, you might want to skip it. This would be your loss however. And although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I would argue that this is the way people talk these days and this story would be inauthentic (is that a word?) if it was "cleaned up".
At any rate, the novel itself is very good, the message it conveys is essential in these times, but the thing that sends it to the top for me is Bahni Turpin's narration. I can see why she was awarded narrator of the year (not sure what year). Her voice is pleasing and lyrical to begin with, but after you're immersed in the story, she is so good that you don't really even notice her (which I consider the highest compliment to a narrator). She gets all the characters right, no matter their age, gender, race or socioeconomic background. I admire her so much that if she is the narrator for an Audible selection, the chances I will pick it go up like a thermometer on a hot day.
So I say, use a credit on "The Hate U Give", enjoy it and then think about it.