
An in-the-works movie adaptation will further push this to the head of the class.‘ The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas is a gripping novel of conscience and doing what’s right in society.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: From the moment this book sold, it has been high-profile.

An inarguably important book that demands the widest possible readership. Beautifully written in Starr’s authentic first-person voice, this is a marvel of verisimilitude as it insightfully examines two worlds in collision. Thomas’ debut, both a searing indictment of injustice and a clear-eyed, dramatic examination of the complexities of race in America, invites deep thoughts about our social fabric, ethics, morality, and justice. If there is to be hope for change, Starr comes to realize, it must be through the exercise of her voice, even if it puts her and her family in harm’s way.

Difficulties are exacerbated by their encounters with the local drug lord for whom Khalil was dealing to earn money for his impoverished family. As the case becomes national news, violence erupts in her neighborhood, and Starr finds herself and her family caught in the middle. Her bifurcated life changes dramatically when she is the only witness to the unprovoked police shooting of her unarmed friend Khalil and is challenged to speak out-though with trepidation-about the injustices being done in the event’s wake. Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two very different worlds: one is her home in a poor black urban neighborhood the other is the tony suburban prep school she attends and the white boy she dates there. The Humanity of Black Lives: How YA Books Reflect the Black Lives Matter Movementįeb.Classroom Connections: Celebrating Banned Books Week with Something Happened in Our Town.Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2017.
