YA Books Podcast - Episode 97 - The Hate U Give

YABooksPodcast's podcast

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas 4.8 on 1242 reviews

https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas-ebook/dp/B01M0614T9/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CAY6N95PD98WKX1MSV1D

Published Feb 27, 2017 675 in the paid Kindle store Voted #1 for Young Adult Fiction in the Goodreads Readers Choice awards for 2017 (Next week I'm going to review number 2. The the following week #1 in Young Adult Fantasy.)

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.

Angie Thomas Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books.

What I like about this chapter. The characters are realistic and natural. They're ethnic but not over the top. Starr is a great protagonist. She's torn between two lives. The suburban prep school, her friends, and life there. And the urban reality of her home and those she's grown up with.

I wish that the preview had been longer so that I could have shared more of the plot with you, but I give this a five star recomendation to go and read further. It's not for the faint of heart or those who are offended by profanity.

Thanks for listening. Come back next week for more from the Goodreads readers choice awards.