The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas


The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old who lives in a predominantly Black neighborhood but attends a mostly white prep school in the suburbs. Starr’s world is rocked when she witnesses the fatal police shooting of her childhood friend Khalil. This story catches fire and spreads to all walks of life, creating divisive viewpoints, disrupting lives, and tearing people apart. Starr finds herself at the center of a movement she never expected to lead. Her journey is one of courage, identity, and justice as she struggles to find her voice and shine light into the dark.




About the Book                                                      Awards & Recognition

• Title: The Hate U Give                                         • Coretta Scott King Author Honor

• Author: Angie Thomas                                         • Michael L. Printz Honor Book

•Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction      • William C. Morris Award Winner

•Year of Publication: 2017                                      • #1 New York Times Bestseller

•Number of Pages: 464                                           • Adapted into a major motion picture in 2018          

Why This Book?

I chose The Hate U Give because I had seen it repeatedly in classrooms and on friend’s bookshelves. I had heard it sparked deep thoughts about race, activism, justice, and real life phenomenon. I can personally relate to some of what Starr goes through, as many can, which is why the book became so notorious. This is a book I have been wanting to read for a long time. 

Teaching & Content Considerations

• This book could serve well for whole class read with discussions, small group book clubs, or even individual choice read. 

• The nature of this book is strongly emotional and quite graphic in some respects, so I would recommend it to grades 9-12 or ages 14 and up. 

• A recommended audience for this book would be those interested in contemporary issues, exploration of identity, or even realistic fiction coming-of-age stories. 

• Some instructional ideas based on this could be: 

            • Theme analysis - cultural identities, power of influence and media, or activism and morality. 

            • Differences in conflict - man vs man, man vs self or internal vs external. 

• Content Warnings: there are scenes that include strong violence, strong language, and some drug use.

Potential Read Aloud Passages

• Pages 17-19: Our narrator and main character Starr Carter talks about her dual life, grounding us in the differences between her two worlds and establishing her voice. 

• Pages 409-411: Starr delivers an emotional speech after deciding to protest and go public as the witness of the shooting. The speech is moving, climatic, and addresses the larger themes of the novel. 

Overall Thoughts

This story is very emotionally charged and powerful, calling the reader to become invested in the topics and events at hand. The characters in this story have real depth allowing for real connection and dynamic interactions with the world around them. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. 


Comments

  1. NEIL FITZMAURICEMay 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM

    Hi Roman! This looks like a really good read! I have also heard it being talked about and is incredibly relevant to the times we currently live in. It makes me wonder if you could also promote some speech writing using this texts as a reference. That scene from pages 409-411 seems like it could be great for students to try and mimic and would add the social justice lens to their classroom in conjunction with this book! Thanks for sharing!

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