Reviewer: Anuprova BhowmikStarr Carter is a junior at Williamson Prep, a private school away from her home in Garden Heights, a poor and violent neighborhood. When Starr goes to a party at Garden Heights, she meets her old friend Khalil and starts to catch up with him. However, their conversation is abruptly cut off by a fight, and the two flee in Khalil's car. As they are driving, Khalil is pulled over by the police. They ask him to get out of the car and he is patted down. When the police walks back to his patrol car, Khalil opens the door to check on Starr. However, he is stopped mid-sentence, as the officer's bullets kill him.
Soon after Khalil's death, investigations begin. Starr is called in to give her account of the story, as she was the key witness. Despite her truthful and accurate description of the event, Khalil does not get any justice for his death. Instead, the media paints him as a gang member who was "going to die anyway". Infuriated, Starr wants to speak up about the situation and let others know what Khalil was really like. However, doing so would put her life and her family's lives at risk as well. Starr is then faced with a difficult choice: Risk everything for justice or live knowing that she could have done something?
The Hate U Give was a wonderfully-written story that gave readers an insight into the racial tension that is still occurring nowadays. A lot of people are unaware of the police violence that has been occurring in large numbers in recent years, and this book does a good job of informing readers about the subject. One aspect of the story that I really enjoyed was that every character had their own storyline. In some books, the side characters exist solely to support the main character. Although the characters in The Hate U Give played a role in Starr's life, they were also strong independent characters that had a lot of depth. I also enjoyed the humor in the book. Although the book was talking about a sensitive topic, the humor brought light to the happier parts of it. The only thing I would change about this book is its length, as I thought it was a little longer than necessary. However, this was a very minor problem, and it did not take away from the brilliance of the book.
I liked your review of the book as I agree with it. I read this book last year and it was a really good book. I especially liked how you said that each of the characters had their own story line. I hadn't noticed this when I was reading 'The Hate U Give' so this was interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I read The Hate U Give this summer and also loved it. Your review brought to light the main points of this book without spoiling it. I thought you did a really nice job writing about the central themes and not focusing on minor details because, as you said, the book is lengthy. While I was reading, I found some sections that I thought could have been cut to reduce the length, but even though the book is long it’s content doesn’t deteriorate. Some longer books get more boring with chapters that feel like fill-ins and don’t contribute to the plot, but I agree The Hate U Give stays interesting the entire time. I also found your point about each side character’s story interesting. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but I agree that Thomas does a better job than most authors at constructing side characters that have their own stories as well.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review! I have heard many good things about 'The Hate U Give', and this supports all of the comments I have heard. I have not read the book yet, but I would definitely want to in the near future. I appreciate that you explain how the book talks about significant problems that happen in real life. I think, based off of what you said, that this book could be good for notifying people about the racism in communities today. I also found your comment about each character having their own storyline very interesting. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis was my comment, I don't know why my name didn't show up.
DeleteThis review is really short and to the point. I've been meaning to read this book, but I never really got around to it. The analysis of this book was really good, it was well articulated and well put. The only thing with this review I have against it (oof sentence) is that the summary of the book isn't very captivating. The sentences seem very basic, and it might help a little if you alternate sentence structure and stuff. Overall, I liked your review and I might finally get around to actually reading the dang book!
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to read this book for a while. I like your summary of the book - it is clear, concise, and doesn't give any spoilers. I also like that you said what you liked and didn't like about the book. You said that the book gives awareness about racial issues and police brutality, so did you learn anything interesting? Or is there anything specific people should know but don't shown in this book?
ReplyDeleteThis book definitely made its way onto my reading list after reading the review. I liked your analysis of the depth of the characters, and I would like to read a story with supporting characters that aren't as one dimensional as traditional types of these characters. I find it hard to read books where a character that is supposedly supposed to influence the main character's life is barely given the time of day. I think its important that we understand the person, so we can understand how they impact the main character. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good, well-written review! I've wanted to read The Hate U Give for a while, but haven't yet gotten around to it, and your review definitely convinced me to try it out! I really liked the point you brought up about how you enjoy that the supporting characters receive their own storylines, since I feel like many other books that are focused around social justice or similar issues are more plot based than character based in order to convey their specific point and the implications of it, so this sounds like an interesting approach. Overall, your review was really interesting, and gave a lot of good insight into the story!
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this book myself last year and having a similar opinion on the book. It is a very engaging book and this review has made me want to read it again! I appreciate how you give a good premise for the book before getting into the review without revealing any major spoilers. The only other thing I would have liked to see in this review is an example of different characters all having their own storylines, to help visualize the style of the book a bit better. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI agree. This book is a great book, that gives an insight on black people living in the ghetto, and police violence. I agree that the book was longer than necessary, with a lot of unnecessary things filling it. The movie takes out these things, which is why this is one of the only instances of the movie being better than the book.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this book over the summer and I think that your review was really good! I enjoyed how you provided a positive review but still pointed out the faults of the story with all of the filler pages. You did a really good job on this review!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a really nice review. I like how you described the tensions in the book and how they related to life in the real world. These questions and topics really made me engaged in your review and it was really interesting to see what you thought about the book as a whole. It's sounds like a book I'd read in the future!
ReplyDelete