The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Synopsis:

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.

Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

"Bravery doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you go on even though you're scared."

I loved this so much to the point that I would be willing to propose to Angie Thomas if I were single and if I played for that team!!! In order to make a girl want to switch teams you know you have to do some bomb ass work and so help me god did she ever!!! 

I was grasped into the story from chapter 1 and I'm so happy I didn't have to wait a quarter of the way or midway through the book before I actually got into it the story. Even though I knew Khalil was going to get shot that still didn't soften the blow from it. I still had a hurt & shocked expression sitting on my face, which of course I'm not mad at, because obviously that reflects the emotion & understanding I received from the characters.

I just loved that I could relate with so many things going on throughout the book; messy friends/sisters, family dynamics, life lessons(aka the cop talk), and so much more. I especially identified with Starr's reasoning about why she wasn't ready to loose her virginity because at that time in my life, I felt the exact same way as she did. I didn't want to be another statistic because that's how I saw my race represented around my school quite often once I got to high school.


I laughed the most I could remember while ever reading any book because I truly got it, I understood where Starr was coming from, especially the Holy Ghost Two Step comment(I died, met Jesus, he told me it wasn't my time, and I came back to life). I really can not wait for June 5th to roll around because that's when On The Come Up will make it's grand entrance into the YA Universe on into my heart!!!