Young adult novel features heroine balancing 2 worlds
‘The Hate U Give’ follows aftermath of police shooting
What would you do if a police officer shot and killed your friend? What if you saw it happen?
What would you do if that friend was unarmed, innocent and black? Somehow, 16-year-old Starr Carter must grapple with these questions. She must also grieve and continue living her life all at the same time.
“The Hate U Give” (Balzer + Bray, $17.99, ages 14 and up) by Angie Thomas is more about the aftermath than the event itself. Within the first 30 pages, Khalil, Starr’s childhood friend, is dead.
Once word gets out that Khalil was unarmed, Starr’s neighborhood of Garden Heights erupts into protests, riots and continuous police presence. Starr and her family decide to keep quiet about her involvement in the incident.
At her school, Williamson Prep, Starr has to act like nothing’s wrong. The kids there wouldn’t get it because most of them are from wealthy suburbs. Things like this don’t happen in their neighborhoods. Still, Starr is comfortable at Williamson. She can focus on her schoolwork, basketball and friends.
She remains deeply immersed in her community. But she feels as if she must split into two different people — Williamson Starr and Garden Heights Starr.
As Khalil’s death becomes a national story, Starr’s two worlds begin to collide.
At Williamson, she begins to notice things. First of all, her white boyfriend. She loves Chris and he is devoted to her. Suddenly, he moves his hands too fast and she flashes back to the officer who shot Khalil.
Her former best friend, Hailey, can’t understand why people are mourning over a “suspected drug dealer.”
Back in Garden Heights, gang leader King zeroes in on Starr’s family. It doesn’t seem to matter that her father sacrificed three years of his life to get King out of a lifetime sentence.
Starr’s testimony could reveal King’s extensive drug enterprise. On top of that, Starr’s father takes in DeVante, a young gang member who stole from King himself.
Things are beginning to come to a boil. The streets explode every night in protest and military-style police crawl by in tanks. One evening, shots fly through the Carters’ living room window. The car that peels away doesn’t belong to anyone in the neighborhood. “’It ain’t no … coincidence that somebody’s trying to scare us the night before she testifies to the grand jury,’” Starr’s dad says.
With possible police intimidation just another item on a growing list of threats, Starr chooses to testify. It’s grueling to recall the events from that night:
“The un-brave part of me, which feels like most of me, shouts no. … But all those people outside are praying for me. My parents are watching me. Khalil needs me.”
After weeks of silence, the grand jury’s decision comes out. The result throws Garden Heights into a state of chaos.
Inspired by Black Lives Matter, “The Hate U Give” doesn’t shy away from the political. But Ms. Thomas doesn’t preach a simplistic fix for the issues she raises. Her story — like the reality — is complex.
Good guys may break the law. Starr’s dad, a former felon, owns a weapon.
Khalil sold drugs to help out his mother. But these characters are human. They deserve much more than the world is giving them.
“The Hate U Give” is made up of balancing acts. Starr balances school, trauma and relationships.
Her father balances his love for Garden Heights with the safety of his family. Uncle Carlos balances his job as police officer with the aftermath of Khalil’s death.
The toughest balancing act is the one that belongs to Garden Heights as a whole. Residents feel intense rage over the injustice of Khalil’s death. At the same time, that rage could destroy their community.
Ms. Thomas is attuned to this balance and lets the details do the talking. Protests and riots aren’t always perfect, but, like Starr, Garden Heights is grieving. Anger and bitterness are part of the healing process.
Starr is a wonderful narrator. She is funny when humor seems impossible. She sets clear boundaries and calls her friends out when she needs to.
She demonstrates bravery, even in clouds of tear gas. But she’s not super-human. The author shows Starr in moments of weakness and strength, making her bravery even more impressive.
And yet, “The Hate U Give” is about more than Starr. It is about the communities around the world that are experiencing injustice. It is about all of the brave people who choose to fight that injustice. It is about refusing to forget.
On the last page Starr recites a litany of names. It includes the people in her life who have been touched by violence and the names of real people of color who have died at police hands. She finishes: “I’ll never give up. I’ll never be quiet. I promise.”