The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Book Review

Difficult times can bring people together and whilst people are always looking to find family bonds sometimes you find it in unconventional places. In this novel, the characters experience many difficult situations but it is also a story of connection and friendship. Not all families are the traditional nuclear family. Unconventional families can be made from friendships, community members or extended family. Trauma and bad events can build trust and bonds within a group of people. In Angie Thomas’s “The Hate U Give”, the author uses unconventional family structures such as Starrs relationship with Kenya, Seven and DeVante to convey that a family can develop out of experience or trauma that bring people together rather than tear them apart. 

The issues with Starrs relationships with her friends from Williamson made her feel lost and unable to be heard or seen but her friends from Garden Heights such as, her Father Maverick, and her friend, Kenya, always were there to give her a good perspective and a strong opinion.  

“It's easier to find some crack than it is to find a good school.” (Thomas,169). 

In this part of the novel, Maverick is having a conversation with Starr about the educational resources supplied to the Oppressed and How the lack of opportunities for African Americans creates ghettos full of violence and drug use. Maverick tells Starr that these were the reasons he agreed to let her attend Williamson Prep. Maverick continuously gave Starr the honest truth about the struggles with racial discrimination throughout the novel and Starr is able to learn and grow from those discussions. Starr can’t relate to these matters with her friends from Williamson because they do not know what it is like to have had such experiences. Starr then proceeded to discuss with her friends from Garden Heights such as Seven, Kenya and DeVante. Starr was able to have her voice heard amongst her friends because they were all going through the same difficulties and had faced racial discrimination toward themselves. Kenya and Starr were very close friends throughout the novel. Kenya’s opinion was always valued by Starr and her intake and perspectives on how Starr was handling the situation with Khalil really swayed Starr into speaking her voice. 

“When I was twelve, my parents had two talks with me. One was the usual birds and bees...The other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me.” (Thomas, 20).  

Having no one at Williamson to go to make it hard for Starr to manage all the struggles she was dealing with at school and at home. When Starr hung out with her friends from Garden Heights you can see the difference in her behaviour and that some of the stress had been lifted. Most of the kids in garden Heights would have had the same talk that Starr had about police brutality with their parents. Relating to someone through trauma and relationships made it easier to connect and made her feel safer within Garden Heights. When Starr did not feel comfortable or heard talking to her Friends in Williamson, she always had her friends and family who knew what she was going through and supported her because they recognized how she felt.

Throughout the novel, the characters grew to trust each other over difficult experiences and encounters and gained a better understanding of their emotions and thoughts. 

“DeVante. Khalil. Neither of them thought they had much of a choice. If I were them, I’m not sure I’d make a much better one.”(Thomas, 239). 

Starr didn't understand how Khalil could supply the kind of destructive addiction that affected his mom so much. It takes the perspective of DeVante who is a self-described “thug,” for Starr to understand what drove Khalil into the business. She then understood their reasoning behind their actions and that drew her closer to the situation. Understanding why Khalil got into drugs helped Starr clearly find her opinion on his death and the situation including people claiming his death did not matter because he was a “drug dealer”. 

“Nobody likes selling drugs.”(Thomas, 237).

In a vulnerable moment, DeVante admits to Starr he never wanted to get into a life of crime. While there are exceptions like King, the Author Angie Thomas shows that most drug dealers are simply trying to survive. This conversation with DeVante genuinely Helped Starr understand why Khalil went toward the drug industries and also helped her understand what DeVante was undergoing and had experienced. 

All of the struggles and losses the people in Starr’s life had experienced helped them grow closer together through people opening up and meaningful conversations. 

Starr’s community joined together for the protests against officer 115 and protested for Khalil’s death, they stood together as a community and spoke their words together.

“‘Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died,’ I say. ‘But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered. Khalil lived!’ I look at the cops again. ‘You hear me? Khalil lived!’”(Thomas, 412). 

This dramatic moment shows Starr’s transformation from grieving and afraid to brave activist. She asks the protestors to focus on Khalil’s life rather than his death and that impacts people throughout the crowd. They learn the lesson Starr has learned about the importance of speaking up, of using her own voice and perspective to fight for what she believes is right.

“My anger is theirs, and theirs is mine.”(Thomas, 412).

Starr was a witness in many ways. She was a witness to Khalil's murder, but she was also a witness to her community's anger and her people's oppression. She understands that the movement is bigger than a single person, but a single person can affect a movement. She understood what people were thinking and felt their anger and rage. The riots and protests encouraged Starr to speak her voice and unit the community in a mutual understanding and connection whilst striving for Khalil’s justice and the rights of their community.

In Angie Thomas’s “The Hate U Give”, the community is faced with challenges involving racial discrimination, and throughout the novel, you see the growth of characters and the community and the forming of unconventional relationships. Starr did not feel accepted at Williamson so she relied on her friends and family in garden heights. They communicated as a community and raised together to protest. Through all of the challenges, the characters endure throughout the novel they grew closer as a family and new bonds were formed and unconventional families were formed.  

Traditionally people presume families and trusted friendships are formed by pleasant memories and enjoyable experiences but sometimes the strongest bonds are formed by difficult situations.