The Hate U Give: A Story About Police Violence, Racism, and Finding Your Voice

I'm going to start with this--I just finished this book a little less than an hour ago, and I can already say that it has changed my life. Angie Thomas's book about 16-year-old Starr Carter left me speechless and crying for so many reasons, and I'm not sure I can even explain why adequately. Starr herself is written perfectly. She's a high school junior who loves basketball, used to have a massive crush on a Jonas brother, and collects sneakers. She also loves her family, even when they embarrass or frustrate her, is a good student at the private school she attends with almost exclusively rich, white kids (one of whom is her boyfriend), and helps at her dad's community grocery store when she can. However, her life is very different from the ones her friends at school live. Starr is the only black girl in her junior class, lives in a poor black neighborhood that sees more than its fair share of gang violence, is the daughter of an ex-gang member who served time in prison, and saw one of her two best friends killed in a drive-by when she was ten years old. And on the night she is with her other childhood best friend, Khalil, when he is shot in the back by a police officer, despite being unarmed and not doing anything to provoke the officer in any way, she finds herself in the middle of all the fallout from the shooting while still grieving Khalil's death. I'm more than a little ashamed to admit that I'm a privileged white woman in a tiny, primarily white community who has never really even given a ton of thought to the Black Lives Matter movement. I have heard the news, and I felt a piece of the injustice of it all, but prior to reading The Hate U Give, I had never really tried to imagine what the black community really felt. I'm still a privileged white woman in a tiny, primarily white community, which means that I will never really be able to understand what the black community feels, but I'm trying, and I'm trying so much harder than I ever did before. As far as a review, I'm not sure what to say. This is young adult fiction, so I knew it wouldn't be the level of writing to which I'm accustomed. However, Angie Thomas still did an excellent job of creating living, breathing characters and thought-provoking text that made me grab my highlighter many times as I read. The teenagers spoke exactly as teenagers do without coming across as cliché at all, and I usually find that adult young adult writers either try TOO hard to make teenage characters sound like teenagers OR they make them sound entirely too grown up (I'm looking at you in The Fault in Our Stars, John Green. Yeah. I said it.). Thomas, however, nailed it. Meanwhile, The Hate U Give is filled with the kind of profound statements that I never expected from young adult fiction, but they still felt completely natural and appropriate--statements that made me, as an adult, stop and question my own behaviors and thoughts. Statements like the following: "I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I'm too afraid to speak." "The truth casts a shadow over the kitchen--people like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice." "That's the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What's the point in having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?" When I finished this book a little while ago, I sobbed like I haven't at the end of a book in a LONG time. I sobbed for Khalil and his community, but more so for the list of real names at the end (that's not a spoiler...promise). There were plenty of moments in the book that made me chuckle a little that helped break up the heaviness of the book (especially when DeVante, Seven, and Starr start making fun of white people, because, let's be honest, everything they said was true), but the weight of the truth this book made me see hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm white. I never have to worry about one of my sons being killed by the police simply for their skin color. And I will never understand that particular reality. Instead, I have been living inside my safe little bubble where I believed that ALL police officers are good and ALL police officers are just trying to do their jobs and racism is really not THAT bad in our country. I never allowed myself to see that SOME police officers are downright racist, and SOME police officers are scared of young, black men simply because they are young, black men, and people of color ARE treated differently, and ANY racism IS that bad. The Hate U Give started changing all that. It enabled me to step into the shoes of a 16-year-old black girl who saw her childhood best friend shot simply because he was young, black, and in a neighborhood with a bad reputation. It also enabled me to see that the lives behind the news headlines are so much more complicated than I am often led to believe, but Angie Thomas never did any of that in a way that placed all the blame on the police. The blame was definitely there, but Starr also acknowledges that there are still a lot of good police officers who don't agree with the actions of their colleagues, and although she helped me to understand the sentiment behind rioting, she also acknowledges that the damage done by rioting is usually to her own community only. And underneath it all, Angie Thomas makes it clear that Starr's community had its own problems from within that were not the fault of the police at all. Instead of placing blame on ANYONE, Angie Thomas is making readers see that there are definitely two sides to every story, and for most of us, we have only REALLY heard one of them.

I know I’m a little late to the program with this one as I’ve been hearing people gush about this book for quite a while already — and rightly so! I just finished it and what an amazing story! Though The Hate U Give is marketed as a Young Adult book, I feel that this inspiring book that should be on everyone’s TBR list — regardless of age, gender or race. --The Setting -- The story revolves around and is told from the point of view of Star Carter, a 16 year old black girl who is trying to live in two different worlds: one being Garden Heights, the all black crime-ridden neighborhood where she lives and grew up in — and the other being Williamson Prep, the predominately white upper middle-class high school to which her parents send her and her two brothers. While at school, she carefully measures her behavior, limits her slang and generally portrays an easy-going attitude as she tries to fit in with her rich white schoolmates. She even has a white boyfriend, Chris, whose existence she’s not yet told her father about because she’s worried he’ll judge her for dating a boy who isn’t black. Though it can be challenging at times, Staar is always careful to keep her two worlds separate. --Her Family -- Staar has a great relationship with her family and it’s evident that she loves them. Her mother works at the hospital and is an excellent role model of a strong, no-nonsense woman. Her father, a former gang member, is now a respected member of the community having left his gang life behind and now works hard to provide for his children and be a positive role model for them. He owns the neighborhood grocery store at which Staar helps out from time to time. But things aren’t easy for Staar and her family. She lives in a neighborhood where drive-by shootings, drug lords, gang leaders, and turf wars are a part of everyday life. --The Incident -- But one night her world is shattered when she and her childhood best friend Khalil are pulled over by a policeman for a routine traffic stop. The officer pulls Khalil out of the car and, even though Khalil was unarmed and made no threatening moves toward the officer, the policeman shoots him in the back three times, killing him. So Staar ends up being the only witness to what actually happened — and her life and the life of those around her entirely change as a result. Though traumatized and enraged, Staar is faced with a choice: stay silent or accept who she truly is in order to obtain justice for Khalil. Now I will say that the scene of Khalil’s murder is horrifying and gut-wrenching, and regretfully, not uncommon, as many of us have seen on the news far too often in recent times. Still, that didn’t make it this part of the book any easier — or less heartbreaking — to read. The young man’s funeral was equally heart-hurting, as we saw firsthand how destroyed his family and friends were. Instead of reading a byline in a newspaper or hearing a brief clip on the television, we are fully immersed in the situation in this story and are placed in the shoes of those who are directly involved. In this way, the story was so raw and so real that at times, I forgot that I was reading fiction. The author did an excellent job of bringing this story to life, allowing us to empathize with everyone involved. We read about the challenging issues facing the black community in the news, but this novel brought them to life for the reader, allowing us to see the lives behind the new bylines. In this way, we can’t help but realize that things are often a lot more complicated and multilayered than portrayed by the media. --The Aftermath -- Still grieving Khalil’s death, Staar is put in an extremely tough position given that she’s the only witness to the incident. Though it may seem clear to an outsider of what the best course of action is for her to take, things are not always as easy and clear-cut as they may seem — and it’s uncertain how we would react or not react if we found ourselves in a similar situation. Following the aftermath of the shooting, I felt the author did an excellent job of portraying the fear, confusion, rage, and mistrust that Staar experiences as she processes her friend’s brutal murder and through it all, tries to find herself and her voice in the middle of the fallout. But not only that, we see firsthand how such a violent, tragic and senseless loss can shake a community to its core. --The Police -- Though the officer clearly was at fault here, I felt that the author didn’t demonize the police or place all of the blame on them. Yes, there are definitely some bad police officers out there, but there are also good ones. In fact, Staar’s uncle was a police officer who, on more than one occasion, let her know that not all of the officers at his precinct are trigger-happy racists and that many of his fellow officers vehemently disagreed with the action of their corrupt colleague and those like him. --My Verdict -- The Hate U Give is phenomenal. This is the brutally honest kind of book that will stay with you for a long time after having read it and perhaps may cause you to look at life differently after having read it. At the very least, it may cause us to question that which we’ve come to accept as “normal”. This was a gripping story that not only packed an emotional punch but was also an excellent fictional treatment of real-life racial issues facing America today. Though Ms. Thomas openly treats the issue of police brutality, she also demonstrates in a very real way the day to day violence plaguing inner-city neighborhoods. This is a timely book whose importance cannot be overstated. Though the book deals with heavy issues and is not always comfortable to read, there are plenty of light and fun parts as well — especially the often amusing scenes in which Staar interacts with her friends and family. While the book will make you cry, it will, in places, make you laugh with joy as well. Throughout the book, the author weaves in themes of police brutality, racial profiling, hard choices, injustice, white privilege how young black men get pressured into dealing drugs, the challenges of living in gang-ridden neighborhoods, the everyday violence and danger that people living inner-city neighborhoods face — and does it with expert storytelling. This is an honest and compelling book that I hope will be around and in people’s minds for many years to come. Definitely a 5-star read for me. Recommended!!! This review was originally posted on my blog at rogerhyttinen.com.

Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give is a powerful and emotionally charged novel that confronts systemic racism, police brutality, and the complexities of identity through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Starr Carter. Living in a poor Black neighborhood while attending a wealthy, mostly white prep school, Starr navigates two very different worlds—until a tragic event forces them to collide. When Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed childhood friend Khalil by a police officer, she becomes the sole voice that can speak the truth about what happened. What unfolds is a raw and moving journey of grief, anger, courage, and self-discovery as Starr must decide whether to stay silent or risk everything to seek justice. What makes The Hate U Give so impactful is its honesty. It doesn't shy away from uncomfortable realities or hard questions, and it shines a light on issues often oversimplified in mainstream media. Thomas writes with heart and urgency, capturing the emotional weight of trauma and the strength it takes to speak up. While some parts of the story may slow down or feel slightly less polished, those moments are minor compared to the depth, empathy, and message the novel delivers. Yes, it’s political—but more importantly, it’s human. This isn’t just a book; it’s a conversation starter, a mirror, and for many, a wake-up call.

Sixteen year old Starr lives two lives. One is her home life. First is her home life, where she lives in a poor neighborhood and is regularly witness to gang activity and violence, but second is her life at school, where she’s one of the only black students. Here, she watches that she says and does to ensure she’s not labeled as the “angry black girl” or any of the other stereotypes she could accidentally end up being labeled if she doesn’t keep her cool. Starr’s two world collide in a horrific turn of events, when she witnesses her childhood friend Khalil shot by a white cop during a routine traffic stop. As the only witness, Starr is torn between protecting herself and her anonymity as Khalil’s death begins to attract media attention, and speaking out about an unjust killing of a black teen. I heard SO much about this book prior to it coming out, and I have to say that the hype did not disappoint. The Hate U Give is a contemporary like no other. It’s timely, relevant, eye opening, heartbreaking, and most of all: powerful. This is by far the most relevant novel I’ve read in a long time, especially given the fact that this book was inspired by true shootings of unarmed black men by white cops during routine stops. In addition to the shooting, the book also discussed how the media portrays these type of events, the resulting aftermath for the family and community, and how a young teen can get into trouble by trying to help their family. Starr absolutely made this book for me. She really struggled with finding herself, and wasn’t sure when she should speak out and when she should stay quiet. We saw her inner turmoil a lot throughout the book, and my heart broke for her every time she felt like she couldn’t be herself around people who were supposed to be her friends. Starr also has a very close relationship with her family, which I adored. Her dad is a respected member of the community, who has left his gang life behind to try and provide a better future for his children. Her mother works at a hospital and tries her best to set a good example of a strong woman, her older brother wants nothing more than to protect his family, and her younger brother is a pain in her butt, like all younger brothers are 😉 I am very close to my own family, and I really liked how involved in the story her family was. Often in contemporary YA novels, the parents aren’t around at all, and I’m left wondering if they have any idea what their children are up to. Starr has a white boyfriend, who she hasn’t told her dad about, because she’s worried he’ll judge her for not dating someone within her race. I enjoyed this part of the storyline as well, especially watching her boyfriend Chris trying to find his place in Starr’s life. I didn’t love him at first, however he stepped up in a big way by the end of the book and he grew on me. Lastly, I loved that although Starr was the main character in the book, and the only POV in the book, all of the supporting characters felt like they had their own storylines. They felt like the star of their own stories, and not just as filler characters, which is a tricky line to pull off. Overall, I felt that all of the characters were well developed, and that I saw growth in each of them throughout the book. Although there is a lot more that I can say about the book, I’ll leave it at that. What I will say is that you should pick this one up and move it to the top of your TBR. I think this is a book everyone should read, especially given the state of the political environment (particularly in the US). Like I said earlier, it’s timely and relevant, and made me both cry and laugh. You won’t want to miss this one.

I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I literally work with the police, I am a dispatcher, so it is a huge part of my life. I knew going in it was revolved around the BLM movement, and police brutality and I made the decision to read it anyways. I had heard so many good things about it and I just needed to see for myself. First I want to say, it does not at any point in this book bash police officers. It talks about some of the problems in the world and how things happen but it never attacks or sets out to make them out to monsters. I really liked that because most aren't, they just aren't, they are humans. Now, Starr is the main character who is involved in a horrible tragedy that leaves her friend from child hood Khalil dead by an officer involved shooting. It was horrible and it was really sad. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. I was so broken by this part of the story. Then reading later on into Starr's grief was just hard. I don't know any other way to describe it but there will be tears, so very many tears. That isn't it though, you see her as they have to fight the system basically, and you are with them through all those emotions. Going to the funeral and seeing his family, destroyed, his mother broken, knowing this isn't just something that happens in fiction, you cannot help but be moved. Now there was some real good in this book too, like some parts that I laughed until I cried. The scene when her parents are arguing in the middle of a prayer I have read an thousand times since finishing the book because it is the funnies thing I have ever read. Her parents were amazing by the way, her dad was an ex-con but he loved her, he admitted his mistakes but he was there for her. Their relationship was really touching to read because I have always been really close to my own dad. Then there was her mom, and her Uncle Carlos, who was actually a cop and lived in a really good neighborhood too. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it. I don't know what it is to watch one friend die by violence of any sort, much less two in the time of my life and I am 26, she is a teenager. It is jarring to see that as someones existence when it is not your own. It taught me to open my eyes... I love it... Honestly I just wanted to pick it right back up and read it again.

Summary: Starr Carter is a girl who leads two lives. She lives in the run-down neighborhood of Garden Heights with her family and goes to school at Williamson Prep.- a predominately white private school. Starr’s life changes when she witnesses one of her best friends getting shot and killed by a police officer. This event spirals into a huge news story that Starr becomes the main witness of. She leads as an activist in her community to get justice for her friend. Characters: Starr Carter: Starr is the sixteen-year-old protagonist of the story. She is a tough girl who is not afraid to share her opinion but can control what she says. Starr is careful of how she speaks around the kids that she goes to school with; always making sure that she does not sound too “ghetto.” Starr witnesses one of her best friends, Khalil Harris, get shot and killed by a police officer. After that event, Starr tries to help gain justice for Khalil by acting as a main witness in his case. Khalil Harris: Khalil is one of Starr’s best childhood friend. He gets killed by a police officer after he and Starr were driving home from a party. The media depicts Khalil as a “thug,” “drug dealer,” and “gangbanger” because he was accused of selling drugs. Later in the novel, the motivation for Khalil to sell drugs is revealed. Seven Carter: Seven is Starr’s eighteen-year-old brother. He is her half brother, they have the same father but different mothers. This creates some conflict with the Carter family. Seven is very protective of Star but is a good brother to her. Maverick Carter: Maverick is Starr and Seven’s father. He is an ex-convict and was convicted due to being apart of gang related events. Maverick owns a grocery store in Garden Heights and tries to be a good role model for his children. He makes sure that they a get a good education and stay out of gangs so that they do not make the same mistakes he did. Conflicts: The main conflict of the novel revolves around the court case of the officer who shot Khalil and whether he should go to jail or not. The majority of the other conflicts of the novel are repercussions of the main conflict. Starr has internal conflict throughout the novel. At times she does not know if she is doing the right thing for Khalil and the court case. Starr also has difficulty balancing the two lives she leads, the one at Williamson and the one at home in Garden Heights. Starr has friend drama with two of her best friends that go to Williamson- Hailey and Maya. This occurs due to Starr not telling them the whole truth about the case and Hailey acting rudely towards Starr. Rating: I really enjoyed this novel because I was engaged throughout the entire story. The theme of the story was inspiring and extremely eye-opening. It made me view the world from a different perspective because I was exposed to a life that is drastically different from mine. I would classify this novel as realistic fiction because it could happen in real life but was based off of fictional characters. I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy realistic fiction novels with the protagonist being a strong female. This novel is similar to many news stories seen on television of innocent people being shot by the police because that is the main conflict that this novel revolves around. I rate this novel nine out of ten stars because it is extremely well written and keeps the reader on their toes for the duration of the novel.

This is the perfect time in our society to read The Hate U Give. The book is based on justice for black people which goes along perfectly with the Black Lives Matter movement and protests that are happening today. The book is written from Starr Carter’s point of view. Starr and her friend Khalil Harris are driving home from a party together when they are, without any reason, pulled over by a police officer. Khalil is shot by the police officer because he was thought to have a gun with him, but that gun was a hairbrush, and the police officer continues to point the gun at Starr while he calls for backup. The truth is that, because Starr and Khalil are black, the police officer automatically assumed they were doing something wrong. But they were only two kids driving home, and Khalil deserved to live. Starr is a sixteen-year-old black high school student whose life is split in two. On one side, she’s a girl who lives in a black neighborhood, Garden Heights, surrounded by her black community. On the other side, she is one of the only few black people at her “rich people”, primarily white, private high school, Williamson Prep. She has two brothers, the oldest being Seven, and the youngest Sekani. Seven is her half-brother. Starr and Seven share the same father but have different mothers. Starr shares her brother Seven with Kesha, Seven’s half-sister, who grew up being friends with Starr. Her father, Maverick (a.k.a. “Big Mav”), owns a grocery store in Garden Heights and her mother, Lisa, is a nurse. Mrs. Carter drives Seven, Starr, and Sekani forty-five minutes to school each day so they can go to a good school. Starr struggles as she feels like she must act differently depending on who she's with- her white boyfriend, Chris, and her white friends that go to Williamson, or her childhood friends and family that live in Garden Heights. After Khalil is murdered, she feels she must speak out, even though it takes her a while to realize, and she could be in danger in the process. I love Angie Thomas’s writing style in The Hate U Give. She is writing from Starr’s point of view, so she writes exactly how everyone in the book would talk. She uses slang, and things that are popular in our culture today which makes this book especially enjoyable for young people to read. She even uses lyrics from songs that were popular in 2018. As a teenager, the way Thomas writes helps me relate to Starr. I think this book is great to read. It’s entertaining, heart-breaking, funny at times, and I feel like I learned many lessons from it. I will never understand what life is like for someone like Starr. It is a sad and broken world we live in, and life is not fair. I personally love reading when I find a good book, but I have friends that don’t like reading and they really enjoyed this book. There is never a dull moment. I was never bored while reading this book. It was powerful, inspiring, and I was intrigued all the way through. In my opinion, this book is a best seller because it discusses cultural conflicts in an informative yet entertaining way that makes you want to never put the book down. So many people can relate to Starr’s story on a personal level. This book is fiction, but everything in it has occurred more times that it should.

The Hurt U Give (THUG) An important read for younger readers, especially those who have little in common with the characters in this story. It's vital that more people understand the issue of police brutality from the standpoint of those most often in its crosshairs. This book could go a very long way toward achieving that. Woven smartly through the overall theme were issues of family, poverty, community, education, parenting, innocence, and best of all: the worth of those who have been imprisoned portrayed magically through Big Mav. All of those things are great. I'm thrilled to know people in rural areas are reading it, people all over the world are reading it, that it will be a movie and I will certainly be buying copies for young people in the future, because it's a book that teaches many lessons. Nonetheless, at times it felt pedantic and laugh-aloud funny with definitions written into the prose for common terms and actions. Because this book is meant to be read widely, hopefully by those who have the least in common with Starr, her awesome family and her community, these moments that pulled me sharply away from the story might be unobtrusive and reassuring to another reader. The problems with these explanations for me was 1) there are too many of them and 2) they are borderline pedantic, and 3) they felt clunky and slowed the pace considerably from an important story. Here's an example (hang on while I find one...OK back) This is from the part where Chris and Starr are in Seven's car and she sees her neighborhood through what she imagines Chris' eyes to be, "There's lots of hoopties, cars that should've been in the junk-yard a long time ago." (Kindle Edition, Chapter 22, p. 379.) Why not simply, "There's lots of hoopties." Until just now I didn't realize that wasn't a word everyone would know. I'm 50 and it's been around as long as I can remember. I'm on the opposite coast from this book's setting, so at least in the US, it's not regionally specific. At those times THUG felt to me like a teaching aid for white people, which it certainly could and should be. Distracting or not, these "explainers" mean many more people can enjoy the book (though dictionaries and internet searches never killed anyone.) I thought, frequently, while reading this book that between the strong family setting, the clear love for everyone involved, the excellent manners and picture-perfect characters this would be another great book for white readers to break into the lived black experience. Angie Thomas makes Starr the perfect vehicle for innocent children made into monsters by virtue of skin color and environment. Along those lines, it seemed a bit too happily ever after too, but once again, I'm reading a book I'm way too old for, and the style is very clearly for young readers. That's not me. It's hard to fault a book for being what it is when I am clearly not the intended reader. I could quibble more but I won't. I will give this book to the lovers and the marchers and the peacemakers and the many I hope will learn from it. (I'm praying the banning of this book in some areas means lots of kids are smuggling copies into their houses and reading it late at night.) Because if nothing else, this one point about children being made into monsters by media and increasingly terrified police officers, victims tried in the court of public opinion is a strong and vital message. Any way we can get more people to understand it is fine by me. It's vital -- quite literally a life and death issue. The more we can show the humanity in all to those for whom city-dwelling brown people are foreign, the more we will hopefully - with work - change this issue. This is a welcoming story with likeable, sympathetic characters with whom people will easily empathize. Go out, buy physical copies, give them to everyone you think might need it. Leave them in public places. Disperse this book widely, please.

JUST DUCKING READ IT

A must read, it gives an insider description of very relevant matters around racism and minorities.

This book has been has been getting so much hype since its release, and anytime a book gets that much attention, you have to wonder how much of it is purely hype and how much of it is the book actually being amazing. Especially since I tend to go against a lot of opinions that the masses have. But this book completely deserves any and all praises it gets. Not only is it a great story that deals with a topic that is very relevant to America at this point in time, but it's so well written and has amazing characters and is just generally so well done. I will admit that I was mildly horrified at the things that happen and how people are treated in this story. I know we have problems in Canada too, but holy macaroni America, what are you doing to your people? How do people even treat each other in this way? It gives a whole different perspective on what's going on with our neighbours, and just how bad things are. The Good Points of The Hate U Give: The characters are what really makes this book as amazing as it is. They are so well developed and realistic and their interactions with each other are so genuine that it really drives this story over the top. I adored Starr's family throughout this story. There are so few books in the YA range that have good family dynamics and presence, and it adds so much to this book. I especially loved how they aren't perfect, and they've all made mistakes and had their problems, but still come together as a group when it really matters. We need more families like this in YA. Thomas packed so much into this book, in terms of Kahlil's death, the racial issues, the family and community dynamics, and all the little details that make up this story, but it never feels too heavy or complicated or over-told. Somehow Thomas puts all this stuff into this book, but leaves it easy to read and easy to get into. This book is so well written. It's so easy to picture the settings and the people, but these descriptions never get in the way of telling the story. Thomas is a fantastic storyteller. The Downsides of The Hate U Give: This is me being a bit nitpick-y perhaps, but I wanted the author to give some ideas for what the characters in this book could do to change things. The story is about the issue, and that's more than enough, but I would have loved to see what the author would suggest to improve these things. Awareness and talking about it is great, but what else could the characters have done to change their world? This is perhaps just me being action oriented though. I did find that this was a fairly narrow-sighted view of the whole thing. And I'm not saying this to be argumentative or start things, because I totally understand that there is only so much you can do in a single book. Due to this, there's only so much that Thomas could reasonably accomplish in this book, and some issues and aspects just simply couldn't be included. Again, this is being nitpick-y. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I had read it on e-book and ended up picking up a hardcover the next time I passed by the bookstore, because it honestly deserves a space on my shelf. It's one of those books that I wouldn't be surprised to see studied in schools over the next couple of years and well into the future. I am so excited to see what comes out of this movie.

一気に読める傑作です。アメリカ社会に関するある程度の知識がないと分かりづらい部分もありますが、トータルでは理解できると思います。f**k や s**t などのスラングはほとんど見開きごとに出てきますね（笑）。 この本はアメリカの人種差別問題 Black Lives Matter を知るには格好の材料ですが、Young Adult Novel の分野で、よくここまでリアルな内容にしたものだと思います。若い人向けと言うことで、最後はいくらかの希望を持たせる終わり方になっていますが、決してご都合主義の予定調和的な結末にはせず、読者に対する問題提起がされています。映画化もされていて、そちらも素晴らしい。映画と原作ではいくつかの違いがありますが、それぞれの表現の特徴を生かして作っています。 黒人コミュニティーの日常生活が丁寧に描かれている点も、この本から学んだことの一つですが、私個人は、主人公が外界と自己の内面との間にズレを抱きながら葛藤して生きていく姿に共感を覚え、そこがこの小説の大きな魅力でした。 母親が主人公に語る素敵な言葉があります。 “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”

Ich sah das Cover, ich las den Klappentext und ich musste es mir einfach besorgen. Denn wer hat nicht die schrecklichen Nachrichten rund um die Polizeigewalt gegenüber Schwarzen in Amerika verfolgt, jüngst hat die Aktion #BlackLivesMatter für Aufsehen gesorgt und sogar große US-Weltstars zu einem politischen Statement hinreißen lassen. Eine sehr aktuelle Thematik also, großartig, dass es dazu schon ein Buch gibt - und zwar was für eins! Starr lebt in zwei völlig voneinander unterschiedlichen Welten: Wenn sie bei ihrem Papa im Laden arbeitet dann ist sie die Starr, die Slang spricht, Ausdrücke verwendet und das taffe junge Mädel raushängen lässt - und die gleichzeitig niemand bemerkt. Doch wenn sie ihre Schule in einem besseren Viertel der Stadt besucht, ist sie eine völlig andere: Hier achtet sie auf das, was sie sagt, trägt ihre teuren Markenschuhe und taucht im Tummel der Schüler unter - und fällt dennoch aufgrund ihrer Coolness auf. Die beiden Welten scheinen aufeinander zu prallen, als in einer turbulenten Nacht Starrs bester Freund aus Kindergartentagen von einem Polizisten - völlig ohne Grund - erschossen wird. Das Leben des Teenagers verändert sich komplett und Starr stellt sich immer wieder die Frage: Passen ihre beiden Welten zusammen oder ist das von vornherein zum Scheitern verurteilt? Ich kann gar nicht genug beschreiben, wie großartig dieses Buch ist. So ehrlich, so authentisch, so glaubwürdig - ab der ersten Seite war ich mitten drin in der Geschichte und fühlte sofort mit Starr mit. Dabei ist die Autorin wirklich schonungslos und geht bewusst dahin wo es weh tut - nur um den Leser zum Nachdenken zu bringen und wichtige Impulse zu geben, die zu einer wirklich tiefgründigen Reflexion führen. Selten hat mich ein Buch so ergriffen und dazu motiviert, Dinge nachzuschlagen, sie zu definieren, hinterfragen und mich letztendlich mit genau den Fragen zu beschäftigen, die das Buch stellt: Ist das, was passiert ist, tatsächlich Realität? Ja. Leider. Wie fühlen sich Betroffene in einer solchen Situation? Was macht das Geschehene mit mir? Und was ist mein Urteil? Welche Rolle spielt die Presse? Wie wichtig sind Organisationen für Betroffene? Und sind Aufstände wirklich nur sinnlos oder erfüllen sie einen tieferen Zweck? Fragen, die das Buch stellt, sie vielleicht nicht immer beantwortet, aber definitiv tiefgründig erörtert. Und das tut es nicht irgendwie, sondern für Jugendliche zugänglich und sehr leicht zu durchsteigen: Die Charaktere sind so nah am aktuellen Zeitgeist, greifen beispielsweise moderne Formulierungen auf, nennen aktuelle Musikstücke oder alte Evergreens, die heute noch bekannt sind und schafft somit nicht nur eine Bindung zum Leser, sondern gibt auch einen tollen Einblick in die Kultur des Ghettos, in dem Starr lebt. Darüber hinaus sind die Figuren sehr unterschiedlich, was eine Auseinandersetzung aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln ermöglicht und auch unterschiedliche Zugänge schafft: Chris, Starrs weißer und reicher Freund denkt und verhält sich beispielsweise anders als Starrs Stiefschwester Kenya, die selbst im Ghetto lebt und deren Vater DER Drogenboss schlechthin ist. Ja, man mag vielleicht nicht jede Figur, aber doch ist jede auf ihre Weiße bedeutend - und genau das machte die Geschichte spannend und interessant. Ob ich es als klischeebehaftet empfunden habe? Nein, denn es wird deutlich, dass das ein möglicher Alltag in einem solchen Viertel ist, dennoch zeigt die Autorin Dinge auf, über die so schon berichtet wurde, gewährt aber auch sehr persönliche Einblicke, die aus ihrer eigenen Erfahrung stammen. Doch der wichtigste Aspekt muss erst noch genannt werden: Die Thematik. Wie oben bereits geschrieben, ist diese brandaktuell und macht sie deshalb umso wichtiger. Das Buch schafft einen klaren Rahmen, auch wenn er natürlich bei der Menge gar nicht alle geschichtlich relevanten Fakten rund um die Diskriminierung Schwarzer in den USA verarbeiten kann, dennoch bringt er einige Entwicklungen klar zur Sprache und bietet somit zumindest eine Einführung in die Thematik. Ab hier muss man dann als Leser selbst aktiv werden und Personen wie Martin Luther King, Malcom X oder das Konzept des Black Jesus recherchieren. Und genau das ist das wirklich gut gemachte an diesem Buch: Es zwingt einen, durch mehrmaliges Erwähnen dieser Schlüsselfiguren und/oder Konzepte diesen auf den Grund zu gehen, obwohl man die eigentliche Geschichte natürlich auch verstehen würde, wenn man diese Dinge nicht nachschaut. Trotzdem macht man es, weil man die Story in ihrer ganzen Fülle erschließen möchte - zumindest war das bei mir so. Zum Schluss noch ein paar Gedanken zur Sprache: Ich habe die Geschichte in Englisch gelesen und die wichtigsten Kapitel (also den Großteil, denn es gibt kaum ein Kapitel, das nicht zur Geschichte beiträgt) auf Deutsch gerereadet. Ich muss sagen: Ich bin froh, dass ich sie in Englisch gelesen habe, denn dadurch wirkt die Geschichte einfach nochmal authentischer. Die Ausdrücke, Formulierungen, Konzepte, der Slang - das alles kommt erst so richtig zum Tragen, wenn man es in der Originalsprache liest. Dennoch möchte ich anmerken, dass ich die deutsche Übersetzung als gelungen ansehe, denn sie versucht die Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Starrs, die auch völlig anders reden, deutlich zu machen - ja, sie ist natürlich beschränkt, denn genauso kann man es nicht auf Deutsch übersetzen, dennoch ist sie passend und hat zumindest einen Hauch des Originals, auch wenn es für Hater von Anglizismen ein Graus seinen dürfte in einem deutschen Werk die Ausdrücke boyfriend und girlfriend zu lesen. Wer also die Wahl hat, sollte zur englischen Ausgabe greifen, diejenigen, die es sich nicht trauen, machen aber mit der deutschen auch nichts falsch - hinzu kommt noch, dass ich das deutsche Printexemplar als sehr viel hocherwertiger empfinde als das englische Pendant. Mein Fazit: Was soll ich sagen? Großartige Charaktere, wichtige Thematik, eine authentische Sprache und eine grandiose Umsetzung - was will man mehr? Dieses Buch sollte quasi in jeder Schule gelesen, von jedem Buchfan verschlungen und von jedem Menschen inhaliert werden. Ich war verzweifelt, habe geweint, gelacht und mitgerappt und war zur selben Zeit völlig verliebt in einzelne Charaktere - wenn ein Buch das schafft, dann habe ich es hier mit einem Meisterwerk zu tun. Und genau das ist es. Noch viel mehr: Es ist eines meiner Herzensbücher im Jahr 2017 und erhält deshalb auch einen ganz besonderen Platz in meinem Bücherregal. Achso, und natürlich 5 Sterne. Lest es. Liebt es. Und reflektiert es - denn dann ist es nicht nur ein Buch mit ganz viel Herz, sondern auch eins mit ganz viel Sinn.