The Hate U Give

Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
This is a gripping, yet eye opening fiction story about a African American sixteen year old girl who witnesses a murder of a childhood friend.  Starr is a girl that lives in Garden Heights which is a bad neighborhood and attends a prep school 40 minutes away in affluent area in the suburbs.  She and Khalil (her childhood friend) leave a party in Garden Heights and are pulled over by a "white cop" and Khalil is shot three times by the police officer and killed because he leans into his car to check on Starr.  Starr goes on to be the witness and tells her side of the incident but the policeman is found "not guilty" of any wrong doing.  Starr struggles through out the entire story with living in two different worlds and with cultural differences. She has a rich white boyfriend named Chris who is on her side but some of her other friends are not and don't understand.  This book focuses on diverse issues, gangs, drugs, violence and racism.  Police brutality jumps off the pages of this story on multiple occasions.  A hairbrush is said to be mistaken for a gun and the boy is killed.  I loved the rhythm of the story.  It was an easy read that flowed well and I believe that young adult reader will relate to this story.  You will feel for the characters in the story, feel their sadness, see the culture, and also feel the love they have for one another as a family.  This book was made into a movie that I have not seen, but will try to watch in the near future.  Another book by this author is On The Come Up.  But you can also find more books about police brutality and racism such as All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.