The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give

by Angie Thomas

PBT Review #66

Click here to buy your copy from Amazon

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I read THUG as a buddy with a friend and blogger Rabia @ Fairly Literary. It was my first buddy read and I’m so glad I had someone to talk to about this book as I reading it! As soon as her review goes up I will link it here for you to check out as well!

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Honestly, this book deserves all the stars! I just don’t feel like this book is on the same level as other books I have rated 5 stars, but for the purposes of this review this is what I have to work with. 

This book is on the same level as Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. So freaking important and relevant to what is going on in the world today. A life changing, thought-provoking, must read for everyone! This book is seriously going to go down in history, I have no doubts about that. With books like this my reviews are always SUPER LONG and I apologize ahead of time, but there’s so much to discuss!

I knew this book was going to be heavy from the start. What I wasn’t expecting was for it to get heavy pretty much immediately, MEANING CHAPTER 2! I was literally so shook from Khalil being shot gunned down by the police that I had to take a few hours to gather my thoughts. 

I had so many feels about this situation. My initial reaction was that he should’ve known better (like Starr), how he shouldn’t have mouthed off to the cop, how he should’ve just listened to him. But then I figuratively slapped myself in the face as was like ARE YOU CRAZY! There’s still NO EXCUSE for that cop have SHOT HIM 3 TIMES IN THE BACK! All he was doing was checking on Starr. Khalil WAS NOT A THREAT. 

I’m not going to say anything further about this specific aspect of the story, but I will leave you with this. Hairbrush. A Motherf*cking HAIRBRUSH! And I’m livid all over again.

How Khalil was made out to be after the fact really hit a soft spot for me. Everyone was so focused on how Khalil was supposed this and supposedly doing that instead of what actually happened to him. I had a friend that was murdered and the same thing happened to him. How the things he was supposedly doing overshadowing what happened to him. It’s quite infuriating. Especially when you know how great and special and sweet the person truly is. His outcome was the same as Khalil’s.

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right” – Starr’s mother (please forgive me if I’m wrong about who said this in the story).

If you follow my reviews and my blog, you already know one of my favorite things about reading is finding out the meaning behind the title. The meaning behind The Hate U Give is beautiful and sad. Tupac’s famous for T.H.U.G L.I.F.E— The Hate U Give Little Infants F*cks Everyone. The FREAKING TRUTH in this! 

When Khalil goes on to explain this anagram it’s eye opening and thought provoking to deal wit the harsh reality of the way our system is set up and this cycle of oppression inflicted upon black people. I’ve always known it was true (as I sit here with my white privelege) and how it’s nearly impossible for black people to pull themselves out of that life because of the system. The system isn’t designed to help them and it really should be. IT NEEDS TO CHANGE!

I find myself repeatedly enraged with the MISUSE OF AUTHORITY by the police. Especially the instance with Starr’s father. And I’m mostly enraged because it’s true and it happens everyday. I know not all cops are like this, but they all get a bad rep because of the few that are.

It broke my heart when DeVante was talking about how kids/people end up in the drug selling and gang banging life. It reminds me of the movie Redemption about Tookie Williams and how he started the Crips. If you haven’t seen that movie, its a must watch!! It’s so good! Its bring another light to that lifestyle. It’s one of my favorite movies.

I want to say that the white representation in THUG was pretty accurate. There are white people like Hayley, unfortunately. I swear I wanted to straggle her like 16,000 times in this book! Some of the things that came out of her mouth, I was just left stunned. I could never imagine saying some of the things she said about Khalil or other things in general. Like GIRL, SHUT YOUR MOUTH! However, I do know that’s exactly how some white people feel and it’s sad. Then you have white poeple like Chris and I was so happy he was included in the story. It did help to send a smaller message that not all white people are like Hayley. I believe both of these character were crucial in the story.

The rioting that took place towards the end of the story gave me A LOT OF ANXIETY, but I also believe it was necessary. The relevancy is unreal! This book is just amazing. Simple as that.

Y’all, THIS FAMILY UNIT THOUGH! Like all the heart eyes in the world. I FREAKING LOVED THEM! They were so funny, I was rolling laughing half the time. Seven, Big Mav, Lisa, Kenya, Starr, Uncle Carlos, Grandma, everyone was so freaking funny. But Sekani, Starr’s little brother, was on another level! He was the funniest I think! They were just awesome and I can’t say that enough! 

I apologize again for how long this review is, but it’s so important to discuss these things! I will recommend this book to anyone who will listen! If I can find someone that hasn’t read it after all the hype!

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I won’t ask any specific question because I know this is sensitive, but if you want to talk about anything in particular please feel free to leave a comment below! NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

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