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A review by gizadaemon
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
4.0
No doubt a great book with a crucial message. I loved most of the characters and was impressed by how many topics she was able to cover. The one that struck me the most was the dissonance between Starr’s home life and school life. The way the other kids and even her friends looked at her authentic self and experiences as inferior and “ghetto” just because they couldn’t relate and didn’t care to.
I know firsthand how painful it is to care about people and realize that they see you as some undesirable, “other” being because your experiences are different from theirs and you don’t fit perfectly into their group.
Ultimately, a couple things kept this from being a five star read for me. One, is that the writing is a little basic. It’s not bad, it just didn’t move me. However, considering that this is her debut novel and it’s YA, it’s still very good and does its job. Second, is that I think the message of the book would hit much harder if I as the reader had gotten to know Khalil more than I did. Starr is obviously heartbroken about his loss and grieves deeply throughout the entire story, but it’s hard for me to feel so strongly about a character that was only there for a few pages. I’m told about what a great person he was, but it would’ve been far more effective if it had showed me what a great person he was instead.
Overall, this was still a fantastic read, and I think it’s an essential addition to any young person’s library.
I know firsthand how painful it is to care about people and realize that they see you as some undesirable, “other” being because your experiences are different from theirs and you don’t fit perfectly into their group.
Ultimately, a couple things kept this from being a five star read for me. One, is that the writing is a little basic. It’s not bad, it just didn’t move me. However, considering that this is her debut novel and it’s YA, it’s still very good and does its job. Second, is that I think the message of the book would hit much harder if I as the reader had gotten to know Khalil more than I did. Starr is obviously heartbroken about his loss and grieves deeply throughout the entire story, but it’s hard for me to feel so strongly about a character that was only there for a few pages. I’m told about what a great person he was, but it would’ve been far more effective if it had showed me what a great person he was instead.
Overall, this was still a fantastic read, and I think it’s an essential addition to any young person’s library.