The Hate U Give is a young adult novel about a 16 year old black girl who witnesses the shooting of a friend at the hands of the police.    It is an expansion of a short story she wrote in College, after a real-life incident.    It has received a lot of recognition and some awards.

It is the story of Starr Carter who goes to a primarily-white prep school and tries to find some balance in a racialized society.      In spite of doing the “right thing” she faces injustice, hate, and racism.    The title of the book is based on a Tupac song lyrics “The hate u give little infants f#@’s everything.”   It is about white blindness to injustice and system racism.

Starr is reluctant to speak out but she realizes that hatred is a cycle of denial and systemic “whitewashing”.    The conflict in the struggle for justice is a dangerous path to take.

The parallels of the the events and themes of the book and the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd incident are strong.    But it is the strong narrative line of the book that makes the story powerful, engaging, and meaningful.    This is a strongly recommended book – 4.8 out of 5.0 stars4.8