The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
The acclaimed, award-winning novel is now a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg, Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae, and Common.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life. Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas, the author, lives in Mississippi. Although Starr’s life and Angie’s are not the same they both have found a place to speak up and speak out against injustice.
Cason picked this book for Book Club. For those who don’t know Cason he is a precocious child that has a dream himself. His favorite color is pink, he likes to play Nintendo Switch and he reads a lot. He is super lucky and lives in a big house out on a farm and has a pet pig named Haystack. He also comes from a broken home. He doesn’t know his biological father and his mom has been in and out of jail. He lives with his “Grandpa and Grandma.” They biologically are not his grandparents, but he loves them just the same. All those pieces the good and the bad make up who Cason is. He is also a defender of what is right, a hero to many and a friend.
“We will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. ” MLK
In reading this book I think the most important page is the end.
” It would be easy to quit if it was just about me, Khalil, that night, and that cop. It’s about way more than that though. It’s about Seven. Sekani. Kenya,DeVante
It’s also about Oscar.
Aiyana.
Trayvon.
Rekia.
Michael.
Eric.
Tamir.
John.
Ezell.
Sandra.
Freddie.
Alton.
Philando.
It’s even about that little boy in 1955 who nobody recognized at first– Emmett.
The messed-up part? There are so many more.
Yet I think it’ll change one day. How? I don’t know. When? I definitely don’t know. Why? Because there will always be someone ready to fight. Maybe it’s my turn. ”
Take some time and research one of the names in the above list. Write a short paragraph about them and why they are important.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network is an organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. #BlackLivesMatter
You can check out The Hate U Give online:
Idaho Digital Consortium: The Hate U Give EBook
Idaho Digital Consortium: The Hate U Give EBook (Includes On The Come Up)
Idaho Digital Consortium: The Hate U Give AudioBook
Additional from Cason:
Also Cason says you can follow him at TKAreWeThereYet
He also made a playlist: Cason’s Book Club Playlist