Recently on social media an acquaintance posted the following exchange:
Officer: Why were you going 100 in a 60 zone?
Me: You see, if your foot presses down on the gas petal, the car moves faster.
Officer: Get out of the car.
Obviously, the man who posted it was white. This scenario is humorous to some people. White teenagers don’t receive a talk from their parents about how to behave if they are ever pulled over. Hands visible in the ten and two position on the steering wheel. Tell the officer clearly if you are going to move your hands. And don’t talk back no matter what he says.
Starr, the protagonist of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, is given this talk. It isn’t enough to spare her the trauma of watching her friend, Khalil, be murdered by a cop after a routine stop. She is a witness to an injustice that happens too often: a young black man is murdered because he is seen as a threat.
Anyone reading this story will have a parallel narrative in their mind of the many media stories they have heard about similar incidents. Phone cameras have captured the images of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and George Floyd being murdered for relatively benign police interactions. Khalil is another black life taken too soon with little chance of justice.
Starr and her family are not pillars of society. Her grandfather was a drug dealer. Her father has done time. They live in a neighborhood where drive by shootings are not uncommon.
Although the words Black Lives Matter are never stated outright, this is a definitely a BLM novel. Starr is forced to contend with the police, ignorance from white peers, and her own feelings for Khalil.
There is a scene early on that captures what I loved about the author’s craftsmanship. In the early morning, Starr waits as her father cuts roses and vegetables from their backyard. They then drive together to the bodega her father runs. Once there, you realize that their neighborhood is a food desert and the family garden provides greens for locals. The earlier scene suddenly makes sense.
She is also a good stylist. Sample sentence: “Right as we cross the street, a gray BMW pulls up beside us, bass thumping inside like the car has a heartbeat.”
I especially liked the characterization. Starr’s father is a devoted dad who missed her early years due to some time in prison. There is some tension between him and Carlos, her uncle who is both a police officer and was once a surrogate father to Starr.
Overall I liked this book a lot. It takes a topical plot and fully fleshes it out. It’s not perfect, but it rightfully takes its place as the first BLM novel.
Books Smitten 