With a movie coming out soon, this book has garnered additional attention lately. I had been intending to read it anyhow, and finally got myself off of the wait-list for the ebook from the library.
I really, really, enjoyed this book. Yes, it deals with a very difficult topic. Yes, there is swearing in it. Yes, there is reference to drugs, there is violence…. And yes, these are all realities. And it deals with very timely, relevant issues.
Angie Thomas did a stellar job painting a picture of Starr’s life, drawing us into a world. A world very different from the one I live in, and an important one for all of us to glimpse.
The story summary, from Goodreads:
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.
This book was banned in a school district in Texas which led to a flurry of activity on Twitter. This included some teachers speaking out, and the twitter conversation led to people working to get the book into that area as best they could, delivering it to Free Libraries in the area and donating to public libraries.
A South Carolina police union was looking to remove the book from a recommended reading list.
Reasons given for people wanting to ban this book tend to be based on the “language,” “drug use,” and “vulgarity.” I find these reasons to be pretty ridiculous, and highly recommend that you read this book – and then share it with someone else to read.
More Articles about The Hate U Give:
An article about what teachers can do when they discover books have been removed from the shelves of their schools.
More about the banning of The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas on YA Fiction, Being Black in America and More
Angie Thomas: Burn It All Down or Use Those Emotions in My Art
‘The Hate U Give’ Explores Racism and Police Violence
The Hate She Received: Why the Banning of Angie Thomas’ Book was an Insult to the Black Lives Matter Movement.
An update from the author during banned Books week!
Eclectic Alli 
T.H.U.G. was one of my favorite books. I agree with you that the reasons it was challenged/banned are pretty ridiculous. Unfortunately, there are kids out there that have experienced much worse.
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