A Review: Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's post is going to be a review of one of the best books I've read in 2017 so far. Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give has received incredible hype, all of which it totally deserves. The story is essentially following the theme of police shootings of unarmed black Americans, and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement. Not only did I find myself educated by reading the book, but I also felt incredibly emotionally engaged.

"What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?"

The narrator of The Hate U Give is called Starr; she's a teenage girl, living in a predominantly black area, going to a predominantly white private school. After a party one night, her best friend Khalil is driving her home when they get stopped by a police officer, who goes on to shoot Khalil (who was unarmed and calm). This event happens incredibly quickly in the narrative (I think within the first 20/30 pages) and the scene is one of the most powerful I've read. The rest of the novel follows Starr dealing with the repercussions of this night; grief, media attention, tensions with friends and her boyfriend.

"I called him Khalil. The world called him a thug."

One of my favourite things about Starr's narrative was how wonderfully, and surprisingly, funny her voice was. I suppose I was expecting the entire story to be very serious and impactful (which it was) but Starr was one of the most genuinely funny protagonists I've ever read. Particularly the depiction of Starr's parents and brothers - they are just such natural, subtle, effortless characters with vivid, realistic relationships and hilarious interactions.

"People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice."

I found the exploration of romantic relationships (Starr and Chris, in particular) to be incredibly well-written, mainly because it was so subtle. I really enjoyed the fact that it was an already-established relationship - rather than them meeting for the first time during the novel - because that meant the focus wasn't on them as a couple, and instead on Starr as an individual. I've read some criticism of Starr's inner turmoil about Chris being white and I just find those arguments bizarre - Starr is never racist towards Chris!! She is merely struggling with the concepts of race and love and loyalty, and how they all fit together in her life. To suggest that this makes her racist, and thus the book hypocritical, is utterly ridiculous to me.

"A hairbrush is not a gun."

The depiction of what is essentially the Black Lives Matter movement was incredibly interesting and emotive. I have found myself in real life wanting to educate myself in the matters of police brutality, but it is very difficult to truly connect with such a horrific situation without being a part of it in someway. Reading The Hate U Give gave me huge insight into the terrifying, unfair, fury-inducing reality that black teenagers (particularly in America right now) face. When the police officer in question is not charged, believe me, you will feel every bit of the anger and hurt and fear that Starr and Khalil's friends and family do.

"...People make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them."

To conclude, this was absolutely one of the best books I've read this year, and in terms of a social justice issue-read, one of the best I've ever read. It is such a current topic, so relevant and vitally important for EVERYBODY to understand and engage with. I would recommend this book to ANYBODY. You will definitely laugh, probably cry and without a doubt, you will love Starr, you will love her world, you will grieve for Khalil and you will wish for a better world.

"Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right."

Till next week

Katie

An Unhaul: April 2017

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's post is really weird for me, because instead of showing the books I've bought, I'm showing the ones I've decided to take to the charity shop this month. I'm excellent at book shopping, less so at voluntarily giving books up. But lately I've been buying so many books and really taking good care of them, organising them on my rainbow shelves, and on numerous occasions I've looked at certain books and thought "why do I even still have that". On top of that, I've seen so many bloggers and Youtubers clearing out their shelves, so I'm in good company!

Sue limb’s girl, 15 & girl, 16

I've had these books for such a long time (I think I read them when I was 13/14!) I remember absolutely loving them at that time and thinking they were hilarious. But I know for sure that I will not read this again now, and I'd rather somebody else enjoy them! I think they're more suitable for a slightly younger audience, from what I remember, although I guess they're classified as YA - maybe it's just because they were written a while ago, they don't feel like the contemporaries that I'm a fan of these days.

Anne cassidy’s love letters

It wasn't even that long ago that I bought this book, because I thought the premise sounded really creepy and intriguing. In reality it was quite poorly written, in my opinion, and lots of the content was just melodramatic and cringey. Again, maybe it's a matter of age. Hopefully somebody else will be able to get more enjoyment out of it than me!

b.a. paris’ behind closed doors

I think this book is one I should have known better about, really. I don't mind thrillers, in fact I quite enjoy a darker story, but I really do feel the difference between a YA thriller and an adult one. Usually, either can be great, but in this case this was far too dark for me. The actual domestic thriller premise was obviously expected so that wasn't what unsettled me, it was more the relationship with the protagonists' younger, incredibly vulnerable sister - I actually felt physically uncomfortable whilst reading those parts of this story. It's really not for me at all.

Meg cabot’s Avalon high

Again, this is a book I've been keeping out of nostalgia rather than genuine interest/likelihood to reread. I really, thoroughly enjoyed reading this as a younger teenager, but right now it's taking up such valuable space on my shelves! I did the same with the Princess Diaries series a couple of years ago.

Lois duncan’s I know what you did last summer

I never watched the horror movie made out of this book, and I don't know if I'd bother to after reading the original story, to be honest. I feel like the plot had so much potential but the characters were so bland and flat and the tension of the mystery element just fell flat in turn. If anybody knows books with a similar premise which really are awesome, PLEASE let me know!!

 l.j. smith’s the vampire diaries (1-5)

I really did try to get into this book series, because I love the television show so, so much (in fact, I'm currently rewatching the whole thing on Netflix!). I know that as a reader before a watcher, I should be loyal to the original story/characters from the book, but I just can't!! Everything in the books is different! I'm pretty sure Elena is blonde, Caroline is a redhead, and hair colours aside, doesn't Elena become a vampire like straight away in the books?! BAFFLING. I'll stick to the Ian Somerhalder version, thanks.

Danielle steel’s the apartment

To me this book sounded like it would be really, really cool - 4 girls living in New York City together,  with friendship, careers, romance, drama etc etc. In reality, it was one of my least favourite books I've this year (possibly entirely). It was just so melodramatic and unrealistic, with people falling in love and getting engaged within two pages of meeting each other. Besides that, every single relationship had some huge firework-worthy breakdown with engagements, cheating, babies in every single one! I really didn't enjoy it at all, and didn't connect with a single character really - hopefully somebody else prefers it!

Helen warner’s rsvp

I read this book most recently of all of these, and I really wasn't a massive fan. There was nothing terrible about it, but nothing all that great, either. I didn't connect with any of the characters, a lot of the romantic relationships were incredibly rushed and unrealistic and the whole "will they get married won't they get married" tension-building storyline was concluded before halfway through the book, despite being the entire premise of the blurb/description. Not for me, I'm afraid.

meg cabot’s airhead

This was definitely my favourite Meg Cabot book that I ever read, but yet again it isn't one I'll be reaching for for a reread. It was a really cool, original concept and I just absolutely know it's a book that somebody will thoroughly enjoy reading for the first time.

Christa desir’s fault line

Now this is another book I got really quite recently and it was one I had such high hopes for. I've been really interested in reading around the topic of rape culture ever since I read Louise O'Neill's astounding Asking For It, but for me this really fell short. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I just really did not enjoy the reading experience at all, and not because of the difficult subject matter (clearly I was ready for that and what comes with it) but just generally the book was a bit of an uncomfortable, strange read for me.

So that's it for now!! As brave as I can be for April, but I will continue to do these clear outs (mainly because I'll have no other option with the amount of books I've been buying lately). What books have you gotten rid of this month? Have your read any on my list, and if so, did you like them?

Till next week

Katie