The Hate U Give (Book Review)

Starr is sixteen and trying to live as close to a normal life as she can. She lives in Garden Heights, an area known for all the wrong reasons. She may live in the “ghetto” but she goes to a prep school in the suburbs. She basically has to be two different people.

One night, a party in the Heights turns into one of the worst days of Starr’s life. That is the last time she speaks to Khalil Harris, one of her best friends growing up. That is the night she has to watch a friend die for the second time.

I loved this book and the way the author addressed such a sensitive matter. The characters felt so real that I could just imagine them sitting right there in front of me. I really connected with Starr as a person, especially when she talked about having to disprove stereotypes by basically living two lives.

The Hate U Give is about so much more than police brutality. It’s about society, race, and how the two can never really be separated. It’s about how murder can be normalized with a uniform and a badge. It’s about how the Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everyone.

Author: Rachelle Saint Louis

Rachelle Saint Louis is a Haitian-American writer, born and raised in South Florida. She received a 2018 Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition for her poem “Red Blood Cell.” She is currently a Psychology and English double major at Florida Atlantic University. Her poetry has been published in Rigorous Magazine. Rachelle has been writing poetry since the 7th grade and you can often find her performing Spoken Word at local open mics. View all posts by Rachelle Saint Louis