The Hate U Give | Book Review
Ever since it came out, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been everywhere around bookish social media and real life, making the New York Times Best-Sellers list for several weeks. And there's a reason for it. This book is powerful.
I've been wanting to read it since it came out a few years ago, but I only managed to get it last month and started my read almost right away.
In case you don't know, The Hate U Give is about a teenager named Starr who witnesses one of her best friends getting killed by a cop and all the impact of this in the lives of the people around him and the black community as a whole, as well as follow the Black Lives Matter movement.
It is both an incredibly easy and an incredibly hard book to read. Thomas’ writing is flawless and you're fully into the story in no time, but the subject is so heartbreaking it's not something you enjoy reading about.
I read this book all in one afternoon and simply could not put it down. It left me so angry and so devastated because it is real. You know it is real from every headline that ever was about innocent people being murdered simply because they're black. The book also gives glimpses into the life of people in the outskirts of a town, the ghetto as Angie calls it. How black people don't get that many opportunities, the cultural differences that are so prevalent depending on your skin colour. And that makes you think about every other thing that black people think about but white people will never have to, like the fear and constant vigilant state they have to live in.
Thankfully, I don't know what that's like. Firstly, black people getting murdered by white policemen is a much bigger issue in the US than in Brazil (it does happen), however we still see racism in everyday things and situations. But also, I am white. I can't and will never know how it feels to be treated differently just because you were born with a certain skin colour. Which is why this book is so important and unfortunately, so relevant.
As a white person, this book is important and relevant because it shines a light on problems some of us (most of us) overlook or don't give a second thought about. But people can't do that anymore. I honestly don't even know how some people do it, when we see it in the news every day. Someone suffering in one way or another just because they're black. Your skin shouldn't be reason for people to change sidewalks if you come walking towards them, your skin shouldn't mean you get less opportunities in life, your skin shouldn't mean you get treated differently in any way, shape or form.
This book brings to memory every person who was wrongfully murdered, everyone who was given a side eye and was treated badly. This book brings to memory every time you, as a white person, failed to see any injustice being made by the sheer reason of someone's skin tone.
So read this book. If you're white, read it because you need to get a glimpse (as much as possible) into how it is to live in fear. And if you're black, I hope this book gives you some comfort and some hope that one day, hopefully, we'll get to change that. Together. Because being white doesn't mean it's not your problem, it means you have to get the privilege you unfortunately have and try your hardest to make it nonexistent.
Love,
N.
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