Hey guys,
It has been super long since I last wrote a post - mainly because I got so tied down with uni work I just didn't give this a second glance. I decided I wanted to do a review on The Hate U Give, as I enjoyed it SO much and just need to talk about it!! When I first saw this in the library I knew I needed it as I have only heard good things about this read. I went in with such high hopes, and lets just say I wasn't let down in the slightest.
A brief overview of the book: 16-year-old Starr has just watched one of her close friends be shot by the police, when she was 10 she also saw another close friend be shot. None of these individuals had done anything wrong, nor were they of threat to the police officer. Despite this, Khalil still gets shot and dies. Starr shares her story, with the police, the news, the courts and yet no justice is brought. The police officer still doesn’t receive any kind of punishment for this killing. This books main themes surround institutional racism, the lack of opportunities and the fear of speaking up in fear of what could happen to you/your family if you speak out.
My rating - 5 STARS!!
First of all, Starr was one of the most courageous characters I have read about. I loved her bravery, her determination to get justice for Khalil, her loyalty to those around her. I love how everything that happened in this book brought Starr’s family closer together. I admired that, and I admired her. Chris was another one of my favourite characters (Starr’s boyfriend), despite Starr listing their differences, he still stuck by her side. I love how he never wanted to give her up, no matter what people thought or how different she thought they may be. I loved Seven too (Starr’s older brother), he just seemed like such a sweetie overall, always looking out for everybody around him. I just sympathised with each character so much, I loved them and just wanted to cry at how hard things were for them.
This book is so important to read, such a worthy read and is so educational about the society we live in. Yes – Institutional racism does exist, and yes, it is a widespread issue – much more widespread than we recognise – something does absolutely need to be done to overcome this. Why should individual’s lives suffer just because of the colour of their skin? Why is this even a reason to be prejudice about individuals! It is so shocking that to this day it does still exist, and many individuals fear the worst in their life. It is shocking that the police force can just get away with cases like those in this book, but it is also so lovely to see the community stand together to bring justice. I know rioting isn't the answer to things and how dangerous riots can be (as shown in this book), but it was so nice to see how many people were actually fighting for justice, despite the consequences.
It is shocking how relevant to real life this book is, and I can only hope that with books like these – people realise how important it is. This is an issue probably not wrote about as much in novels, but I am so glad this author decided to include this.
I think this is definitely a book that needs to be read by everybody. I can't even express how important it is to understand these issues and try to fight against them.
Wow - that was a lengthy review!!! I just enjoyed this book so much. I highly recommend it.
Some questions for you guys that I would loooove to know!!
Have you read this book and what were your opinions on it?
Have you read any books similar to this? (PLEASE comment below their titles as I would love to read more novels like this!!).
Hopefully, after finally breaking the ice and coming back onto my blog page I will be writing more frequently!!
Bye for now!!
Holl xx
It has been super long since I last wrote a post - mainly because I got so tied down with uni work I just didn't give this a second glance. I decided I wanted to do a review on The Hate U Give, as I enjoyed it SO much and just need to talk about it!! When I first saw this in the library I knew I needed it as I have only heard good things about this read. I went in with such high hopes, and lets just say I wasn't let down in the slightest.A brief overview of the book: 16-year-old Starr has just watched one of her close friends be shot by the police, when she was 10 she also saw another close friend be shot. None of these individuals had done anything wrong, nor were they of threat to the police officer. Despite this, Khalil still gets shot and dies. Starr shares her story, with the police, the news, the courts and yet no justice is brought. The police officer still doesn’t receive any kind of punishment for this killing. This books main themes surround institutional racism, the lack of opportunities and the fear of speaking up in fear of what could happen to you/your family if you speak out.
My rating - 5 STARS!!
First of all, Starr was one of the most courageous characters I have read about. I loved her bravery, her determination to get justice for Khalil, her loyalty to those around her. I love how everything that happened in this book brought Starr’s family closer together. I admired that, and I admired her. Chris was another one of my favourite characters (Starr’s boyfriend), despite Starr listing their differences, he still stuck by her side. I love how he never wanted to give her up, no matter what people thought or how different she thought they may be. I loved Seven too (Starr’s older brother), he just seemed like such a sweetie overall, always looking out for everybody around him. I just sympathised with each character so much, I loved them and just wanted to cry at how hard things were for them.
This book is so important to read, such a worthy read and is so educational about the society we live in. Yes – Institutional racism does exist, and yes, it is a widespread issue – much more widespread than we recognise – something does absolutely need to be done to overcome this. Why should individual’s lives suffer just because of the colour of their skin? Why is this even a reason to be prejudice about individuals! It is so shocking that to this day it does still exist, and many individuals fear the worst in their life. It is shocking that the police force can just get away with cases like those in this book, but it is also so lovely to see the community stand together to bring justice. I know rioting isn't the answer to things and how dangerous riots can be (as shown in this book), but it was so nice to see how many people were actually fighting for justice, despite the consequences.
It is shocking how relevant to real life this book is, and I can only hope that with books like these – people realise how important it is. This is an issue probably not wrote about as much in novels, but I am so glad this author decided to include this.
I think this is definitely a book that needs to be read by everybody. I can't even express how important it is to understand these issues and try to fight against them.Wow - that was a lengthy review!!! I just enjoyed this book so much. I highly recommend it.
Some questions for you guys that I would loooove to know!!
Have you read this book and what were your opinions on it?
Have you read any books similar to this? (PLEASE comment below their titles as I would love to read more novels like this!!).
Hopefully, after finally breaking the ice and coming back onto my blog page I will be writing more frequently!!
Bye for now!!
Holl xx
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