In the mind of a teenager, high school and teenage years are supposed to be a fun and adventurous time to hang out with friends, get your first job and even get your driver’s license. For Starr Carter, her teenage years were filled with traumatic experiences, court dates and national news.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

“The Hate U Give” starts with Starr attending a party where she doesn’t know a ton of people. While walking around with her half-sister Kenya, trying to mingle amongst the teens, she finds her friend Khalil. After talking to friends, her and Khalil leave after a fight breaks out. After leaving the party, the two teenagers get pulled over by a cop, which makes the two teenagers very suspicious considering things on the news and the races between the cop and the kids. After asking why the cop pulled Khalil over, the cop asks for him to step out of the car, which leaves Starr in a stressed out state of mind. The cop and Khalil talk, and Khalil approaches the car again, trying to ask Starr if she’s okay, when the cop fires at Khalil, killing him. The next 13 weeks after that are filled with interviews, dramatized news stories, saying that Khalil was a mad drug dealer who charged at the officer and had a gun in his car, a court testimony and eventually a final verdict. 

I liked this book because it talks about current issues, even though the book was published in two years ago. It also has a realistic ending and touches on race issues that actually go on in the United States and even in Missouri. Overall I give the book a 9/10 rating. The only problem that I had with the story was how slow some of the plot development was. However, I enjoyed the fact that the story had a lot of build up to the climax and when they announced the verdict. I would definitely read this book again and recommend it to a friend.