Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Hate U Give

I have mixed feelings about this book. There is way too much language, I realize the author is being authentic to the location, but it still bothers me. The story moves at a good pace, and the author is keeping me interested enough to continue despite the language.

While I agree that police brutality and racism are subjects that should be addressed in our country, I feel the author is taking it to the extreme. Whether intentionally or not, the author villainizes all non-minority Caucasians (especially cops and rich white females) and spreads the idea of “White guilt” and Systematic Racism. She does mention the high crime in the area by black individuals, but passes it off as a result of past black oppression and the members of the community not having a choice in their actions. There is always a choice, sometimes it is a hard choice, but there is always a choice. No one is responsible for another person's actions. I realize that it is more complicated than that…but there is always a choice.

Also, the main character is a bit racist herself, she behaves differently with her white friends than her black friends because she assumes she can’t be herself without judgment. She didn’t even give the “white” friends a chance to get to know her true self because she “assumes” that people at the school would not like “Ghetto” Starr. Isn’t assuming that someone will automatically have a racist judgmental attitude toward you, based on the sole fact that the person is born with white skin racist in itself? That being said, I do understand the fear the character has after witnessing two murders and as a result becoming a target by both the black and white populations in the area. I would definitely have PTSD after something like that and the actions of the character are consistent with that fear. Like I said, I have mixed feelings.

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teatimetropes's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kirsten_marie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is one of the essential reads for every teenager (and adult too) in my opinion.

This book shows in a great way how the situation of systematic racism is in many modern communities today, and that the fight for equal rights is still far from over.

Would recommend for everyone in need of some inpiration to stand up for yourself and others, even though it feels like there is no end to the fight.

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runningkar's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A must read

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maess's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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