Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

183 reviews

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Excellent and engaging novel-- handles issues like racism, police violence, poverty, gangs, drugs, incarceration, domestic violence, code switching, microaggressions, and activism as part of a nuanced story with well-developed characters, avoiding falling into cliches or wrapping everything up with a neat bow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Classism, and Drug use

Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Alcohol, Vomit, and Alcoholism

gaugedgage's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Racism, Classism, Police brutality, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Blood, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Cursing

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Bullying, and Drug use

lola1212's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, and Cursing

kashrae99's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Death, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child death, Racism, Blood, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Addiction, Drug abuse, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Classism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Drug use

Minor: Slavery and Sexual content

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

So much has been written, and justifiably, about the social, political, and emotional impact of this book, and I can only underscore it. It is, at its front, a work of significance for its moment (and those before and after it), and so it exists and works differently from what we might call traditional literature: it is as much counter-narrative and manifesto as it is a novel.

I'll highlight a few areas which stood out for me, though, on the reading side of the book:

--A protagonist delicately placed between several conflicting ideologies and spaces, young enough to be poorly-equipped to navigate them expertly, yet also young enough to develop genuine agency and righteousness. I love a flawed protagonist who muscles (even stumbles) towards justice.

--Characters who--despite everything they directly witness--defy justice and sensibility for their own ideas of safety and power. Ironically and importantly, a comfortable white girl and an older black gang leader serve equally here.

--Families who define themselves--despite marriages, career, and class differences--by their relationships to one another, and that these bonds make them strong.

--Minor characters who themselves visibly fall into completely different positions of internal conflict from our protagonist and Khalil, who themselves struggle (at times unseen) with the decisions they must make.

Thomas, therefore, has crafted a microbrew of American race politics at a time when it was/is sorely needed. Does it sometimes miss a beat, have a stilted moment, too-handily arrange a scene? Remember what purpose the book serves. For me, the largest criticism I have of this work is hardly its fault: that the story is so "timely" (from tech to vocabulary) that the problems it addresses may tragically outlast its currency. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Murder and Violence

emma_b_rhodes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Been so long since I've read YA and wow i love teen girls!! Wish there were books like this when I was a teen (maybe there were and I just wasnt reading them).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Violence, Drug use, and Physical abuse

snipinfool's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

Starr Carter witnessed the fatal shooting of a childhood friend, Khalil, when they were stopped by the police. Khalil was unarmed and neither he nor Starr had any idea why the car he was driving was pulled over. It was not right that Khalil was dead. The police, after conducting their investigation, found that the officer was doing his job and would not be arrested or sanctioned. It contradicted what Starr saw that night and she wanted to tell in detail what she witnessed. She hoped to stay anonymous, but the story soon made local and national news. People started to protest. Starr and her family received some pressure from the police and some members of a local gang to stay silent. Starr was caught between helping her friend receive justice for his murder and keeping herself and her family safe. It was going to be very difficult for her to do either and almost impossible for her to accomplish both.

Sometimes, when books affect me deeply, I have the most trouble putting my thoughts into words. The Hate U Give was one such book. This was a powerful story. This could have been a story seen in the news many times in real life. Angie Thomas did an excellent job of writing this book. Her words brought the story to life. The scene where Starr and her group were trying to get through the blocked neighborhood roads to her house effectively described the chaos, panic, desperation, and fear they were feeling. My heart was racing as I read of their struggles. Starr was a great main character. She was well written, and her actions reflected what one would expect of a sixteen-year-old. Starr had a great strength of character deciding to push for a detailed statement on the events of the night Khalil was murdered. Her parents, Lisa and Maverick, were very supportive and were two of my favorite characters after Starr. This story reflects the real life for a lot of people. That needs to change.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse and Domestic abuse

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Grief, Violence, Cursing, Child death, Toxic friendship, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

bookdragonkatie's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Bullying, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? No

4.75

The audio version of this book narrated by Bahni Turpin is masterful. I only wish I had read it sooner.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Racism, Toxic relationship, Classism, Child abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement and Alcoholism

PTSD, guilt, shame, fear, gang violence, threats of violence