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A review by harris39
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
5.0
I mean, this book is pretty much the prime example of why it's so important to be publishing (& reading!) #ownvoices books written by authors of color and other marginalized and minority peoples. And, specifically, anyone who reads this book will understand why it's important to consume books written by black authors about the black experience in America. To read this book as a non-black person was to understand that I don't know shit about what it is to be black in America (or Canada), that I will never know—in my bones, in my body—what that is like. But this book brought me a little bit closer to understanding it on a more intimate level, because it brought me into the hearts, minds, and souls of a black family and the struggles they face and allowed me to dwell with them and inhabit their experience for a while. It brought me a clearer understanding of a culture that is uniquely black (by which I do not mean to imply that there is but one "black culture" or that black people are a monolith, rather that it gave me insight into a segment of culture that would be contained under the umbrella of "black culture").
At times this book got my hackles up and made me very uncomfortable, but I realize that this is actually a gift as it highlights to me the work I need to do to dismantle my own latent prejudices—however subtle or seemingly innocuous—that have been indoctrinated in me over the years, that I need to continue to dwell in this space and keep my mind open and nonjudgmental. I see more clearly now that the line we are fed about all human beings fundamentally being the same, while true, is also only partially true, because while many of these characters' dreams, desires, feelings and troubles were certainly universal in scope, they also faced hardships and were driven by something that was tied directly to the fact that they were black and that shaped their fears and their rage and the way that they must navigate the world.
And, of course, this book reminded me that black culture, black contributions to society, black people, they all matter and are worth honoring, celebrating and protecting. What a compassionate, illuminating, but also confronting read. I'm so glad I made room for it in my life and my heart.
At times this book got my hackles up and made me very uncomfortable, but I realize that this is actually a gift as it highlights to me the work I need to do to dismantle my own latent prejudices—however subtle or seemingly innocuous—that have been indoctrinated in me over the years, that I need to continue to dwell in this space and keep my mind open and nonjudgmental. I see more clearly now that the line we are fed about all human beings fundamentally being the same, while true, is also only partially true, because while many of these characters' dreams, desires, feelings and troubles were certainly universal in scope, they also faced hardships and were driven by something that was tied directly to the fact that they were black and that shaped their fears and their rage and the way that they must navigate the world.
And, of course, this book reminded me that black culture, black contributions to society, black people, they all matter and are worth honoring, celebrating and protecting. What a compassionate, illuminating, but also confronting read. I'm so glad I made room for it in my life and my heart.