A police officer involved shooting. An unarmed black man with a broken history. An eyewitness account that knows the truth and is willing to speak out.
If you’re intrigued or even cringing at the thought of these words, then this book is worth the read.
Sixteen-year-old Starr is with her best friend Khalil when he is wrongfully shot by a police officer. Starr is distraught and unsure what steps to take – should she speak out and let the world see her face or does she speak out anonymously?
The novel follows her story as a young black female growing up in a community ravaged by gang members but surrounded by family and friends who look out for each other. She and her brother attend a predominately white prep school, as the school in her area did not provide the education nor safety her parents were hoping for. It is written primarily in dialogue, which makes it an easier read, as well as helps you understand each character on a personal level and how they interact with one another.
My Review
In our current climate, I was nervous to approach this book, as I wondered what emotions it would stir up in me as well as what I would learn. I anticipated feeling uncomfortable, especially knowing that while this is a fictional tale, it’s rooted in a true story we experience every day. The goal behind this book was to raise awareness and give a voice back to those who speak but are not listened to, and I believe it did accomplish this feat. It’s also an encouragement to see past any biases you might have (and don’t realize) and to remind us that there is always another side to the story.
If you want to learn more about how people can be misrepresented, and how wrongfully someone can be murdered, I do recommend this book. It opened my eyes to the way of life that people experience – in poverty and in upper class. It also exposed me to injustices that people face and how wrongfully they can be accused (no matter the amount of evidence presented).
There were some parts of the novel, though, that didn’t sit well with me. While I can understand that the author wanted to portray a variety of aspects into wealthy neighborhoods versus poverty neighborhoods, I did find quite a few stereotypical references that were aligned to societal assumptions, which I know can be based on fact. For example, there are negative references to people in the ghetto – they are known for having rowdy parties with guns, women are referred to as hoes (and some treated as such), and there is quite often an extremely heavy gang presence no matter where you are (at the playground for example). Was the author hoping to open our eyes to this way of life or connect to those readers who are living this life every day?
The author did, however, include positive stereotypical references that I appreciated, such as the incredible support that neighborhoods and families have for each other – everyone seemed to rally behind their friends and loved ones, especially in times of dire need, even if they didn’t like them.
I did enjoy the premise behind the book and the reason it was written – to raise our awareness and understanding of a world that some of us may never experience (but should know more about).
Rating: 3/5 stars
Drink Pairing: My Reads Well With Others Book Club members recommended a shot of vodka (no pun intended) so you can really feel the burn of this one. You might just need more than one…
If you’d like to give it a try (and support local bookstores), find the book here: The Hate U Give on Bookshop.org
If you’d like to check out the book on Amazon, find the book here: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
To see my Final Thoughts on the book, including spoilers, click here. To see the full summary & discussion questions, keep reading!
Spoiler Alert: Summary & Discussion Questions
Part 1: When It Happens
Starr is at a party that she knows she shouldn’t have come to – it’s not her style. It is a massive spring break party that everyone, besides her, normally attends each year. She’s there with Kenya – her only friend since she goes to a prep school out of town.
Kenya gives her a hard time about going to the prep school but then says, in reference to some beef she has with another girl, “You’re so lucky you go to that white-people school and don’t have to deal with hoes like that” (9).
And that’s when she finds out Kenya dragged her to this party so she could help fight another girl. As the conversation around her flows to people and teachers she doesn’t know, she feels invisible. Then, she’s left behind while they go off to get drinks.
“At Williamson I don’t have to “play it cool”—I’m cool by default because I’m one of the only black kids there. I have to earn coolness in Garden Heights, and that’s more difficult than buying retro Jordans on release day. Funny how it works with white kids though. It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black” (13).
She sees her childhood friend, Khalil at the party, whom everyone seems to love, as does she. His new kicks and diamond earrings indicate he may be working hard in the wrong ways, especially in the neighborhood they come from.
Suddenly, shots ring out at the party and her and Khalil flee. Kenya is fine, but she’s still ready to kick the girl’s ass. “Is this chick for real? We just ran for our lives, and she’s ready to fight?” (17).
As they drive away, Starr asks him what he’s really been up to make him so busy. He used to work at her father’s store but quit a month ago. “That li’l minimum-wage job your pops gave me didn’t make nothing happen. I got tired of choosing between lights and food” (19).
Blue lights flash behind them and she’s reminded of the conversation her parents had with her when she was twelve in reference to police officers, “Starr-Starr, you do whatever they tell you to do. Keep your hands visible. Don’t make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you” (20). He also recommends paying close attention to what he looks like and his badge number.
Khalil gets a little smart with the cop and pisses him off and demands that he get out of the car. “Khalil gets out with his hands up. [Badge number] One-Fifteen yanks him by his arm and pins him against the back door” (22).
Starr says, “My parents haven’t raised me to fear the police, just to be smart around them. They told me it’s not smart to move while a cop has his back to you. Khalil does” (20). Instantly, he’s shot…three times and then falls to the ground, dying shortly thereafter.
She is an absolute mess, and the cops search his car before they cover his body. Her parents come to get her and take her away from the nightmare.
The event reminds her of when she was 10 years old, and her friend Natasha was shot and killed by a tattooed stranger. Her mother wants to comfort her out of her room, but she wants to be alone. “She stares at me, but it feels like she’s looking at who I used to be, her little girl with ponytails and a snaggletooth who swore she was a Powerpuff Girl. It’s weird but also kinda like a blanket I wanna get wrapped up in” (27).
At breakfast, her family is mainly silent, but they discuss a few of the details from the night before. Her dad insists that they not tell anyone Starr was there for fear of the backlash. “I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose…I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak” (31).
Q: How would you feel in this situation? Would you speak out?
Q: Do you feel that the author is capturing the actual lifestyle of living in the “ghetto”? There are multiple references to stereotypical vices, conversation topics, and interactions that allude to what some people might expect from this environment.
Her dad takes her to the family store to help give her something to do for the day and hopefully keep her mind off things. It helps, but a couple of the customers mention Khalil’s death; an angry barber who works next door mentions he was probably killed after “selling some stuff.”
One of the customers mentions her beauty and her dad remarks that she won’t date until she’s 40. Except, she already has a boyfriend named Chris, whom she’s dated for a year…and who is white. Her mother is fine with it, but she hasn’t told her dad because “anytime he finds out a black person is with a white person, suddenly something’s wrong with them. I don’t want him looking at me like that” (37).
Kenya visits Starr at the store and they go off for lunch together. They read a short news article about the officer involved shooting and it doesn’t even mention Khalil’s name.
Kenya’s father, King, pulls up outside of the store, offering up condolences and money to help Starr feel better. His real motive is to convince Starr’s dad to intercept an important package (i.e., drugs). Of course, her father disagrees.
King says, “So folks get out the game, forget where they come from, forget that if it wasn’t for my money, they wouldn’t have their li’l store” (43). They argue for a moment and then he leaves.
That night, Starr overhears her parents talking with her Uncle Carlos. He’s saying that they want to investigate the shooting and find out the truth of what happened. Her father thinks it’s a big deal because Khalil was 16 and black, while the cop was white. Her uncle Carlos disagrees and says it was because he was a drug dealer. “It could explain Brian’s decision if he felt threatened” (44).
Now they realize Uncle Carlos actually knows the cop. Carlos says, “He’s a colleague, yes and a good guy, believe it or not. I’m sure this is hard on him. Who knows what he was thinking at the time?” (45).
Her dad, Maverick, wonders what made the cop assume he was trouble, “you said it yourself, he thought Khalil was a drug dealer. A thug. Why he assumed that though? What? By looking at Khalil? Explain that, Detective” (45).
Carlos suggests that they move from the area, and her mother agrees—especially since Starr has seen TWO friends get killed. Maverick remarks that it wouldn’t make any difference, “One was at the hands of a person who was supposed to protect her! What, you think if you live next door to them, they’ll treat you different?” (45).
Q: Do you think it would make a difference living in a better area?
Carlos believes that it’s not about race—that black people are killing each other more than other races. Maverick responds, “If I kill Tyrone, I’m going to prison. If a cop kills me, he’s getting put on leave. Maybe” (45).
Q: Ouch, right?! What do you think of this comment?
Carlos wants her to speak to the detectives, but her parents want to get an attorney first – a very smart move before talking to the authorities, especially in a case like this. Her mom says that she trusts his judgment and that they won’t get one just yet.
Q: Do you think it’s a smart idea to speak to detectives without an attorney? What would you do in this situation?
What concerns Starr the most, though, is whether he will get the justice he deserves. “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right” (50).
Q: Do you think Khalil will get justice?
The family goes to see Khalil’s grandmother and spend some quality time with her. They learn that Khalil’s mom, who is a crack addict, doesn’t yet know that her son has been killed. The grandmother, “looks thinner, but strong for somebody going through chemo and all of this. A scarf wrapped around her head adds to her majesty—an African queen, and we’re blessed to be in her presence” (54).
She wondered if his grandmother knew that she was there when he was killed; Starr knows she will want to know more. “I’m standing on a track, watching the train barrel toward me, and I tense up and wait for the impact, the moment she asks what happened” (55).
She doesn’t ask though, and instead informs them that he was selling drugs. “How he could sell the very stuff that took his momma from him? Did he realize that he was taking somebody else’s momma from them? Did he realize that if he does become a hashtag, some people will only see him as a drug dealer? He was so much more than that” (55).
But life must go on; they give money to the grandmother to help with the funeral costs and they offer as much in condolences as they can.
The next day, Starr is back at her prep school, ready to face the day. “For at least seven hours I don’t have to talk about One-Fifteen. I don’t have to think about Khalil. I just have to be normal Starr at normal Williamson and have a normal day. That means flipping the switch in my brain so I’m Williamson Starr. Williamson Starr doesn’t use slang—if a rapper would say it, she doesn’t say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her “hood.” Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she’s the “angry black girl.” Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank-eyes, side-eyes, none of that. Williamson Starr is nonconfrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto. I can’t stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway” (60).
Q: What is your opinion of code switching? Do you code switch to this level?
Her friends at the school spent their Spring Break vacationing in other countries and she is reminded of how different she is from them. “That normal feeling? Gone. I suddenly remember how different I am from most of the kids here. Nobody would have to drag me or my brothers to the Bahamas—we’d swim there if we could. For us, a family vacation is staying at a local hotel with a swimming pool for a weekend” (65).
Q: Do you think this is stereotypical of white people or just what rich, white people do?
She sees her boyfriend, Chris, whom she hasn’t been talking to for a few days. Apparently, he brought a condom with him during their last visit, which vehemently disturbed her since she told him she was nowhere near ready to have sex. Especially since she often sees girls walking around in her neighborhood with babies on their hips.
She describes her live for Chris and how they bonded over “Fresh Prince of Bel-air.” She says, “I don’t have to decide which Starr I have to be with him. He likes both. Well, the parts I’ve shown him. Some things I can’t reveal, like Natasha. Once you’ve seen how broken someone is it’s like seeing them naked—you can’t look at them the same anymore” (70).
As Chris tries to be silly with her and grabs her hand, she has a flashback to the horrible night. “I kneel beside my dead friend in the middle of the street with my hands raised. A cop as white as Chris points a gun at me. As white as Chris” (71)
Q: Even though she is smitten with Chris, does this thought make you wonder if something will happen between them?
That afternoon, Starr will talk to the detectives about what happened. First, they come to visit with her mom at her job. Soon after, though, Khalil’s mom shows up. She’s got the tell-tale signs of being a user, and Starr still can’t believe that Khalil was selling drugs. How could he?!
Starr’s mom encourages his mom to stop using, but she claims she can’t—not now since her baby is gone. She has another boy, and a sick mama she can live for, but Starr believes “Khalil needed you…He waited for you and cried for you. But where were you? You don’t get to cry now. Nuh-uh. It’s too late” (77). She just can’t get over his mother being upset—it’s too late for her to care now.
Starr angrily spits out her distaste to her mother. Her mom screams back, “That wasn’t some li’l friend of hers. That was her son, you hear me? Her son…She carried that boy, birthed that boy. And you have no right to judge her” (78)
Q: Do you agree? Does she have a right to be upset or do you blame the drugs she is controlled by?
They arrive at the police station; Starr and her mother meet with the detectives to tell her side of the story.
Q: She starts the story by saying that her and Khalil were at a party together. Do you think this is already too much information? Especially since there were gunshots at the party?
She explains the rest of the story to the detectives, even mentioning, “we weren’t doing anything wrong…Khalil wasn’t speeding or driving recklessly. It didn’t seem like he had a reason to pull us over” (83).
All is going well until she asks a question unrelated to the scene, “Do you know if Khalil sold narcotics?” (85).
Shit just got real. The detective took the questioning to be about the person, not the incident. Starr thinks, “All the sympathy, the smiles, the understanding. This chick was baiting me. Investigating or justifying?” (85).
The questions continue to be about Khalil and Starr’s mom interjects. “You haven’t asked my child about that cop yet. You keep asking her about Khalil, like he’s the reason he’s dead. Like she said, he didn’t pull the trigger on himself” (86).
They say they want the whole picture, but Starr and her mom see the truth. One-Fifteen killed him without a justifiable cause, end of story.
Later, Starr sees the story on the news, but instead of saying that he was unarmed or not at fault, it just says, “Khalil Harris, a Suspected Drug Dealer.” She’s back at school, acting as if nothing has happened. She’s not mad at Chris anymore, but she can’t help but see his whiteness. “Chris didn’t pull us over, he didn’t shoot Khalil, but am I betraying who I am by dating him?” (88).
Later, she and her friends are playing a round of basketball. One of her friends, Hailey, yells out to Starr “Pretend the ball is some fried chicken. Bet you’ll stay on it then” (93). Starr is immediately offended, but Hailey defends herself by reminding her that it’s fried chicken day at school.
Q: Does Starr have a right to be offended? If it’s true that she likes fried chicken, is it racist?
Hailey has noticed she’s been acting different lately and finally says something that totally shocks Starr, “Does this have something to do with the police shooting that drug dealer in your neighborhood?” (94).
Whoa. Talk about a gut punch! As if that wasn’t bad enough, she then says, “I heard about it on the news. And I know you’re into that sort of thing now” (94).
Shit just got real. Her friends only see him as a drug dealer—the suspected part doesn’t matter. Starr realizes, “If it’s revealed that I was in the car, what will that make me? The thug ghetto girl with the drug dealer? What will my teachers think about me? My friends? The whole fucking world, possibly?” (95).
Shockingly, she tells them that she doesn’t know him. “It’s a betrayal worse than dating a white boy. I fucking deny him, damn near erasing every laugh we shared, every hug, every tear, every second we spent together. A million “I’m sorry’s sound in my head” (95).
Q: In reference to attending the funeral, her Uncle Carlos says, “Not sure if that’s a good idea, considering.” Do you think it’s wrong of him choose the side of the police force than his family?
The day has come for Khalil’s funeral, and Starr is not looking forward to seeing him in the casket. Everyone is singing, praising Jesus, and celebrating. Starr can’t even imagine how they can be so upbeat. She thinks, “if Khalil’s not celebrating, how the hell can they? And why praise Jesus, since he let Khalil get shot in the first place?” (106).
A woman stands at the front and introduces herself as an advocate for a local justice organization for police accountability. She informs the attendees, “As we say farewell to Khalil, we find our hearts burdened with the harsh truth of how he lost his life. Just before the start of this service, I was informed that, despite a credible eyewitness account, the police department has no intentions of arresting the officer who murdered this young man” (106).
Q: Was it appropriate for her to announce this at the funeral?
The woman, April Ofrah, wants to rally everyone together for a march to the cemetery, which also happens to pass the police station, so the speech has really pumped them up.
Immediately following, the King Lord gang members show up; this is unusual because they only show up for funerals of those within their gang. They walk toward this coffin and one of them folds a gray bandana across his chest. Starr is immediately in shock and Khalil’s grandmother screams out and tells them to get the hell out of there.
The scene causes quite a ruckus; the King Lord and his girl, Iesha (who walked in the church looking wayyyyy too underdressed) say a few nasty words to which Khalil’s grandmother responds, “You can take your behind right out the door too. Coming in the Lord’s house, looking like the prostitute you are” (108).
The latter is actually true— “It’s no secret that my big brother is the result of a “for hire” session Daddy had with Iesha after a fight with Momma. Iesha was King’s girl, but he told her to “hook Maverick up,” not knowing Seven would come along looking exactly like Daddy” (109).
Wow, talk about a truly fucked up situation!
After the funeral is over, the weight of Khalil’s loss becomes too heavy to bear for Starr. “He was one of the best friends I ever had, no matter if we saw each other every day or once a year. Time didn’t compare to all the shit we went through together. And now he’s in a casket, like Natasha” (110). She is now missing two of her closest friends growing up.
That might, the march has apparently gotten quite intense. “There are at least a hundred people gathered on Magnolia Avenue. They chant for justice and hold signs, fists high in the air for black power” (114).
Unfortunately, the cops are responding with “tear gas that blankets the crowd in a white cloud. The news cuts to footage inside the crowd of people running and screaming” (114).
Three patrol cars have been set on fire and there’s been some looting of a gas station — it’s a war zone. When the police chief says on TV that based on the evidence and the eyewitness report (from Starr) they see no reason to arrest the officer. “All of this is my fault. The riots, gunshots, tear gas, all of it, are ultimately my fault. I forgot to tell the cops that Khalil got out with his hands up. I didn’t mention that the officer pointed his gun at me. I didn’t say something right, and now that cop’s not getting arrested” (115).
Q: Do you think these minor details would affect the outcome?
The news makes other comments about Khalil that are untrue—they say he might have had a gun in the vehicle, and he was a gang member, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to die.
The next day, Starr and her brother, Seven, go out to play basketball at a local park. They’re not even there a few minutes before a couple young gang members bother them. A young King Lord comes over to save them by showing off his piece.
Q: Can you imagine life like this? Constantly interacting with gang members and having to watch your back? Especially at such tender, young ages?
Their dad screeches to a halt outside the park, yelling at them for leaving the house. The King Lords who have been sitting nearby, laugh their asses off. Starr and Seven are quite embarrassed; Seven snaps on him, asking him why he had to act like that. “Got some goddamn nerve talking to me like that ’cause some King Lords were laughing at you. What, you Kinging now…why you care what they think? You wanna be a man so damn bad, but men don’t care what nobody thinks” (123).
Her parents decide to leave and go see her Uncle Carlos, so that they can get away from the riots. On the way, her mom tries to convince her that it’s not her fault; Starr didn’t even say anything, but her mom knew what she was thinking. She references the moment Starr was born and how it took her a minute before she started crying because she wasn’t breathing. The nurse took her by the hand and said, “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right” (128).
Her boyfriend, Chris, apparently saw them pull up, and he comes by to talk with Starr—he begs her to tell him why she is giving him the silent treatment. She finally yells out, “You’re white, I’m black. You’re rich, I’m not” (134). He says he obviously doesn’t care, as it’s never been an issue with him, but now she can’t see past it.
She continues being angry with him, but he can’t help but want to understand. “Maybe you can help me understand? I don’t know. But I do know that not having you in my life is worse than not making beats or playing basketball. And you know how much I love making beats and playing basketball” (134).
She really does miss him and want to be with him, but she can’t help but wonder if she is betraying herself by being with him? She decides she wants his normalcy, which means she also won’t tell him about Khalil.
When Starr and her mom go home the next day, there’s a roadblock right before their home. Starr gets instantly anxious thinking, “They can easily grab their guns and leave us like Khalil. All the blood in our bodies pooling on the street for everybody to see. Our mouths wide open. Our eyes staring at the sky, searching for God” (136).
After they arrive home, Starr and her dad spend the day together. They get into a conversation about how the oppressed—black people, other minorities, and poor people—get the short end of the stick and must fight harder to survive. For example, her father asks, why Khalil might have been a drug dealer and why so many others in their neighborhood are as well. “I remember what Khalil said—he got tired of choosing between lights and food. ‘They need money. And they don’t have a lot of other ways to get it’” (139). The lack of opportunities must be met with optimization of the resources they do have.
Her father responds with even more harsh truth, “Corporate America don’t bring jobs to our communities, and they damn sure ain’t quick to hire us…even if you do have a high school diploma, so many of the schools in our neighborhoods don’t prepare us well enough…Our schools don’t get the resources to equip you…It’s easier to find some crack than it is to find a good school around here” (139).
Q: What is your opinion of this?
They continue to talk about how this type of life is a vicious cycle that’s hard to get out of. Starr believes Khalil didn’t need to involve himself in that lifestyle, but her dad says, “Unless you’re in his shoes, don’t judge him. It’s easier to fall into that life than it is to stay outta it, especially in a situation like his” (140).
Her dad then asks her why there are riots occurring. She thinks for a moment and then says, “Everybody’s pissed ’cause One-Fifteen hasn’t been charged, but also because he’s not the first one to do something like this and get away with it. It’s been happening, and people will keep rioting until it changes. So I guess the system’s still giving hate, and everybody’s still getting fucked?” (141).
Q: What do you think it will take to make change happen?
After their conversation, Starr knows she can’t be silent. To be there for everyone that looks like her, she must speak out against the oppression.
Later in the day, Starr and her father are working at his store when one of the younger King members, DeVante, comes by. He says he’s just wanting to buy some food but it’s really because he’s trying to avoid the King Lord, also known as the leader of the Kings. He inquires to her father about how he got out of the gang life, as it seems he wants out of it too.
Unfortunately, her father says it wasn’t easy; he was able to get out after he served a three-year prison sentence, taking the blame for someone else’s crime. He tells DeVante, “When people say it’s for life, it’s for life. You gotta be willing to die in it or die for it” (146).
DeVante wants out of the gang life, and her dad promises he’ll help him. The first thing he does is hire him to work at the store with Starr. “I get one of those weird déjà-vu moments though. I see myself sitting cross-legged like I am now, but I’m showing Khalil how to do the price stickers. We couldn’t help Khalil with his situation before he died. Maybe we can help DeVante” (148).
Back at home, she hears her parents arguing about the current situation; her mom wants to leave the neighborhood, but her father doesn’t want to turn his back on the community. She, however, wants what’s best for the kids, not the neighborhood. “I want my kids to enjoy life! I get it, Maverick, you wanna help your people out. I do too…But moving out of the neighborhood won’t mean you’re not real and it won’t mean you can’t help this community. You need to figure out what’s more important, your family or Garden Heights” (149).
Q: Would you move out of the neighborhood to protect your family or stay to build it back up?
The next week at school, she’s informed that they are hosting a protest for Khalil’s death. Her friends are excited…because it means they’ll get out of taking an exam. Starr is even more pissed when her friend Hailey says, “it’s kinda messed up that we’re protesting a drug dealer’s death” (150).
Once the protesting starts throughout the school, Starr stays in her seat, tears rolling down her face. It is then that Chris realizes she knew him. After that, they stay together the rest of the day, continuing with school to stay distracted from the pain she feels.
When Starr gets out of school, she heads to her father’s store. Earlier that day some police officers got jumped by King Lord’s men. Mr. Lewis, the barbershop owner is interviewed by the news; on LIVE TV, he actually snitches them out, “His name King, and he live right here in Garden Heights. Probably the biggest drug dealer in the city. He over that King Lords gang. Come get him if you wanna get somebody. Wasn’t nobody but his boys who did that to them cops anyway. We sick of this! Somebody march ’bout that!” (155).
Q: Is this believable? Do you think something like this would actually happen? What do you think will happen to Mr. Lewis?
Mr. Lewis and her father argue a bit about him snitching on TV, when suddenly two cops approach the scene and demand go know what’s going on. After they get his ID and read his name, Maverick Carter, they look at Starr; she realizes they might know who she is.
The officers demanded him to get on the ground, hands behind his back. The officers check him three times, while a crowd of onlookers checks out the scene. One cop tells them to go about their business, but they stand their ground, watching them closely. The cops finally leave, and Maverick takes a moment to collect himself, shaken from the experience.
Q: Do you think this is a common occurrence?
Afterwards, Maverick and some of the guys talk about what happened. One of them says, “One of the homeboys saw you, Lisa, and your baby girl getting out an ambulance at the crime scene that night. Word spread around the neighborhood, and folks think she’s the witness they been talking ’bout on the news” (161).
Oh, no. The neighborhood knows that she was the witness to the crime. She wanted to keep quiet about it, but now it could get out everywhere. Her friend Kenya says she shouldn’t be silent anymore. “Go on TV or something…Tell everybody what really happened that night. They’re not even giving his side of the story. You’re letting them trash-talk him…You hear all the stuff they’re saying ’bout him on the news, calling him a thug and stuff, and you know that ain’t Khalil” (162).
Back home, Starr watches a tank roll by, an officer positioned at top with a machine gun. A voice booms out that the curfew must be followed, or violators will be subject to arrest.
A few days later, the DA calls to set up a meeting with Starr for further questioning. Starr and her mother meet with Ms. Ofrah, who will represent Starr as her attorney during this meeting.
Khalil’s case has been taken over by the District Attorney’s office, and they are preparing to take it to a grand jury. That means that I will need to be questioned, which concerns her because she doesn’t know all the facts. She says that the news mentioned a gun, but she wasn’t aware of one in the car.
“Ms. Ofrah opens a folder…and pushes it toward me. It’s a photograph of Khalil’s black hairbrush, the one he used in the car. “That’s the so-called gun,” Ms. Ofrah explains. “Officer Cruise claims he saw it in the car door, and he assumed Khalil was reaching for it. The handle was thick enough, black enough, for him to assume it was a gun”
Starr says to herself, “A hairbrush. Khalil died over a fucking hairbrush” (178).
She knows she must speak out—for Khalil’s memory. She tells Ms. Ofrah, “When I was ten, I saw my other best friend get murdered in a drive-by…I’ve tried to forget it, but I remember everything. The shots, the look on Natasha’s face. They never caught the person who did it. I guess it didn’t matter enough. But it did matter. She mattered…And I want everyone to know that Khalil mattered too” (179).
The meeting is interrupted by DeVante calling to say that Mr. Lewis was jumped by the King Lords. He’s still not afraid of them, but he says they really want DeVante. King told him that when he finds him, he will kill him.
Maverick now knows there’s more to the story if King wants him dead. Apparently, he’s stolen about 5,000 from him to help his family escape. His mother and his sister are now out of town, so Maverick arranged for him to stay at Uncle Carlos’ house.
Q: Do you think this is a good idea?
While there, Chris comes over and her dad asks who he is. Starr thinks, “It’s gonna take a hell of a lotta boldness to put myself out there for Khalil. Like “I once told my militant black daddy about my white boyfriend” kinda boldness. If I can’t stand up to my dad about Chris, how can I stand up for Khalil?” (187). So, she admits that he is her boyfriend; her father is shocked and low-key flips the hell out. Her mom must help calm him down.
Her parents continue arguing, but now her mom is complaining about the fact that he brought DeVante out of the hood, so he should want the same for his own children.
“I’m sick of this! The kids go to school out here, I take them to church out here, their friends are out here. We can afford to move. But you wanna stay in that mess!” (190).
Her dad leaves, and then it’s just Starr and DeVante sitting in the kitchen. He tells her that Khalil thought she was the coolest girl he knew and that he wasn’t a gangbanger. She remembers the bandana placed on his body and knows that can’t be true. King “tried to get Khalil to join, but Khalil said nah. Then a cop killed him, so you know, all the homies riding for him now. King not ’bout to admit that Khalil turned him down. So he got folks thinking that Khalil repped King Lords” (194).
Then he also says he really didn’t want to sell drugs. “Khalil ain’t have much of a choice though…his momma stole some shit from King. King wanted her dead. Khalil found out and started selling to pay the debt” (194).
Q: Do you think you would make the same choices if you were in this situation?
Starr gets out of the house and decides to see Maya to talk and work things out. While there, they watch TV and see an interview with the cop’s father talking about what a great man his son is and how much of a difference he wants to make in the community. Starr, however, doesn’t agree, “Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people’s lives too. Saving them from their “wild African ways.” Same shit, different century. I wish people like them would stop thinking that people like me need saving” (200).
The father continues sobbing over how his son just wanted to get home to his wife and kids; he felt threatened at the situation and thought that the two people in the car would take him down. Starr can’t take the disgrace to Khalil and what truly happened. She WILL speak out against them and set the truth free.
Hailey speaks out, “This is awful…That poor family…His son lost everything because he was trying to do his job and protect himself. His life matters too, you know” (202). If only she knew the connection to Starr AND the truth…
Hailey angrily leaves after Starr confronts her; she claims it’s because Starr is acting differently, but Maya tells the truth. She said that Hailey doesn’t want to see “all the ‘black stuff,’ she called it. The petitions. The Black Panther pictures. That post on those four little girls who were killed in that church. The stuff about that Marcus Garvey guy. The one about those Black Panthers who were shot by the government” (204).
Starr then learns that Hailey has actually made other racial derogatory comments, even to Maya. “I can’t believe I let Hailey say that. Or has she always joked like that? Did I always laugh because I thought I had to? That’s the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?” (205).
She and Maya decide that they will stick up for each other and not let someone speak unkindly to them.
When she’s back at home, she talks with her Uncle Carlos. He’s been put on administrative leave since he got angry with officer One-Fifteen; Starr had previously told him that she had had a gun pointed at her by him, too. Starr doesn’t want him to lose his job, especially since he is one of the good guys, who fights for the right reasons. He tells her he’s disappointed in himself for calling Khalil a drug dealer. “Even if he was, I knew that boy. Watched him grow up with you. He was more than any bad decision he made. I hate that I let myself fall into that mind-set of trying to rationalize his death. And at the end of the day, you don’t kill someone for opening a car door. If you do, you shouldn’t be a cop” (208).
The next morning, she has breakfast with her mom before the DA meeting. They discuss different topics that are weighing heavy on Starr’s mind, her mother offering helpful advice. As they talk about her relationship with Khalil and Hailey, her mom recommends that she evaluate how she feels about the person. “When I was growing up, your grandmother would do and say hurtful things when she was drunk, and apologize the next morning. At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them” (214).
Despite her getting sick and crying from talking about the murder, the meeting with the DA goes well—they are on Khalil’s side and want to seek justice.
When they head back to her father’s store, though, some King Lords come by, ready to start some trouble. King is looking for DeVante, but Maverick stays nothing about his whereabouts. King also mentions that he knows Starr was the witness to Khalil’s murder and recommends that she keep her mouth shut. This shakes Starr up quite a bit, worrying about what could happen. Apparently, it shakes up her father as well because when he gets home, he tells her mom that they will start looking at some houses—he now wants out of Garden Heights, too.
Part 2, Five Weeks After It:
She’s about to be interviewed for a national news program, a week before she’s to testify to a grand jury. She’s nervous as hell, even though the producer of the show calls her brave. She thinks, “Brave peoples’ legs don’t shake. Brave people don’t feel like puking. Brave people sure don’t have to remind themselves how to breathe if they think about that night too hard” (230).
Q: Do you think she’s brave for speaking out?
While there, a photographer takes a series of photos of her and the interviewer—which is surprising since she originally didn’t want to show her face. Is she now being open about being the witness?
During the interview, she answers the questions with a pure heart of what she felt for Khalil. But then, against the attorney’s wishes, she references the reason he sold drugs—to protect his mother, the drug addict.
Q: Do you think this was a smart idea? What will his mom think? King think?
She also tells the interviewer about the cop pointing his gun at her—something she had only mentioned to Uncle Carlos. An important question is then asked—is she now fearful of cops? “I know not all cops are bad. And they risk their lives, you know? I’m always scared for my uncle. But I’m tired of them assuming. Especially when it comes to black people” (234).
When asked what she would say to the cop if he was here, she says, “I’d ask him if he wished he shot me too” (235).
Her interview aired and it’s gained quite the popularity. It’s the most watched in network history, a millionaire offered to pay her college tuition, and it’s trending online. King, however, isn’t too happy she “dry snitched.” She stays positive about it by thinking, “I don’t care. I’m not apologizing for how I feel. People can say what they want” (236).
That Saturday she attends prom with Chris, but for some reason, he’s giving her the cold shoulder and she can’t understand why. After she spends her time dancing with Maya, Chris rudely comes over asking if she wants to take a picture, but she can hear in his voice he doesn’t even want to be there. She angrily asks him why he wouldn’t speak with her, but he wonders why she didn’t tell him that she was the witness in the case. They didn’t show her face, but he knows her voice.
Q: How is she surprised that he knows when the video has been seen everywhere? And why didn’t she tell him about it before it aired?
He’s upset that she kept this information from him. She says it was one of the worst experiences of her life, yet he wanted to be there for her. With sadness in his eyes, he tells her, “There’s this whole part of your life that you’ve kept from me, Starr. We’ve been together over a year now, and you’ve never mentioned Khalil, who you claim was your best friend, or this other person you saw die. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me” (242).
She knows he’s right; she didn’t want to be seen as the “girl from the ghetto” but she didn’t trust him enough to know he wouldn’t think that. He tells her, “You didn’t even give me the chance to prove you wrong. I wanna be there for you. You gotta let me in” (243).
She realizes that without trying, she has shut him out. “As much as I say I don’t have to choose which Starr I am with Chris, maybe without realizing it, I have to an extent. Part of me feels like I can’t exist around people like him” (243).
Finally, she spills out everything—her difficult and poor lifestyle in the projects, the relationship she had with Khalil, her friend Natasha killed in the drive by shooting…all of it. She says, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you; I wanted to, but everybody who knows I was in the car acts like I’m made out of glass. You treated me normal. You were my normal” (245).
Since she had the courage to share her story with him, everything is better. After that, she has the best night of her life!
That Sunday, the family takes a drive to a new neighborhood where they are hoping to buy a house. Her dad says, “I realize being real ain’t got anything to do with where you live. The realest thing I can do is protect my family, and that means leaving Garden Heights” (249).
When they return home, they spend time watching a basketball game, enjoying the banter of family rivalry and time together. Suddenly, they hear gunshots and glass shattering. While her mother protects them, her father runs to the door to catch who it was, firing his gun. “My heart stops. For a split second, I visit a world without my dad, and it doesn’t seem like much of a world at all” (257).
Q: Have you ever been in a situation like this? How would you handle it?
It’s the night before she testifies before the grand jury, so her father thinks it was the cops. Her uncle Carlos, who arrived immediately after it happened, says that he’d be surprised at how many his colleagues want justice, too. Maverick angrily responds, “I ain’t say every cop is a bad cop, but I ain’t gon’ stand here like a fool, thinking that some of them don’t do dirty shit. Hell, they made me lay face-down on the sidewalk. And for what? ’Cause they could!” (259).
Q: Who do you think did it? Cops or King Lords?
Starr knows the message was for her and doesn’t want to testify. Her father kneels in front of her and asks her to say point one and point seven of the Black Panthers Ten-Point Program. “We want freedom,’” I say. “‘We want the power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities…We want an immediate end to police brutality, and the murder of black people, other people of color, and oppressed people.” Lastly, he asks her to recite Malcom X. “Complete freedom, justice, and equality by any means necessary” (259-260).
Some other King Lords come by, and Maverick informs them that they will be security for the next two days. Uncle Carlos is pissed but Maverick says he’s not the one protecting his niece. “Does he mean the same niece I took care of while he was locked up? Huh? The one I took to her first day of school because he took a charge for his so-called boy? The one I held when she cried for her daddy…Hell no, I don’t wanna work with criminals, but don’t you ever insinuate I don’t care about any of those kids!” (262).
When it’s time for her to meet with the grand jury, she has a lot of support — her immediate family members and the King Lords, all follow her there, even though they are not allowed inside.
Part 3, Eight Weeks After It:
It’s been over two weeks since the grueling questioning she had with the grand jury. Now, they play the waiting game.
Q: What do you predict will be the outcome, based on her story?
Back at school, she sees Maya and Hailey talking. Hailey has figured out that Starr knew Khalil and demands an explanation. Maya says she doesn’t need one, especially since it won’t negate the fact that Hailey is insensitive through her racist remarks. Hailey retorts back, “I’m not apologizing because it was only a joke It doesn’t make me a racist. I’m not letting you guys guilt trip me like this. What’s next? You want me to apologize because my ancestors were slave masters or something stupid?” (274).
Q: Do you think she’s being racist or are they overreacting?
Starr calms herself down and tells her that she should just apologize and understand where they are both coming from. And then, she totally goes off the deep end by telling Starr that she needs to get over the death of Khalil. She says, “He was probably gonna end up dead anyway…He was a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Somebody was gonna kill him eventually…The cop probably did everyone a favor. One less drug dealer on the…” (275).
She can’t even finish her sentence because Starr does what I assume most of us would do—she decks her right in her face. They fight each other until Hailey’s older brother steps in, but Seven jumps in the way of him hurting her. They are all suspended for three days.
Part 5, Thirteen Weeks After It—The Decision:
Ms. Ofrah calls and says the grand jury will make their decision in a few hours. She’s unsure what the outcome will be; to stay positive, she decides to spend time at Chris’s house. It’s huge compared to hers—her house in Garden Heights could fit inside of his. It’s at that moment she realizes they shouldn’t be together; she starts to think of how different their lives are and tells him that he needs to be with someone who’s rich, white, and blonde. But then she kisses him, and they fall asleep together in each other’s arms.
She awakens to Seven’s call telling her that DeVante walked out of the house and hasn’t been seen since. Something has happened to him, so Seven, Starr, and Chris race to Garden Heights. They end up at Iesha’s house, where a load of King Lords are as well.
Q: What do you think of this situation?
They find DeVante in room with Kenya; he was jumped by the King Lords pretty badly. Before they can get him out of the house to safety, Iesha walks in the house; she tells them all to get the hell out immediately.
Starr realizes it’s because she wants to help them—she knows that King will go off once he realizes DeVante is gone, so she basically doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
As they drive away, they hear the unfortunate news on the radio. “If you’re just tuning in, the grand jury has decided not to indict Officer Brian Cruise Jr. in the death of Khalil Harris” (308).
Q: Wow, are you surprised by the outcome?
“I told the truth. I did everything I was supposed to do, and it wasn’t fucking good enough. Khalil’s death wasn’t horrible enough to be considered a crime. But damn, what about his life? He was once a walking, talking human being. He had family. He had friends. He had dreams. None of it fucking mattered. He was just a thug who deserved to die” (308).
Q: How does this quote make you feel?
She says she will do anything to express her anger – puke, cry, protest, and riot. Chris tells her it won’t solve anything. But she replies, “neither did talking! I did everything right, and it didn’t make a fucking difference. I’ve gotten death threats, cops harassed my family, somebody shot into my house…And for what? Justice Khalil won’t get? They don’t give a fuck about us, so fine. I no longer give a fuck” (309).
Starr, Chris, and Seven head out to where the protesting will be; there’s quite a crowd and Chris gets a few eyes on him, since he’s white. He knows how it feels for Starr at Williamson, so he would much rather stay to support.
People are PISSED and really showing their anger—gangbangers surround the area, they flip a cop car over and set it on fire, and they chant their hatred of cops. When Starr yells it, too, she thinks, “Part of me is like, “What about Uncle Carlos the cop?” But this isn’t about him or his coworkers who do their jobs right. This is about One-Fifteen, those detectives with their bullshit questions, and those cops who made Daddy lie on the ground” (313).
People start to damage buildings and loot what they can. Starr, along with others, yells for them to stop, as she remembers all the neighborhood people she knows who run those stores. The businesses that say “black owned” on the outside have not been harmed, though.
Q: Do you think the protesting and rioting in this area will make a difference or is it just their anger response?
Q: Does it make a difference if the stores are white or black owned?
A crowd of cops arrive in riot gear, followed by tanks; they ask the people to leave, as they are not protesting peacefully. The people angrily shout at them, throwing rocks and glass bottles.
They immediately run away from the chaos, as they don’t want to get wrapped up in it. Starr realizes they need to go check on her dad’s store to make sure it’s protected. They end up running out of gas and must walk through different neighborhoods, one of which is holding a protest in the streets—the same one where Khalil was murdered. The crowd, including Ms. Ofrah standing on top of a cop car with a loudspeaker, are chanting “A hairbrush is not a gun!”
Ms. Ofrah sees her, and they begin to discuss how her voice is the weapon and how it can be used to fight the system. She leads Starr to stand on the cop car also and hands her a bullhorn. She tells the crowd that she was the one with Khalil. Then she looks at the cops and says, “I’m sick of this! Just like y’all think all of us are bad because of some people, we think the same about y’all. Until you give us a reason to think otherwise, we’ll keep protesting” (328). They chant “Khalil lived” until the cops throw tear gas into the crowd. Starr picks it up and chucks it back at the cops and it engulfs them. After that, everyone hauls ass to save themselves.
There is so much smoke from the smoke bomb that their eyes and lungs are burning excessively from the smoke, each of them having trouble breathing. They are able to escape with the help of one of their dad’s friends (a King Lord) and make it to the grocery store her dad owns. Thankfully there is milk available, and they pour it all over their faces to take the pain away.
A reporter, who happened to be picked up by them, is consistently asking them questions, with a camera pointed at them. Starr has shown her face to the camera, so now it will be known who she is.
Q: What do you think of her exposing who she is?
Suddenly, someone throws a Molotov Cocktail into the store, and it immediately goes up in flames. They are unable to find a way to escape and the fire is engulfing the store quickly. Thankfully Mr. Lewis, the barbershop owner, sees them and yells for help. Their dad arrives just in time, and they make it out to safety. The store, however, has gone up in flames; people flock to help throw buckets of water on the fire, trying their best to put it out.
King and some other King Lords are sitting nearby, laughing about the mayhem. Starr thinks, “Iesha said King was gonna fuck us up because I dry snitched. That meant my whole family” (337). Her father, Maverick charges toward them, screaming that he’s not afraid of them and calls him a coward for trying to burn the store down with the kids inside.
The fire department and the cops arrive, and Mr. Lewis tells them that King was the one who started the fire. Maverick, “glances back at me, and there’s this expression on his face that I’ve never seen before. He turns around to the cop who’s holding Mr. Lewis and says, “He ain’t lying. King did start it, Officer” (338). This is a shock to Starr because it means her dad “snitched.”
Q: What do you think will happen as a result?
The best part is that everyone standing outside states that they saw King do it. Everyone is standing together for him, not caring more about Maverick and his business than being a snitch. The paramedics help the kids breathe better with oxygen masks, but the store is nothing but a shell. Of course, her parents are upset that they have called or texted to let them know where they were—but they did happen to see her on the news!
King and his boys are loaded into cop cars, and everyone cheers—it’s something to celebrate!! Uncle Carlos comes over and says that King will go down for the arson, but he’ll still be out by the end of the week.
DeVante then asks if he can get him more time by divulging where his stash his. Uncle Carlos promises to protect him, so DeVante agrees to share—that way, the whole neighborhood will be protected from him. He tells Starr, “After seeing you face those cops the way you did, I don’t know, man. That did something to me. And that lady said our voices are weapons. I should use mine, right?” (343).
The next day, Ms. Ofrah calls to apologize for putting her in a precarious position the night before. She tells her that she’s proud of her and thinks that she has a future in activism.
She also receives a text message from Hailey, apologizing for the outcome of the case and that she wants everything to be how it used to be. Starr knows she’s not apologizing for her actions, but rather Joe Starr reacted. “I hate to admit that a teeny-tiny part of me hoped Hailey would see how wrong she was, but she hasn’t. She may not ever see that. And you know what? That’s fine. Okay, maybe not fine, because it makes her a shitty-ass person, but I don’t have to wait around for her to change. I can let go” (345). Later, they go to check out the store—it’s in ruins, but with the help from the community and Mr. Lewis offering some insurance money to help, it will be built back up. In closing, Starr says, “Once upon a time there was a hazel-eyed boy with dimples. I called him Khalil. The world called him a thug. He lived, but not nearly long enough, and for the rest of my life I’ll remember how he died. Fairy tale? No. But I’m not giving up on a better ending. It would be easy to quit if it was just about me, Khalil, that night, and that cop…Khalil, I’ll never forget. I’ll never give up. I’ll never be quiet. I promise” (354).
Final Thoughts
The Reads Well With Others Book Club members really enjoyed this one and recommended it for those who enjoy a great story line and wish to see the other side of a police officer involved shooting. It provided an inside glimpse into the life of those who live in the ghetto and what they experience daily, as well as the struggles they go through.
It was incredibly disheartening to hear of how life is in poverty-stricken areas. When Starr and her brother were playing at the playground and gang members were watching close by, my mouth dropped open. I was in shock that kids couldn’t even be at a place that’s meant for childhood games, not childish behavior by grown adults. Can you imagine life like this? Constantly interacting with gang members and having to watch your back, especially at such tender, young ages?
When Starr’s dad opened up about how some people need to find new ways to make money – whether it’s selling drugs or committing another crime, I realized how unfortunate, but how true, his statements were. The lack of opportunities must be met with optimization of the resources they do have – even if it’s illegal. If there is a lack of resources in the area, and money can be made easily, it would be hard not to be tempted. What her father says also struck a nerve with me, “Corporate America don’t bring jobs to our communities, and they damn sure ain’t quick to hire us…even if you do have a high school diploma, so many of the schools in our neighborhoods don’t prepare us well enough…Our schools don’t get the resources to equip you…It’s easier to find some crack than it is to find a good school around here” (139).
How can you even respond to this? He’s absolutely right that the schools in lower income areas might not receive the same funding or resources as those in higher income areas. Why is this true and how can we change that? What do you think it will take to make change happen?
I was so disappointed when the officer was acquitted, even though he clearly was Khalil’s killer. He should have been brought to justice – Khalil was wrongfully killed, over a hairbrush, which could easily fit the narrative of other police involved shootings (I am not taking sides, just making a point). Maverick knew the outcome that would happen too: “If I kill Tyrone, I’m going to prison. If a cop kills me, he’s getting put on leave. Maybe.” That moment hit home for me because I realized the massive truth behind it – are people truly treated as innocent until proven guilty? Aren’t there better ways to approach a situation versus using force and shooting to kill?
It was also surprising that Starr and her parents had to discuss how to act around cops, to ensure they aren’t taken advantage of or killed. “My parents haven’t raised me to fear the police, just to be smart around them. They told me it’s not smart to move while a cop has his back to you.” (20). I’ve never had this conversation with my parents, and I found it so disheartening that this type of conversation must be had.
I also appreciated that the novel opened my eyes to how the media can portray a slanted viewpoint and make you feel differently about a person. It doesn’t matter if he was a thug or not – his life MATTERED. When the media portrayed him as a “suspected drug dealer” instead of a young man whose life was lost for an inappropriate reason, I was reminded of seeing these same headlines on my own news channels. I wondered how many Khali’s there have been, misrepresented as thugs. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter – a life was lost.
It’s just so unfortunate that Starr tried her best to speak out for him, but to no avail. “I told the truth. I did everything I was supposed to do, and it wasn’t fucking good enough. Khalil’s death wasn’t horrible enough to be considered a crime. But damn, what about his life? He was once a walking, talking human being. He had family. He had friends. He had dreams. None of it fucking mattered. He was just a thug who deserved to die” (308).
However, with all the perspectives this book helped me to see, I was disappointed with the misrepresentation and the stereotypical references made about white people – the author portrayed them in various ways that I didn’t feel were accurate. First, she made refences to the white students at the prep school going off on fabulous out of country trips during their spring break. I wondered if this was because they were rich and privileged? I don’t typically see it as being true, but maybe that’s because I haven’t experienced this type of lifestyle.
Whenever Starr mentions that her boyfriend is black and how her dad would be completely against it, I wondered how the reader would feel if the situation were reversed. Would it be considered inappropriate if Starr’s family was white and she was dating a black man? How is it acceptable to discuss this point of view if it would be wrong in the reverse?
Starr also has two best friends – Maya and Hailey – Maya is Asian, and Hailey is white, so they form a pretty good diverse team. However, it was concerning, and disappointing, to learn that Hailey ends up being the one who has racist tendencies. I just hoped for a good viewpoint of how white people can be supportive and kind, which I guess Chris was meant to represent.
Reading about the riots and the way that both sides handled the situation didn’t sit well with me either. I don’t believe that two wrongs make a right – I don’t agree with police officers shooting to kill and I don’t agree with destroying property to avenge someone’s life or display your anger. When the police cars were set on fire and businesses were destroyed, I was taken back to the riots of 2020. All that destruction, in my opinion, cost businesses and business owners millions of dollars in damage and did not create positive change or bring lives back.
Starr does say that she will do anything to express her anger – puke, cry, protest, and riot. Chris tells her it won’t solve anything. But she replies, “neither did talking! I did everything right, and it didn’t make a fucking difference. I’ve gotten death threats, cops harassed my family, somebody shot into my house…And for what? Justice Khalil won’t get? They don’t give a fuck about us, so fine. I no longer give a fuck” (309). HOWEVER – I still can’t agree that burning down buildings and destroying property does anything but piss people off. And why did some buildings have “black owned business” drawn on their buildings? Is that supposed to mean that the white owned businesses can be looted and destroyed?
Either way, the message of the story is this:
- Stand up for what you believe in.
- Be kind and loving to others, as you never know what they might be going through.
- Do not shoot to kill and ask questions later.
- Don’t judge a book by its cover and don’t assume that people are committing crimes because they choose that life – it could be to support their life.
At the end of the day, it was an interesting read that really made me stop and think about life in other communities and how change MUST happen. We NEED to strive for better. We NEED to be open to change. We NEED to be there for each other and seek justice whenever possible.
If you’d like to give it a try (and support local bookstores), find the book here: The Hate U Give on Bookshop.org
If you’d like to check out the book on Amazon, find the book here: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas