The Hate U Give

Longlist, National Book Awards 2017 for Young People's Literature

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas book cover
ISBN 9780062498533
Balzer + Bray / HarperCollinsPublishers
Angie Thomas author photo, credit: Anissa Hidouk
Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas was born, raised, and lives in Jackson, Mississippi. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was having an article about her in Right On! magazine. She holds a BFA in creative writing. The Hate U Giveis her first novel. More about this author >

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Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

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