“The Hate U Give” (2018) by Angie Thomas follows a Black teenage girl, Starr Carter, who attends Williamson Prep, a priviledged white high school. However, her home is in Garden Heights, a Black neighborhood. Throughout the book, Starr starts to struggle to keep her culturally-clashing school life separate from her home life.

The differences between the two aspects of Starr’s life is demonstrated by her interactions with people in her daily life. As a Black woman, Starr knows to always tread carefully around police officers and listen to their instructions, since violating these rules may mean death. One night, when Starr and her childhood friend Khalil are driving home together from a party, they’re unexpectedly pulled over by a police officer. Before they know it, Khalil is shot and killed by Officer One-Fifteen. The rest of the story follows Starr as she navigates the loss and outrage of Khalil’s death.

While reading this story, I could truly feel the anger that Starr was experiencing at the injustice in the world. She wanted to get justice for Khalil, but that justice could potentially be dangerous to herself and her family.

“The Hate U Give” is a must-read story about racism, police brutality, and fighting for what’s right. This novel is about challenging social norms and fighting back against injustice. While this particular story may be fictional, it’s raw and significant to gaining a deeper understanding of what many Black people have to experience every day. This story is more than your average fiction story; for so many people, it’s reality.