Parents' Guide to

The Hate U Give

By Terreece Clarke, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Powerful story of police shooting of unarmed Black teen.

Book Angie Thomas Contemporary Fiction 2017
The Hate U Give Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 52 parent reviews

Matthewr10
Matthewr10 Adult
October 7, 2020
age 16+

R Rated Book

Parents please be aware: This book has 90 F-words in it that are said regularly and if translated directly to a movie would be R rated. In order to make this into PG 13 movie they were required to have a maximum of 2 F-words and remove the mature content. Parents be aware the book is much more mature than the movie.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
5 people found this helpful.
Cameryngracee
Cameryngracee Adult
May 5, 2022
age 16+
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas is a look into what a lot of black communities go through in the United States. The speaker is a girl named Starr Carter who is sixteen and lives in a neighborhood called Garden Heights. Her friend, Khalil, has an altercation with the cops and ends up being shot. From that point on, there are protests at Garden Heights and legal actions are taken. Throughout the rest of the book, there are themes regarding police brutality against the black community, stereotypes, and racialized poverty. I would recommend this book to anyone older than 16 because this book includes descriptive violence, profanity, and subjects that a younger audience might not completely understand. The only downfall of the book is the limited view. This book definitely has a bias toward one side (against the police). However, one of the main purposes of the book is to bring to light this current issue that the black community has with the police from their perspective. Thus, reading this book could be beneficial to anyone who is not in the black community to see what they experience and struggle. This book is extremely relevant to current issues because of the Black Lives Matter Movement. I recommend anyone to read this book, especially if you want to challenge your views if you do not completely agree with the movement!

This title has:

Educational value
Too much swearing
4 people found this helpful.
See all 52 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE HATE U GIVE, Starr Carter is a teen between two worlds: her school, which is rich, fancy, and white; and her neighborhood, which is poor and black. She navigates this differing terrain every day of her life until her worlds collide when she witnesses the fatal police shooting of her best friend, Khalil, an unarmed black teen. Khalil's death goes viral, and Starr is caught in the middle between the protesters in the street and her friends at school. With the eyes of the world on her, Starr has to decide: Will she say what happened that night? Will it matter?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (52 ):
Kids say (181 ):

Wrenching, soul stirring, funny, endearing, painful, and frustratingly familiar, this novel offers a powerful look at a few weeks in a fairly typical teen girl's life -- with one horrific exception. Sure she worries about school, issues with friends, and her secret boyfriend, but she's also the sole witness to the fatal shooting of her best friend by a police officer. In The Hate U Give, author Angie Thomas manages to bring humanity -- deep, emotionally binding, full-bodied humanity -- to the victims of police brutality and the families and friends they leave behind. The scenarios that revolve around the shooting are achingly routine -- unarmed African American, the media's push to blame the victim, a lax investigation, and a lack of charges or convictions. However, set against the backdrop of typical teen life, of community and family life, the consequences of the officer's actions and the actions others take after the tragedy take on a life and power beyond what any think piece or talking points on the subject could achieve.

The characters in the book are rich, complex, and fully developed. They feel like family, friends, and neighbors, and they give those unfamiliar with life in urban centers an understanding that the setting may be specific but the human condition is the universal. The tragedy and triumph of Thomas' stellar work is that it's very real and heartbreakingly familiar. Teens will enjoy the book for its unfiltered look at life, death, grief, and social and political commentary, while parents and teachers will enjoy the book's well-written and thorough approach to a complex social issue.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how The Hate U Give discusses the media's reaction to police shootings of unarmed African Americans vs. how it reports violence against or perpetrated by white Americans. What's the difference in the language used? Whom and what does the media focus on when it reports the story? Is it fair?

  • How do you talk about race and other social issues with friends and family? How do you deal with friends who tell racist, homophobic, and otherwise offensive jokes? What about family members who say inappropriate things? Is it better to ignore or confront the person? What are the repercussions of each approach? What strategies could you use to make the discussion less awkward?

  • Discuss "the talk" -- the conversation that parents of African American and other minority kids have with their children, particularly their sons, about what to do when confronted by the police. Did your parents give you the talk? How does the conversation differ between what minority children are told and white children are told? (Do white children even have this conversation?) Do you think it's fair that there's a difference in the conversation?

Book Details

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