Teen Tuesday: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. 464 p. HarperCollins Publisher, February, 2017. 9780062498533. (Own)

Teen Tuesday features The Hate U Give is Angie Thomas' debut novel and what a year she is having. The novel hit the New York Times Bestseller list and pretty much stayed on it all year. It was optioned for a feature film that is now in post-production and was long listed for The National Book Award. Then, it won big at the Youth Media Awards in Denver a few weeks ago, garnering the Morris Award, a Printz Honor and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. Oh, and the fantastic audiobook won the Odyssey Award. 

It it the first-person narration of sixteen-year-old Starr Carter who lives in two worlds and inhabits two personas. She and her two brothers live in low-income area in a city but attends an expensive private school outside of it. She keeps the two worlds separate until she's a witness in a shooting. She was with her childhood friend when he was shot and killed by a police officer. As she prepares to testify before a grand jury, Starr begins to question some harsh realities in her life.

This is a long book but doesn't feel like one. The story is riveting and pages fly.