The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

By: Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give is a deeply emotional book that dives into many painful issues such as police brutality, systemic racism, poverty, microaggression, drug use, and domestic abuse- to name a few. While this is a fictional story, it was inspired by the shooting of Oscar Grant in 2009, making the novel feel very real. The story follows the life of Starr, a young black girl who lives in a poverty stricken black neighborhood, but attends a wealthy predominately white private school. Starr witnesses a friend being wrongfully shot by a police officer. Starr stuggles to cope with the trauma she experiences and her desire to speak out on behalf of her friend while being afraid of the consequences at school, at home, and for her friends and family.

CLCD Reviews

Bulletin

Kirkus

Booklist

This postive review of The Hate U Give praises it for balacing difficult topics with humor and heart warming moments. It also comments on the powerful impact the book has had on many readers.

Booklist praises the story for being insightful, beautifully written, and a powerful voice for injustice. "...both a searing indictment of injustice and a clear-eyed, dramatic examination of the complexities of race in America."

This review highlights the books emphasis on the power of using your voice and speaking out again injustices. An important message for teenagers to hear!

STATISTICS

2018

17 bans

The Hate U Give has been on the ALA's top ten most banned books for several years since its release in 2018

Coretta Scott King Award

from schools in the 2021-22 school year

The Hate U Give has won over 50 awards from various other reviewers!

In January of 2022, one instance of The Hate U Give book being challenged and banned by a school board in Oneida, Illinois reached the local news. The book was removed after parents complained about the content being vulgar and too mature for a ninth grade English class. Many students, faculty, and parents attended a public schoolboard meeting to defend the use of or prevent the use of the book in class. The main issues raised against the book were the language (the f-word alone is used 89 times) and the references to drugs and abuse. Some parents thought the book was only appropriate for older students. Other parents liked the themes presented in the book but thought a more school appropriate book should be used to discuss the topics.In response, many teachers, parents, and students spoke about the importance of discussing diversity in school and addressing issues that are happening around the country, such as the income gap and police brutality. A senior at the high school expressed her concerns over this book being singled out over other texts. She mentioned other books that have not being called into question such as To Kill a Mockingbird which regularly uses the n-word, and The Scarlet Letter which introduces sexist ideas about the treatment of women who have sex outside of marriage.

The Challenge

One parent expressed their concern over the censorship of The Hate U Give like this:

"We can't censor things, whether it be for language or content, because it upsets us. It should provoke a conversation, an adult conversation, where we can discuss the issues within the subject and within the book itself."

My Response

My response to reading The Hate U Give was positive. I found the book to be engaging, relevant and poignant, and thought-provoking. While the book can be difficult to read at times due to the sensitive content, I thought Angie Thomas did a fantastic job depicting the disparities between white middle class America and the poverty-stricken black communities. The character development of Starr as she balances her life at prep school and at home after experiencing multiple traumas, is beautifully explored in this novel. I think it is an excellent novel for high school students to read because it creates powerful platform to discuss the very relevant topics of complicated friendships, race, poverty, and trauma. While I can understand the concerns about the explicit language and drug use in the novel, I do not think these things are gratuitous. They are a reality of life, and most high school students have already been exposed to profanity and drug use references. These things should be able to be discussed maturely in class, rather than avoided.

My school district, Commonwealth Charter Academy, is a cyber school that serves the entire state of Pennsylvania. CCA operates with the “opt out” strategy for parents who have concerns about a specific book being taught in class. There are alternate novels available for students to read if the parent is uncomfortable with the book being read in class. Parents can choose to opt the child out of any book. CCA is a very large school, so its left to teachers to reach out to parents if they wish to discuss this choice. Were this to happen in my class, I would hope to have a conversation with the parents before moving the student to an alternate novel.

School Policy

Connections to TCL

Several chapters in TCL highlight the importance of diversity in the classroom. Chapter four especially focuses on the importance of choosing quality book and prioritizing diversity. On page 71, TCL talks about “social issues books” saying that they “have the potential to build students’ awareness of how systems of meaning and power affect people and the lives they lead. They invite conversations about fairness and justice; they encourage children to ask why some groups of people are positioned as “others.” These stories do not make difference invisible, but rather explore how differences in culture, language, history, class, gender, sexual orientation, and race make a difference.” These types of books are an essential part of a students’ education. We live in an increasingly global society and the awareness of, and ability to discuss social justice issues is an essential life skill.

Citations

Admin. “Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists.” Advocacy, Legislation & Issues, American Library Association, 20 Sept. 2022, https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10. Leland, Christine, et al. Teaching Children's Literature: It's Critical! Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Balzer + Bray, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017. Webster, Author: Jenna. “'The Hate U Give' Will Remain out of Rowva Classrooms While Board Further Reviews Policy, Curriculum, Book.” Wqad.com, WQAD8, 19 Jan. 2022, https://www.wqad.com/article/news/education/rowva-schools-book-ban-the-hate-u-give/526-1c69484d-84fb-42af-875a-014d3078285f.

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