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.

I’m ashamed it took me so long to read this book. An unarmed black man being shot by a white police officer is something that has become frighteningly common. The subsequent news stories always create a storm of emotions in me, and none of them are pleasant. I needed time to brace myself for what I anticipated would be an uncomfortable book to read. Rather than depressing, I found The Hate U Give to be a profound and uplifting story—one that transcends the Young Adult genre. Read More