Book review from a Prison Reading Group member: Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give

There’s something really weird I do when I fall in love with a good book, its sort of an odd quirk that I have somehow adopted. When my eyes are starting to shut and I cant read no more, I pop the bookmark back in, then I give the book a little kiss goodnight (queue the Aaaaaw’s) then I set it aside. The Hate U Give got two kisses goodnight on the forehead every night, and if you’ve already read the book you understand why.

This book epitomises Black youth culture because it isn’t perfect, because it is polarising, because it is powerful and throughout this journey we accompany the characters on, we can bare witness to both the vulnerability and the durability of Young Black America. Initially I did not want to read this book, because I was afraid of what might surface, I was afraid of my own vulnerability, but I am truly glad I put my apprehension aside.

A good book makes you fall in love with the characters, when they experience tragedy, such as two best friends growing apart or the loss of a best friend to gun violence, we are right there with them, comforting and consoling them in our own way. When they make mistakes we berate them out of frustration, that’s how much we want them to win. I never thought about a happy ending when reading this book, I just wanted the characters to learn, to heal, to grow from this poignant experience, from the tragedy, from the pain, the tears, the joy, the laughter, the neighbourhood, the struggle – I kept reading only because the author gave me hope, that these characters will evolve, and they will not be defined or defeated by their current circumstances.

Angie Thomas, this is a long shot but if you coincidentally stumble across these words one day, I just want to say, Are you single? And thank you, and God bless you, you did what many have tried and failed to do, you gave us a modern day To Kill A Mockingbird, you symbolically captured the culture, and just like the beloved characters I suspect this book will help many learn, heal, grow, evolve, I suspect this book will help a lot of people shift their mindset, and not let their circumstances define them or defeat them.

Thank you to our Prison Reading Group member for these inspiring words.