The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Title: The Hate U Give (THUG)

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction 

Bibliographic Data in MLA format: Thomas, Angie. The Hate u Give. Balzer + Bray, 2018.

Recommended Grade Level(s): 10-11th

Number of Pages: 444

*Brief, concise plot description (no more than one paragraph):

This novel tells the story of a teenage girl who experiences police brutality when her Black friend is shot by the police right in front of her while he is not doing anything to harm the police. The protagonist struggles with grief and learns to stand up for social justice and use her voice to fight against racism and police brutality while honoring her friend. 

Possible Teaching Concerns (may refer back to the text(s) used in class): I would be concerned that students might disagree with the idea of systemic racism or police brutality and would fight me about whether or not it is a real issue. There are some graphic explanations of the hatred and violence experienced and while I think it is hard not to see the problem, the reality is that there are people who don't see it. And I think a lot of parents could potentially get upset. 

Personal Reaction to/and/or Evaluation of novel: I thought this novel was extremely moving and that more people should read it. Learning about the author in tandem with the novel made it personal and the content was extremely relevant to what is happening in the world right now, which is crazy because this was written before the BLM movement. That, however, goes to show that this is an ongoing issue that didn't just show up. I think this book talks about serious topics in a way that makes racism and brutality accessible for younger students to understand and incites dialogue about the topics as well. 

Canonical work with which to juxtapose this novel & a brief (one paragraph) description of the rationale to connect the 2 works: I would compare this to To Kill a Mockingbird because of the court case that the protagonist's father is working to defend. In that novel, an unjustly accused Black man is being defended in court in a very racist part of Alabama. The two books compare because they are both fighting against racism, but they are a good pairing because they are doing so by different means and in different time periods.