The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just reading this book without the social context, I think it's a fantastically interesting and entertaining tale. I cared and I even cried. I recognized myself and empathized and very much raged right along with the tale.

But WITH the social context...

The novel sunk me. A torpedo to the chest.

If I had been reading this before the recent protests, I think I would have been encouraged to BE there for the protests despite being anywhere near the action. It's not just the basic ongoing injustice. It's not the slow realization that things will never get better without speaking up.

It's the visceral realization that it is HAPPENING. People ARE and SHOULD be upset.

WHAT we do about it is the big question. And at this point, it's the only question. And this is where the novel really shines. Staying silent is death. But so is indiscriminate rage. So is giving up and going away.

We are our communities. We are our own support system. If we forget that, then we can all be picked off.

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