Scribbled Thoughts: The Hate You Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Title: The Hate U Give

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. HarperCollins, 2017.

Grade Level: 10^th - 12th Grade

Pages: 444 pages

The Hate U Give is another one of those heartfelt coming of age novels. The book follows the life of Starr, a teenage African American girl, who is trying to find her place among her peers. After watching the death of her childhood friend, Starr learns to discover her voice to speak up for those who have been oppressed and mistreated. This story gives reader insights on why it is important to get to know people’s stories and background, instead of just judging them based off how they look.

Possible Teaching Concerns:

This novel deals with mature themes. At the very beginning of the book, Starr witnesses her childhood friend, Khalil, killed by a police officer after they are driving back from a party that had been shot up. Although the description is not overly graphic, his death is very shocking. As teachers, we don’t always know what our own students have experienced in their lives and it is important we are mindful of that. I think when teaching this book, the teacher needs to be aware of their students and be observant to see whether or not this book and some of its more violent contents might be triggering to some students. Another issue teacher might come across is the classroom environment itself. As sad as it is, some students do not understand the gravity of injustice there is against people of color. This could be due to their own environment that they were raised in; however, it is still important that such subjects are talked about but in a matter that ensure the safety of everyone in the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for everyone, and the last thing teachers should do is allow immature conversation to start that might disrupt the inclusiveness of the class. There is some sexual content in the book that is mentioned, and it is important for teachers to be mindful of that when teaching. Another issue teacher might face with this book in the classroom is its language. There is a lot of swearing in this novel, both in dialogue and in Starr’s thoughts. Teachers should be mindful of this and mindful of what their audience can handle from class to class.

Personal Reactions:

Personally, I really enjoyed this novel. I felt like it has a lot to offer to the classroom. I think it is important to bring different voices into the classroom that represent all students in the classroom. Too often, the cannon for high school literature only offers the perspective from white men. It is important to incorporate literature that is diverse and represents the cultures of minorities in the classroom. I think this novel does a really great job of it. I think there are many good conversations that can come out of these piece that would benefit the class. This novel would be great for lit circle reading or a Socratic seminar. Starr’s internal dialogue is extremely relatable to students. It is a text that grabs readers attention right off the bat, which it is to the teacher’s advantage. Although it is a large novel, it reads quickly and engages students well.

Canonical Work:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini would pair well with this book. I would probably use these two books in a unit plan together. In A Thousand Splendid Sun is a novel takes place in Afghan and follows the two perspectives of Mariam and Laila. Mariam is an illegitimate child who is later forced to marry her husband, Rasheed. Years later, after Mariam is unable to provide a child for Rasheed, he seeks out a new wife. Laila comes from a much more prosperous family background, but she faces a similar fate to Mariam when she is also forced to marry Rasheed when her family is killed by the rockets the destroyed her home. These two women, despite coming from different backgrounds, become friends and scheme a runaway plan to get away from their abusive husbands. In both A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Hate U Give both have character who experience a large amount of death and trauma. Both characters experience discrimination in their life based off of their gender or race. Ultimately, both these characters find their voice to fight their way out of the oppression.

Hate U Give Trailer (2018)