Welcome to a special Love Letters edition of Windows & Mirrors where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to hear Angie Thomas, author of the National Book Award-nominated, NYT best-selling The Hate U Give, speak in New York City. I loved putting a face and voice with the person I’d gotten to know primarily via Twitter and then, later, through the voice in her tremendous story.
Then I realized I’d never really written about how much I loved her book. So in honor of Black History Month and the one-year anniversary of this book’s release, welcome to our first-ever Windows & Mirrors Love Letter mash-up devoted to Angie Thomas’s stunning debut, The Hate U Give.
It goes without saying that this is an important book, one that arose from #blacklivesmatter and shone an unapologetic light onto police violence toward people of color in America.
It also arose from Angie’s own experiences having to code switch as she moved back and forth between the predominantly white school she attended and her neighborhood. And that’s where the story starts, with sixteen-year-old Starr Carter at a party.
“I shouldn’t have come to this party.
I’m not even sure I belong at this party. That’s not on some bougie shit, either. There are just some places where it’s not enough to be me. Either version of me.”
As a writer, I jealously admire the phenomenal voice of demonstrated in this opening scene. As a reader, it pulled me in so fast that I immediately knew I’d stay up all night reading this book the night it came out.
The book is full of quotes full of scathing social commentary on race and violence.
“I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I’ve Tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down.
Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.”
But it’s also full of gripping, emotional scenes that demonstrate Angie’s writing chops. Like this one where Starr recounts an encounter between her father and the police:
Bile pools in my mouth. He [the policeman] turns to Daddy and says, “I’m keeping an eye on you, boy. Remember that.”
Daddy’s jaw looks rock hard.
The cops drive off. The car that had stopped in the street leaves, and all of the onlookers go on about their business. One person hollers out, “It’s all right, Maverick.”
Daddy looks at the sky and blinks the way I do when I don’t wanna cry. He clenches and unclenches his hand.
Mr. Lewis touches his back. “C’mon, son.”
The reason we started Windows & Mirrors was to show books that both allow under-represented people to see themselves in books and to give others the chance for a window into an experience different than their own.
The Hate U Give was an important window for this middle-aged white woman. But more importantly, it was a mirror for so many young people out there who don’t get to see themselves portrayed as a hero like Starr Carter nearly as often as they should.
I’m not the first one to say it, but I believe it: The Hate U Give is required reading for everyone. Period.
Note: Yes, it is YA. And at 464 pages, it’s going to be tough for the youngest of young readers. But my then-ten-year-old read it twice last year, spurring the kind of conversations that give me hope for humanity. Don’t shy away from sharing this book with your middle-schoolers.
If you weren’t lucky enough to hear her live in New York (or at one of her many other appearances over the past year since The Hate U Give took the bookish world by storm), I thought I’d leave you with this video:
To celebrate Black History Month, we curated this list of great fiction by black authors that is available on audiobook through libro.fm. Click the image to check it out!
Libro.fm Audiobooks to Celebrate Black History Month
Also, if you’re going to read any blogs in February, you should check out The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days series. It’s fantastic with daily author interviews and book featuring black authors.
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times Best Seller. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg attached to star.