Warning: This review contains spoilers!
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
Thoughts:
Oh. My. God.
This book is absolutely amazing. This is one of the most moving, heart-wrenching, and powerful books that I've read in a long time. And I loved everything about it!
Many sections of the book had me incredibly angry at the injustice that Khalil (and his friends and family) faced. Like when the cops ignored Starr's account of what happened that night and instead focused on the fact that Khalil was a drug dealer (like that meant he deserved to get shot in the back three times). Or when the father of the officer who shot him told blatant lies on live TV to make Khalil and Starr look bad and excuse his son for shooting someone for no reason. Or when they ultimately decide not to do anything to the officer.
I think the message that Thomas portrays in this book is extremely important, especially with what is going on in the world today. One of the (slightly more minor) sections of the book that really got to me was:
"No," Maya says. "What you said about it was racist. And your Thanksgiving joke was definitely racist."
"Oh my God, you're still upset about that?" Hailey says. "That was so long ago!"
"Doesn't make it okay," I say. "And you can't even apologize for it."
"I'm not apologizing because it was only a joke!" she shouts. "It doesn't make me a racist."
-Angie Thomas (2017)
Stuff like this happens every day. And it's important that people understand that just because something's a joke to them doesn't mean it's okay. (And the character of Hailey had this attitude throughout the entire book, which definitely pissed me off!)
While some sections of the book had me angry, there were also many other moments that had me tearing up and reaching for the tissues. Like when Starr has to re-live what happened that night (over and over again) or when Khalil's family and friends have to deal with the loss of someone they loved. The book was incredibly heart-wrenching and just made the injustice of it all even worse.
On a happier note, I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Starr's family was absolutely amazing and I loved how supportive and loving her parents were. I loved how close the entire family was and how much they all looked out for one another. And the neighbourhood was amazing too, always sticking together. (On a slight side note, Brickz the dog was an added bonus for me.)
I think this is a book with such an important message that everyone - everyone - should read it. Be prepared to be angry. Even possibly cry. But read it. Some parts may be hard to read - it may be hard to face the truth of what our society's really like or it may be hard to watch Starr and her family be put through so much. But I'm a firm believer that works like this, the ones that are hard to read, are the ones that should be read.
Rating: 5/5
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