“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.”

The Hate U Give pulls at your heartstrings. Such a beautiful, raw, real, and powerful story.  I balled my eyes out. This story could not have come at a better time as the challenges faced in this book are one and the same with what we see happening in our country today. The book does a great job portraying all sides. This cycle must be broken. My favorite line of the book, “Sometimes you can do everything right, and things will still go wrong. The key is never to stop doing right.” Read the book and then watch the movie. I promise you won’t be disappointed.