Banned Book 2020 Spotlight: The Hate U Give

By: Angie Thomas

5/5 Combs

Reasons: "Despite winning multiple awards and being the most searched-for book on Goodreads during its debut year, this YA novel was challenged and banned in school libraries and curriculums because it was considered “pervasively vulgar” and because of drug use, profanity, and offensive language." Later, it was deemed "anti-cop." as per the OIF.

Gotta celebrate Banned Books Week while marveling at the fact that a book was banned practically immediately. The Hate U Give was barely given a chance in some towns as it garnered much deserved attention and praise in others. I'll be honest, living in a Blue Lives Matter area, I didn't even look twice at this book. Then, I took a YA class that had this book as required reading, and I felt like my eyes were opened to a whole new way of life.

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in a poverty stricken neighborhood, but her intelligence has gained her a spot in the "rich kid" school. Starr tries to juggle both lives, feeling as though she doesn't belong in either. One night, Starr joins her neighborhood friends to attend a party. That night changes everything,

At the party, Starr runs in to longtime friend Khalil, who offers to drive her home. When Khalil gets pulled over, the situation turns deadly. It is up to Starr to lead a revolution... or let her silence affect more than herself.

So many times I've written about how this book has changed my view on many things. I grew up surrounded by one narrative and one narrative only. And as open-minded as I thought I was, I wasn't reading or experiencing other viewpoints at all. This book opened my world to so many other experiences, not only because of its words, but it made me realize the importance of reading other stories. Now, I'm constantly reading books that I don't necessarily relate to, but that are important. The Hate U Give is the first book that made me understand the greatness behind that.

Honestly, it makes me sad to think this book is getting banned in various schools. I think all students would benefit from reading this, especially now. So many books, video games, movies, and media discuss violence, so there's no way to shield children from it. Instead, we should be promoting conversation and alternatives to violence. However, we can't do that if the conversation is shut down before it even begins. The only good thing about banning this book is that those bans gave The Hate U Give even more publicity.