The Hate U Give

Starr Carter lives in Garden Heights, a poor African-American neighborhood where gang violence is the norm. This is why her parents send her and her brother to a private school. While at school, Starr is careful to speak and act differently around her friends and boyfriend than she does at home because she wants to fit in. Starr manages well until she and her friend Khalil are pulled over by a cop after a party, and he's shot several times in front of her. Filled with confusion and anger, she struggles with her emotions and the decisions she is forced to make after the shooting.

The Hate U Give is about more than a police shooting; it is about family, friendship, identity, and loss. Though it's almost 500 pages, the believable characters, dialog, and action make this a page turner. The Hate U Give is a realistic, gritty novel that is sure to become a modern YA classic.