Where to start?
Yesterday I watched (somewhat perplexed) the unfolding media storm over the Pepsi advert featuring Kendall Jenner. Purportedly sharing a message of love and unity, the company have been accused of generating controversy at the expense of the Black Lives Matter movement. Whatever we may say, the suggestion that a can of soft drink could stop a riot did – quite rightly in my view – rankle. What it highlighted to me, however, was the need for some form of reflection on the events taking place across the world, and the attitudes towards race that we sometimes unconsciously perpetuate.
Thankfully I do not live in a world where the phrase “A hairbrush is not a gun” means much to me. A quick internet search of the phrase threw up many references to the murder in 2007 of Khiel Coppin by police who thought he had a gun which did, indeed, turn out to be a hairbrush. There are too many such stories that could be quoted throughout history…call me naive but when will we learn to look to our common bond of humanity to shape the way we interact with one another?
Touted as a must read YA book of 2017 already, there’s no doubt that The Hate U Give is a hard-hitting, intensely painful yet moving attempt to try and articulate some of the concerns and thoughts people around the world have about race. Whatever your personal experience, I feel this is a book in which everyone can find something to love.
We follow sixteen year old Starr through what, for many, is an unimaginable series of events but which, sadly for too many, is a stark reality.
Starr comes from a close and loving family, but not everything is so clear-cut. Her father has walked away from the gang culture that pervades their neighbourhood, and she is caught between two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she lives and the suburban prep school she attends where she is one of two black students. These two worlds clash in a way I cannot even begin to fathom when we watch Starr witness the shooting of her best friend by a police officer.
The story quickly becomes national news, and through this main story we are given a compelling narrative exploring Starr’s experiences and the lives of those around her. I was touched by the view of Starr’s mother who said “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.” This mantra is a hard one to abide by when the consequences are, potentially, so damaging. Yet we watch Starr gain the confidence to find her voice and start to articulate some of her feelings in an attempt to ensure that people look beyond the stereotype of Khalil the drug-dealing thug. While the events surrounding Khalil’s murder are depressingly portrayed, it was interesting to see how this event affected the lives of everyone caught up in it.
While this book does focus predominantly on attitudes to race, there was a highly developed focus on the development of Starr as a person. Watching her try to reconcile her very different experiences, and come to find her voice was compelling. During the novel Starr is asked what the point is of having a voice if, when it’s needed, you keep quiet. Nobody wants to encourage violent agitation of the type described regularly here, but seeing these characters find their voices and try to articulate their frustrations sends a powerful message.
Thank you to edelweiss for the advance copy in exchange for my thoughts. I can’t wait to see what’s made of this by other readers.