Starr and Chris’s relationship changes throughout the novel.How do the messages differ from each medium? Was one more reliable? Who got his story wrong? What might have been a more reliable source for information on Khalil? After Khalil dies, parts of his life are shared in conversations, news media, and social media.What do you think it represents? Read Tupac Shakur’s poem “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” and discuss what this has to do with “Thug Life.”
Her brother’s sister is in her life, along with a detective uncle who doesn’t live in Garden Heights. She has two brothers, one older who shares the same father, one younger who has the same mother and father. Starr’s family situation is somewhat complicated.
Do you think Starr switches successfully between the two places? What other characters do you see code switching? Are there any instances when someone doesn’t switch and makes things socially awkward? Is this something you can relate to? This is often called “code-switching” when a person feels they must speak and act different in one social situation than in another. She’s one person in Garden Heights and a different person at her school, Williamson Prep.
Throughout the book, Starr talks about how she’s different “versions” of herself.How else does the author use hip-hop as a motif? Discuss what this acronym means and how it shows up throughout the book. Khalil explains what Tupac said “Thug Life” meant. In the first chapter, Khalil and Starr listen to Tupac in the car.( From the publisher.) The Hate U Give Book Club Questions By signing up you agree to our terms of useīut what Starr does-or does not-say could upend her community. “It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black.Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.”Ģ1. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. I’ve Tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. “I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. “People say misery loves company, but I think it’s like that with anger too.”ġ9. “Intentions always look better on paper than in reality.”ġ8. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right.”ġ6. “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. “Good-byes hurt the most when the other person’s already gone.”ġ4. Be the roses that grow in the concrete.”ġ3. “Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. It means you go on even though you're scared.”ġ2. “To every kid in Georgetown and in all “the Gardens” of the world: your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. “At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them.”ġ0. What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?”ĩ. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. “What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?”Ĩ. “When you fight, you put yourself out there, not caring who you hurt or if you'll get hurt.”ħ. “I can't change where I come from or what I've been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?”Ħ. I wish people like them would stop thinking that people like me need saving.”ĥ. Saving them from their “wild African ways.” Same shit, different century. Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people’s lives too. But I'm not giving up on a better ending.”Ĥ. He lived, but not nearly long enough, and for the rest of my life, I'll remember how he died.įairy tale? No. “Once upon a time there was a hazel-eyed boy with dimples. “Besties before testes.” ― Angie Thomas, The Hate U Giveģ. It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black.” ― Angie Thomas, The Hate U GiveĢ. “Funny how it works with white kids though.