Petik.net - The Hate U Give is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas, who was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the police shooting of Oscar Grant in 2009. The novel follows the life of Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend Khalil by a white police officer.
Starr struggles to cope with the trauma of losing Khalil, as well as the pressure of being the only witness who can speak the truth about what happened that night. She also faces the challenge of balancing her two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy private school where she attends.
As the media and the public start to portray Khalil as a thug and a drug dealer, Starr decides to use her voice to seek justice for him and to challenge the systemic racism that plagues her community.
Plot Summary
The novel begins with Starr and Khalil leaving a party in Garden Heights, a predominantly black and poor neighborhood, after hearing gunshots. On their way home, they are pulled over by a white police officer, who orders Khalil to get out of the car and frisks him.
When Khalil reaches for a hairbrush inside the car, the officer mistakes it for a gun and shoots him three times, killing him instantly. Starr is devastated and terrified, as she remembers another time when she witnessed the death of her friend Natasha, who was killed by a stray bullet when they were children.
Starr is taken to the police station, where she is questioned by a detective and a lawyer from a local activist group. They advise her to keep quiet about the incident until the investigation is over. Starr’s parents, Maverick and Lisa, pick her up and take her home, where they comfort her and tell her that they love her.
Maverick is a former gang member who now owns a grocery store, while Lisa is a nurse who works at a clinic. They have two other children, Seven and Sekani, who are Starr’s older and younger brothers. They also have a close relationship with Starr’s uncle Carlos, who is a detective and lives in a suburban area.
Starr returns to Williamson Prep, an elite private school where she is one of the few black students. She tries to act normal and hide her emotions, as she does not want to be seen as the “angry black girl” or the “poor black girl” by her classmates and teachers.
She has two best friends, Maya and Hailey, who are Asian and white respectively, and a white boyfriend, Chris, who she has been dating for over a year. However, she feels like she has to be a different person at school than at home, and she calls this phenomenon “code-switching”.
Starr learns that the police officer who killed Khalil is named Brian Cruise Jr., and that he has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. She also sees the news reports that claim that Khalil was a suspected drug dealer and a gang member, and that he may have provoked the officer.
Starr is outraged by these lies, but she is afraid to speak up and reveal herself as the witness. She is also conflicted about whether to tell her friends and Chris about what happened, as she fears that they will not understand or support her.
Starr attends Khalil’s funeral, where she sees his family and friends, as well as members of the local gang, the King Lords, who run the drug trade in Garden Heights. The leader of the King Lords is King, who is also the father of Seven’s half-sister, Kenya.
King has a history of abusing and exploiting Khalil and his mother, Brenda, who is addicted to drugs. Starr also meets April Ofrah, a lawyer and activist who works for Just Us for Justice, an organization that fights for the rights of black people. April encourages Starr to speak out about Khalil’s death and to join the movement for change.
Starr gradually opens up to her family and friends about her experience. She tells Chris, who is supportive and understanding, and Maya, who is sympathetic and helpful. She also confronts Hailey, who is insensitive and racist, and who unfollows Starr on Tumblr after Starr posts a picture of Emmett Till, a black boy who was lynched in 1955.
Starr realizes that Hailey is not a true friend and cuts her off. Starr also reconnects with DeVante, a young member of the King Lords who wants to leave the gang and who witnessed the shooting. Starr’s family agrees to help DeVante by letting him stay at Carlos’s house and by finding him a job and a school.
Starr agrees to do a television interview with a reporter, where she tells her side of the story and defends Khalil’s character. She also reveals that Khalil was selling drugs for King because King threatened his grandmother, who owed him money.
Starr hopes that her interview will bring attention to the case and pressure the authorities to prosecute Officer Cruise. However, she also faces backlash from some people who accuse her of lying and of being anti-police. She also faces threats from King, who is angry that she exposed his involvement in the drug business.
Starr decides to testify before a grand jury, which will determine whether to indict Officer Cruise for Khalil’s death. She is nervous and scared, but she is determined to tell the truth and to honor Khalil’s memory.
She is supported by her family, friends, and community, who stand by her and protect her from King’s attacks. She is also inspired by the example of her father, who was once imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but who turned his life around and became a respected and responsible man.
Starr testifies before the grand jury, where she recounts the details of the night of the shooting and refutes the claims that Khalil was a threat to the officer.
She also expresses her frustration and anger at the system that treats black people as less than human and that allows police officers to kill them with impunity. She hopes that her testimony will make a difference and that justice will be served.
Conclusion
The novel ends with the announcement of the grand jury’s decision, which is that they have decided not to indict Officer Cruise. Starr is devastated and furious, as she feels that Khalil’s life did not matter to the law or to the society. She joins a protest that erupts in Garden Heights, where people demand justice and accountability for Khalil and for other victims of police brutality.
The protest turns violent, as the police use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, and as King and his gang set fire to buildings and loot stores. Starr and her friends are caught in the chaos, and they try to escape and to help others who are in danger.
Starr and her friends encounter Officer Cruise, who is at the scene to provide backup. Starr confronts him and points a gun at him, which she took from Maverick’s store.
She is tempted to shoot him and to avenge Khalil, but she decides not to, as she realizes that violence is not the answer and that Khalil would not want her to become a killer. She drops the gun and tells Officer Cruise that he will have to live with the guilt of what he did, and that she will never let him forget Khalil’s name.
Starr and her friends are rescued by Maverick and Carlos, who arrive with other residents of Garden Heights. They also face King, who tries to shoot Starr, but is stopped by DeVante and Seven, who disarm him and beat him up.
King is then arrested by the police, who have been informed by Iesha, Seven’s mother and King’s girlfriend, about his criminal activities. Iesha decides to cooperate with the police and to take her children, Kenya and Lyric, away from King and from Garden Heights.
Starr and her family and friends gather at Maverick’s store, which has been partially burned but is still standing. They are joined by other people from the neighborhood, who show their support and solidarity. Starr realizes that Garden Heights is more than a place, it is a community of people who care for each other and who can overcome their challenges.
She also realizes that she has a voice and a power that no one can take away from her, and that she can use it to speak up for herself and for others. She decides to keep fighting for Khalil and for all the people who have been silenced by oppression and violence. She ends the novel by saying, “I’ll never be quiet. I promise.”