This is a book about a girl named Starr, a girl who is the only witness when a White police officer shoots her unarmed, innocent Black friend. She lives in a Black neighborhood but attends a White school, and finds herself caught between these two worlds, trying to find justice for her dead friend. 
 One of my favorite parts of reading is that it allows me to step into someone else's shoes. I love when I read a character who's really similar to me, and I feel like I'm the person on the page. But I equally love it when I get to read about a person very different than me, and I get to see the world through a different pair of eyes. That's part of what I loved most about The Hate U Give - it provided a window into a narrative that I've never experience. For a few hundred pages, I felt like I was Starr. I felt her pain, I felt her anxiety, and I most certainly felt her anger. 
 Yeah. This book made me angry. Angry about injustice and oppression and the fact that there's still racism and prejudice in our country. (Even if it's subconscious or unnoticed.) 
 But also: I really liked how police officers are respected as well. The main character's uncle is a cop, and a good one. And Starr does acknowledge that not all cops are bad, and that they should be respected because they have really hard jobs and they do a lot of good. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be held responsible when they make mistakes. 
 Finally: this was just a really well-written book. The characters are diverse and funny and amazing. The family relationships are so life-like, the friendships are very real. It's not just a book about a police shooting; it's a book about Starr's life for a while. The sub-plots are delightful and insightful into a world I haven't seen much of before. 
 On the ending:(view spoiler)[ At first, I was really disappointed that the police officer wasn't condemned. I wanted to see justice - or even if he wasn't imprisoned, SOME sort of change. More training for that police branch, him losing his job, etc, etc. But then I realized: this story, while fiction, is based on many real stories. And there are plenty of real stories where the cops aren't held accountable. So, yeah. It made me angry, and made me want to use my voice to speak up. (hide spoiler)] 
 I really enjoyed this and highly recommend. If nothing else, it's a great discussion-starter. Btw I'm happy to discuss this topic or this book with anyone who's willing to respectfully share their opinions.