“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas is a novel adapted into a movie that has gained worldwide acclaim for its realistic ploy. It reached the number one spot on New York Times 2017 list for top young adult novel the same year that it was published. The film addresses police brutality and the experiences of living in a poor African-American neighborhood while going to a prep school in the wealthier areas of a community.

Amandla Stenberg plays the lead character, Starr Carter, a 16-year-old African-American teenager. She witnesses her childhood friend, Kahlil, shot and killed by a white cop who assumed Kahlil was carrying a gun. It quickly sparks an outrage in the African-American community of the injustice that Kahlil faced.

This is the start of Starr’s journey of choosing to stay silent or standing up for Khalil. But it doesn’t get any easier when her closest friend, Hailey Grant, played by Sabrina Carpenter, expresses her opinion on how a guy like Khalil is better off the streets.

Lucky for her, Starr has a supporting family that is with her in every challenge that she faced throughout the plot, especially her dad, Maverick Carter, played by Russell Hornsby. He was a former drug dealer that changed his ways for the betterment of his family and taught Starr and her siblings how to live and survive in the world.

“It’s cool to see how the dad went to extreme measures to make sure his family stays safe from his drug dealing days,” sophomore Joseph Alonso said.

The novel is a good example of the events that could happen to anyone of color. In Elise Song’s English class, they compare and contrast the book to real world events that are similar to the plot. They also read articles about police misconduct that occur throughout the world.

“It’s interesting [that] we get to discuss and research different controversial topics that relate to our society,” junior Camila Rosales said.