Summary: In this heart-wrenching book, Starr Carter witnesses the shooting of an life-long friend during a traffic stop. At first, she doesn’t want to talk about it with anyone, as the pain is too deep. But eventually she begins to learn that speaking out is the only way stop such things from happening again. Stuck between two worlds – that of her family and neighbors and that of her mostly white private school – Starr must learn to navigate a life that is all her own.
My Thoughts: Wow. I’m not sure what I can say about this book. I cried pretty much every time I opened the it because it is so tragic and realistic. This is the most powerful book I’ve read in years, and it was aimed at teens. There are some complaints among parents about the violence and the language in this book, but you know what? Teens need to learn what the world is like right now, or nothing is going to change. I think EVERYONE needs to read this book. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.
For those who are afraid that this book is anti-police, Starr’s uncle is an officer, and he’s one of the good guys.
Hibernator's Library 
I just finished reading the first volume of the Ms Marvel comic series and one of the previous readers went through and scratched out, in ink, the language they didn’t care for (including the word ‘crap’, for instance) and I couldn’t help but feel that they were missing the point of having an awesome heroine for teens and young women to look up to. The language in Angie Thomas’ book is more colourful than that comic, for sure, but it’s realistic and often employed in highly emotional and intense scenes, where one would expect to find it in real life.
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I also think the language was appropriate given the context. But some people just can’t deal with their teens reading that. I remember when The Power of Lucky was banned because it had the word “scrotum.” 😮
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I cried so many times too!
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That’s why I’m afraid to go to the movie.
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I loved this book so much. It is really powerful. I cried so much too.
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Yeah, I wasn’t brave enough to watch the movie, but I’ll probably rent it when it comes out. That way, I can cry in the privacy of my own home.
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