The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Interest age: 12 to 18
Reading age: 12+
Published by Walker Books, 2017
About this book
One night, Starr and her childhood friend Khalil get pulled over by police. They end up shooting and killing Khalil after apparently mistaking the boy's hairbrush for a gun. Starr is the only witness and has to decide whether to use her voice to try and fight for justice. What follows is a brilliant and fantastically told exploration of race in America - and of growing up, too.
The Hate U Give is rightly named by many critics as one of the most important books of 2017. It's a profound, deeply compelling modern-day classic that won't be forgotten.
Be aware that there is strong language, though it is completely within context and appropriate for the nature of the book.
There are also relatively mild scenes of a sexual nature and (not gratuitous) violence, so this book is best suited to a mature teenage reader.
Winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2018, the CILIP Carnegie Amnesty Honour and joint winner of the Children’s category of the British Book Awards.
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Orangeboy
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Crongton Knights
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Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy
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On the Come Up
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Lists of recommended reads
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BookTrust Represents: Teen
BookTrust Represents is our programme created to promote children’s authors and illustrators of colour. Books play an important role as mirrors for children: these stories and characters will affect how they see themselves and the world around them, their motivation to read, and their aspirations to become authors and illustrators of the future. However, finding books that truly reflect the diversity of families in the UK is challenging. Over the past 11 years, fewer than 2% of all authors and/or illustrators of children's books published in the UK were British people of colour. As part of the project we have put together this booklist highlighting some of our favourite teen/ya books by authors and illustrators of colour.
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Books about politics, freedom of choice, and the big issues - for secondary school aged children
These books are a great way to get secondary school aged children engaged with issues of politics and human rights. From historical fiction and non-fiction addressing times of great political upheaval and human tragedy, to contemporary stories examining the issues of today, all of these books can be read individually or as a class.