Feature & Giveaway: Banned Books Week – The Hate U Give (THUG) by Angie Thomas
It’s Banned Books Week, which is a week long educational platform to celebrate the freedom to read, hosted by the American Library Association. The week long event (Septemeber 23rd-29th) is meant to bring awareness to books that are challenged across the country. Check your local library for events! Thank you to the Banned Books Week Coalition for their resources and continued work to make sure the battle against censorship continues!
Today we are going to focus on one of the top 10 most challenged books for 2017 – The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This book debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has stayed on it for over 80 weeks, where it has spent most of it’s time at #1 spot. The Hate U Give has been adapted into a movie (movie rights sold long before the book was even published) and is releasing on October 5th in select cities and nationwide on the 19th! Mark your calendars!
In celebration of this pivotable book during Banned Books Week, we are giving away a movie tie-in edition and a Fandango movie gift card!
The Hate You Give (THUG) received 8 starred reviews and the smattering of awards on the covers should tell you of its greatness, including but not limited to: William C. Morris Debut Award Winner, Odyssey Audiobook Award Winner, Michael L. Printz Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, plus many more nominations. With all the praise and release in February of 2017, The Hate U Give was still the 8th most challenged book of 2017. Most notably, was the Katy Independant School District banning the book from the entire school district over “profanity” used in the book (a resounding fuck you from us to them). It has been restored in the school district but you must have your legal guardian’s permission to check out the title. The Banned Books Week coalition is already speculating that THUG will end up on the list for 2018 as well, as there have already been many additional challenges, and they expect more with the upcoming movie release, which will garner more readers to the original content.
The Hate U Give
by Angie ThomasPublished by: Balzer + Bray
on February 28, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Bookshop
Goodreads
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
About Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi. Her debut novel The Hate U Give is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and was acquired by the Balzer + Bray imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in a 13-house auction. It has received starred reviews from 8 literary journals, one of the highest amounts received for a young adult novel, and will be published in over 20 countries. The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly both called it required reading. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 and Temple Hill Productions with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg attached to star.
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty.
Thomas holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Thomas is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included.
* insert eyeroll *
Review
Kelly: Now I voted on every list for this to be the best book of the year (2017). It is such an important book, and the character driven narrative really moved me. I was immediately taken by the Carter family and the portrayal of our society. It’s even hard to say anything about this book, except I think everyone should read it. I think we can all learn something from these pages, no matter your race, age, or class. All of those dynamics were explored in this book and they all hit home. Nothing I can say will do this book justice, everyone just needs to read it!
Christy: I always think banned books say more about the people attempting to ban the material than the material itself. No surprise that The Hate U Give landed on the banned book list, with its exploration of police brutality and the injustice people of color face in our criminal justice system. Youth will change this country and we need books like The Hate U Give to share their voice. So grab this on audio (it’s fantastic) and soak in – then get ready to battle racism head on.
Giveaway
To win a movie tie-in edition of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas as well as a Fandango Movie Gift Card – Leave a comment here, and go to both of our Instagrams (@diamondxgirl & @bookcrushin) for another chance to win! Giveaway ends on October 1st at midnight EST. All entries will be combined to pick one winner. USA/PR only (we’re sorry).
I’m always seeing more ways to manage my time so I have more time to read.