Starr-Starr, you do whatever they tell you to do,” he said. “Keep your hands visible. Don’t make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you.”

I would’ve rather seen that instead of Officer One-Fifteen. Or Khalil staring at the sky. Or all that blood. My stomach twists again. Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be the roses that grow in the concrete.” Conversational swearing by both adults and teens throughout the novel, including "s--t," "f--k," "ass," "bitch," "damn" (and variants), and "nigga." Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults: 2018". Booklist. April 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022 . Retrieved April 7, 2023. I see y’all been to Reuben’s. Here.” He holds out two fat rolls of money. “Make up for whatever y’all spent.”

I squeeze through sweaty bodies and follow Kenya, her curls bouncing past her shoulders. A haze lingers over the room, smelling like weed, and music rattles the floor. Some rapper calls out for everybody to Nae-Nae, followed by a bunch of “Heys” as people launch into their own versions. Kenya holds up her cup and dances her way through the crowd. Between the headache from the loud-ass music and the nausea from the weed odor, I’ll be amazed if I cross the room without spilling my drink. Khalil is watching me. A smile tries to form on his lips, but he shakes his head. “Can’t believe you still love whiny-ass Drake.” Hell, yeah. And it would be eighty if they had icy soles.” Clear bottoms are a bitch to clean. “Cleaning kits aren’t cheap. Besides, you’re obviously making big money if you can buy those.”

Later on, Starr is exasperated by her white Williamson Prep friends when they stage a fake protest just to get out of class. Starr argues with her friend Hailey, who was siding the police officer, claiming that his life also matters. This happened after One-Fifteen’s father gives an interview claiming his son is the real victim. Hailey goes so far as to insinuate that maybe Khalil deserved it because he was a drug dealer. There's talk of an affair between two adults. Teens engage in heavy petting, talk about having sex and condoms. A teen girl is described as being on birth control, and there's discussion of teen pregnancy and the assumption that a married couple is having sex when they go to their bedroom and turn the television up loud. A woman is revealed to be a sex worker. Compared to that Walmart on the east side of Garden Heights, our grocery is tiny. White-painted metal bars protect the windows and door. They make the store resemble a jail. She looked scared. We were ten, we didn’t know what happened after you died. Hell, I still don’t know, and she was forced to find out, even if she didn’t wanna find out.

Starr begins to have nightmares about what happened and her world is turned upside down. Nevertheless, she agrees to make a witness statement to the police. During her interrogation, Starr felt like the police wanted to justify One-Fifteen’s actions instead of punishing him for murdering an unarmed youth. This suspicion is confirmed at Khalil’s funeral when Starr learns that One-Fifteen will not be arrested which leads to violent protests. I make myself nod. “I . . . just can’t believe it, you know? It had been a while since I saw him, but . . .”

When we get to the front of the line, Mr. Reuben greets us with a gap-toothed smile from behind the partition. “Hey, Starr and Kenya. How y’all doing?” He ain’t Dr. King! Then you hire thugs to work up in here. I heard that Khalil boy got himself killed last night. He was probably selling that stuff.” Mr. Lewis looks from Daddy’s basketball jersey to his tattoos. “Wonder where he get that idea from.” a b c Burkey, Mary (January 4, 2018). "The Booklist Odyssey Interview". Booklist. 114 (15): 86–87. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018 . Retrieved September 5, 2018– via Project EBSCOhost. Daddy nods heavily. Grandma’s been gone ten years—long enough that Daddy doesn’t cry every day, but such a short while ago that if someone brings her up, it brings him down.Starr’s childhood best friend who is shot by One-Fifteen during a traffic stop. After Khalil’s death, rumors spread that Khalil dealt drugs and participated in the King Lords gang, placing his character in question. However, Starr remembers Khalil primarily as the sweet friend she knew growing up. Kenya and DeVante attest that Khalil often spoke fondly of Starr, and that he cared about her very much. Toward the end of the novel, DeVante reveals that Khalil took great care of his family and only sold drugs to pay off his mother’s debt to King.

Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best of the Best!". Goodreads. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021 . Retrieved April 20, 2021.He sounds like my parents. That’s exactly why they don’t let me “go nowhere” as Kenya puts it. At least not around Garden Heights. Okay, that’s somewhat true, but I’m not telling them that. “Nah, actually their parties are pretty dope,” I say. “One time, this boy had J. Cole perform at his birthday party.” Pitrak, Lynette (June 1, 2017). Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas | Booklist Online. Booklist. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019 . Retrieved April 25, 2019.