The hate u give by Angie Thomas: A Book review

The hate u give by Angie Thomas: A Book review

Featured, YA | 22 comments

I am sure no one would be unaware of the police brutality against black and the massive movement about #BlackLivesMatter in 2017. The Hate U Give could be easily one of those books that everyone, irrespective of the age group, should be reading if at all you want to be a part of the change or at least to know how these things happen and affect people.

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About The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give review

Book Name: The Hate U Give 

Author: Angie Thomas

Genre: Fiction – YA

Characters: Starr Carter, Big Mav, Lisa, Seven, Khalil

Setting: The USA

Plot Summary of The Hate U Give

Starr, a 16-year-old African American kid, is stuck between two worlds. She lives at Garden Heights, a ghetto with gangsters and drug pushers. Her father Big Mav is a former gangster who took a blame and chose to go to prison so that he could get out of the system and lead a normal gang-free life. He wants their ghetto to be better and a safe haven for his kids.

She is one of the two black kids in her rich and predominantly white, prep school. She falls for a white boy, whom she has to hide from her father because he is ‘white’ and has two white best friends. Her mother is a nurse who wants to save her children from the ghetto life by taking them away.

Stuck between the two worlds and parents who have different views about their lives, Starr feels an outsider in both places. Starr understands her lives are universes apart and has never had to choose between them – until the fateful night, her unarmed friend Khalil gets shot by a cop in front of her eyes.

Should she remain silent, as her mother and uncle want her to be, and save herself from the wrath of the public and her own peers at school? Or should she put her life in danger, give a voice to the cause that may lead nowhere?

What do you do when your best friend is being a bully and a racist, intentionally or not? Do you confront her, putting your entire friendship jeopardy or pretend it was unintentional and you are just overreacting? How long can one hide a white boyfriend from your father?

Book review of The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give is essentially a coming of age story in the present American scenario, dealing with racism, bullying and violence. It is inspired by the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, obviously but is much more than that. It is an honest account of a strong black family that has nothing to do with the gangs or drugs but is put to trial because of their skin colour. I do not want to spoil your reading experience by giving out any spoilers.

It is not just the strong storyline that made The Hate U Give the NY! bestseller but the well-written characters and a sprinkle of humour that made the story all the more fun to read. The writing is just perfect for YA, not becoming too political, yet talking about all the main themes like a true social commentary.

Yes, there are few characters that were flat and the ending with the perfect boyfriend was just too good to be true. But hey, those did not seem to be a big issue to me, all things considered. It is, after all, a young adult book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

As a person who is not living in the USA, I may not have faced such an incident in my real life, but violence and prejudice against colour, cast and creed are no different in any other country. That is one of the things that makes The Hate U Give close to my heart. As someone who doesn’t want to be an unintentional racist or offend anyone without meaning to, this book is an eye-opener. It made me think about my stand and actions on certain topics which is exactly what was expected of this book.

Bottom-line

The Hate U Give is surely one of the best books I have read this year. Books like this and Feel me fall makes me gain more faith in the YA genre. I have not stopped raving about this book to anyone I know even though I read this book about a month back. I can not recommend this book enough. READ THIS BOOK.

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The hate u give by Angie Thomas: A Book review

Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

review, Romance, YA | 16 comments

Do you know what is the overused word that I have been dreading to hear or read about a book? Nerds. Thanks to John Green, Chetan Bhagat and the likes, I am pushed to cringe physically when someone describes themselves as nerds. So when every book blogger I adore went crazy reviewing about the new YA on the block with two Indian leads who are nerds, I was not sure I would like the end of that melodrama. Still, I had to try it, right? Read more to find out what I feel about When Dimple Met Rishi

Book Name: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Fiction – YA Romance
Characters: Dimple Shah, Rishi and Ashish Patel, Celia
Setting: San Francisco, California, The USA, India

Dimple Shah has ambitious plans for her life and has been accepted to Stanford. She wants to attend a coding camp that might give her a chance to work with her role model. But her parents have other plans for her. Rishi Patel, her parents’ choice of the groom for Dimple, arrives at the Insomnia Camp to spend time with her. Dimple ambushed by her parents hates Rishi even before she gets a chance to know him. Does her opinion about Rishi changes after she knows him better?

Rishi is the perfect first born son for his Indian parents, who follows his dad’s footsteps into computer engineering. He falls for the girl his parents chose for him and agrees to woo her at the summer program she has enlisted to. Does this arranged marriage situation end up well for his hopelessly romantic self? Does he realize what makes him happy, than just being the model son? You have to read the When Dimple Met Rishi to find out more.

Book Review: When Dimple Met RishiDimple and Rishi are so opposite in their beliefs and value systems, though their origin and culture are the same. While she is a rebel and wants to shine out in the world for herself before she could think of marriage, Rishi stays true to his roots and wants to fulfill his parents’ desires. They are both perfect for each other and fight hard to keep on their courses despite the fact that they were falling for each other. Oh, by the way, I totally adored the other duo (Ashish and Celia) in the story, and I am more than excited to know that there might be a follow up on their stories too.

When Dimple Met Rishi is a cute YA contemporary that would make you grin in all the right places. This short read is what one needs one a bored afternoon to lift you from your slump. Yes, there are some stereotyping towards Indians. And even as an Indian from a similar background, I could not believe these kids were just eighteen. I mean I was never that serious even then. I actually pegged Rishi to be in his late 20s or early 30s, before I had read further. You know I had already another Rishi with whom I had the same problem.

There are a few Hindi slangs but not too many to be turn-offish and the writing is so fluid and breezy that I read the book in less than three hours. Is When Dimple Met Rishi
worth all the commotion it has created by the Twittersphere and the great reviews found online? I would say a YES! If you are in the mood for a YA/romcom this season your choice is right here.