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5 stars! This review will be spoiler free!
*I had to use the original book cover and movie cover because... Amandla Stenberg!
Synopsis:
"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."
Thoughts:
Angie Thomas pulled no punches in this one. She hits you right in the feels every single moment she can. Drives home some very deep and important messages that are so relevant and necessary now and will be forever. Starr is one HELLUVA girl. Her story is POWERFUL. Her story is GRIPPING. Yes, her story is heart breaking, but it's NEEDED. It's an eye-opening story that I think nobody should pass up on. Everybody should take the time to read this. (Though I guess I should warn that there is a lot of cussing in this book, but it only adds to the story!)
Starr is a young girl who many minorities, not only females, can see themselves as. She is relatable and her struggles are real struggles that POC go through on a daily basis. Throughout the story you can feel all her emotions and conflicts. Her sadness, her frustration, her fear, her happiness, her anger. (Try going this whole book without shedding a tear, I DARE YOU.)
Angie Thomas does an amazing job of building the setting in this book. I can see Garden Heights in my mind, I can see the run down neighborhood, how the drugs affect the addicts and sellers, how the Garden folk are only trying to make the best of the lot they got. I can see Williamson too and the surrounding suburbs. How, if juxtaposed, you can imagine how utterly different Starr's street in Garden Heights is compared to her Uncle Carlos's.
Speaking of Uncle Carlos, I really loved the family aspect in this story. Starr's relationship with her parents was a normal-family-dynamic in contemporary that I didn't realize I missed. I was so happy to read that her parents had such an active role in the book. That even her brothers and friends had important roles. Lessons to learn themselves and to teach Starr throughout the book.
Lessons! Gosh is this book full of so so so so many important lessons. Every single person that you encounter in this book has a point and has an effect on Starr and her life. There's just so much you can grasp from this book and I'm damn sure I didn't even catch them all.
Overall:
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STORY.
How could I give this book anything less than 5 stars?! 5 stars isn't even enough for how amazing this book is. I don't know why I ever put it off reading it and choosing to read it via audiobook made the story even better. And now I fully understand why this book is STILL #1 on the NYT YA bestseller list. PHENOMENAL.
TIME TO GO WATCH THE MOVIE, WOOOHOOO!!