Choice Book

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas has been hovering at or near the top of The New York Times' Young Adult Hardcover bestseller list for 25 weeks now. It's in my top 5 favorite books for 2017, and is the book I chose to sponsor for HWRHS's summer reading choice list this year. Although, I originally considered picking from the fantasy or science fiction genre as I did last year (The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison), after reading Thomas' book the decision was over. The book sang choose me! choose me!! The story is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and could not be more relevant to our current time. The story and characters immediately draw you in and carry you through the course of a terrible event with insight, heart, and a sprinkle of humor. There was no other book I could choose over this one for the high school choice list. Tomorrow I'll be meeting with 15 of the 30 students who signed up to read the book over the summer. (53 books were sponsored this year.) A second group of 15 students will be meeting with Principal Eric Tracy as he too chose to sponsor Thomas's book. As part of my preparation for the book discussion I put together a read-a-like book list for The Hate U Give, which is shared below. Descriptions are whole or paraphrased from our library catalog. Titles are linked to the catalog.

If you liked THE HATE U GIVE, by Angie Thomas,

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor black 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. Starr's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her. But what Starr does--or does not--say could destroy her community.

Genre: Realistic; Contemporary
Storyline: Character-driven; Issue-oriented

you might also like:
these Fiction read-a-likes about Racism, Race Relations

Bright Lights, Dark Nights, by Stephen Emond, 2015. Walter Wilcox's first love, Naomi, happens to be African American, so when Walter's policeman father is caught in a racial profiling scandal, the teens' bond and mutual love of the Foo Fighters may not be enough to keep them together through the pressures they face at school, at home, and online.

Allegedly, by Tiffany Jackson, 2017. When Mary, a teenager living in a group home, becomes pregnant, authorities take another look at the crime for which Mary was convicted when she was nine years old.

How It Went Down, by Kekla Magoon, 2014. When 16-year-old Tariq is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.

All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, 2015. When 16-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn's alternating viewpoints.

Flygirl, by Sherri Smith, 2009.  During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Blackand White, by Paul Volponi, 2005. Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently after committing a crime together and getting caught.

PiecingMe Together, by Renee Watson, 2017. Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private high school as someone who needs support, Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentor-ship program for at-risk girls.

AmericanStreet, by Ibi Zoboi, 2017.  When Fabiola's mother is detained upon their arrival to the U.S., Fabiola must navigate her loud American cousins, the grittiness of Detroit's west side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.

Fiction read-a-likes that are 
Culturally Diverse, Character Driven, and Issue Oriented

The Lines We Cross, by Randa Abdel-Fattah, 2017.  Basketball enthusiast Michael attends anti-immigration rallies with his parents until a friendship with Mina, a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan, compels him to question his family's politics. Their mutual attraction demands they come to terms with their family's concerns and decide where they stand in the anti-Muslim politics of the time.

 The Radius of Us, by Marie Marquardt, 2017.  After being mugged, 17-year-old Gretchen is still struggling to deal with her fears when she meets Phoenix, an 18-year-old immigrant from El Salvador. Told in alternating voices.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina, 2013.  Informed that a bully she does not know is determined to beat her up Latin American teen Piddy Sanchez struggles to learn more about the father she has never met, until the bully's gang forces her to confront more difficult challenges.

If you liked THE HATE U GIVE, by Angie Thomas,

you might also like these Nonfiction books:

TheyCalled Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group, by Susan Bartoletti, 2010. Uses personal accounts unearthed from oral histories, congressional documents, and diaries, to unveil the creation of the Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee, and its spread across the American South. (Narrative Nonfiction)

RacialProfiling: Everyday Inequality, by Alison Behnke, 2017.  An in-depth analysis combining research with personal stories that explores the history, the many manifestations, and the consequences of this form of social injustice.

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015. Told in a series of essays written as an open letter to his son, Coates confronts America's racial history and details what it has meant and what it means to be black in America. (Memoir)

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives, by Kenneth Davis, 2016. An examination of American slavery through the true stories of five enslaved people who were considered the property of some of our best-known presidents.

March, Books 1, 2, & 3, by John Lewis, co-written by Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell, 2013-2016. Congressman John Lewis's first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights. (An Autobiography in Graphic Novel format)

Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education, by Mychal Smith, 2016. A prominent journalist and contributing writer to The Nation magazine describes his education and the experiences of black masculinity against a backdrop of the Obama administration, the death of Trayvon Martin, the career of LeBron James and other pivotal influences that have shaped race relations in today's America. (Memoir)

The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed,Debated, and Deconstructed, by Shea Serrano, 2015. Serrano examines the history and culture of rap music--from artists' backgrounds to issues of race, the rise of hip-hop, and the struggles among its major players--both personal and professional. Covering East Coast and West Coast, famous rapper feuds, chart toppers, and show stoppers.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack
in the concrete?
Proving nature's law wrong it learned 2 walk
without having feet
Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams
it learned 2 breathe fresh air

Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared!

                 --Tupac Amaru Shakur 1971-1996

The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur, 1999. A collection of verse by the late hip-hop star Tupac Shakur includes more than 100 poems confronting such wide-ranging topics as poverty, motherhood, Van Gogh, and Mandela. Included are facsimiles of the poems in Shakur's handwriting, with scratch outs and corrections, distinctive spelling, and ideographs (a drawing of an eye for I, etc.).