The Hate U Give

This article is about the 2017 novel. For the novel's 2018 film adaptation, see The Hate U Give (film).

The Hate U Give
Cover art for the novel The Hate U Give, published in 2017. The cover art depicts a young African-American female teenager holding a title card with the novel's title; the title card obscures the entirety of the teenager's torso, and the only visible clothing includes a red hairband, blue denim cut-off shorts, and white athletic shoes.
Hardcover dustjacket (2017, 1st ed.)
AuthorAngie Thomas
Cover artistDebra Cartwright
PublisherBalzer + Bray
Publication date
February 28, 2017
Publication placeUnited States
Pages444
ISBN978-0-06-249853-3
Preceded byConcrete Rose 

The Hate U Give is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It is Thomas's debut novel, expanded from a short story she wrote in college in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-year-old African-American girl from a poor neighborhood who attends an elite private school in a predominantly white, affluent part of the city. Starr becomes entangled in a national news story after she witnesses a white police officer shoot and kill her childhood friend, Khalil. She speaks up about the shooting in increasingly public ways, and social tensions culminate in a riot after a grand jury decides not to indict the police officer for the shooting.

The Hate U Give was published on February 28, 2017, by HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray, which had won a bidding war for the rights to the novel. The book was a commercial success, debuting at number one on The New York Times young adult best-seller list, where it remained for 50 weeks. It won several awards and received critical praise for Thomas's writing and timely subject matter. In writing the novel, Thomas attempted to expand readers' understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as difficulties faced by black Americans who employ code switching. These themes, as well as the vulgar language, attracted some controversy and caused the book to be one of the most challenged books of 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 according to the American Library Association.

The book was adapted into a film by 20th Century Fox in October 2018, which received positive reviews. The novel was also adapted into an audiobook, which won several awards and earned praise for its narrator, Bahni Turpin.