The Hate U Give Angie Thomas

Critical reviews

Critics also widely praised the book. In Books in the Media, a site that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (5.00 out of 5) from the site which was based on 4 critic reviews. [26]

In the Christian Science Monitor, Katie Ward Beim-Esche wrote, "Believe the hype: The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas's extraordinary and fearless debut, really is that good."[17] Shannon Ozirny of The Globe and Mail also felt it would have wide appeal, "Ignore the YA label – this should be the one book everyone reads this year."[27] On Salon, Erin Keane wrote that the novel is "topical, urgent, necessary, and if that weren't enough, it's also a highly entertaining and engaging read."[28]

The book also earned starred reviews from multiple review journals. Kirkus praised both its writing and timelines: "With smooth but powerful prose ... This story is necessary. This story is important."[6] Young adult literature expert Michael Cart, writing in Booklist, also praised Thomas's writing as Starr: "Beautifully written in Starr's authentic first-person voice, this is a marvel of verisimilitude."[24] While praising the overall book in a starred review, School Library Journal's Mahnaz Dar criticized the writing of several characters as "slightly uneven."[29] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[21] Horn Book Magazine,[20] and VOYA[30] also gave the book their equivalents of starred reviews.

Awards and honors

The Hate U Give debuted at the top of The New York Times young adult (YA) best-seller list,[9] and was on it for more than 80 weeks.[31] It is also an IndieBound best seller.[6] The book had 100,000 copies in print in the first month,[9] eventually selling more than 850,000 copies as of June 2018.[32]

The Horn Book Magazine,[33] Kirkus Reviews,[6] Publishers Weekly,[34] and Shelf Awareness,[35] among others, named it one of the best young adult novels of 2017. Booklist named it one of the best books of the year regardless of genre.[36] Booklist included the audiobook on their 2017 "Top 10 First Novels on Audio"[37] and 2018 "Top 10 Diverse Novels on Audio"[38] lists.

Both the book and audiobook editions are Junior Library Guild selections.[39][40]

Challenges

The American Library Association listed the book as one of the ten most-challenged books of 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 "because it was considered 'pervasively vulgar,'" contained "drug use, profanity, and offensive language," as well as sexual references, and "was thought to promote an anti-police message."[74]

In July 2018, a South Carolina police union raised objections to the inclusion of the book, as well as the similarly themed All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, in the summer reading list for ninth-grade students of Wando High School. A representative of the police lodge described the inclusion of the books as "almost indoctrination of distrust of police" and asserted that "we've got to put a stop to that."[75] The books remained on the list and Wando's principal was later recognized by the state school library association for her defense of the challenged books.[76]

The book was removed from the school libraries of the Katy Independent School District due to its explicit language.[31] Thomas responded to these challenges by defending the book's message and saying that it is a spur for conversation.[31] In December 2021, it was also removed from some Washington County School District libraries for explicit content.[77]