I know that it is still January, but this is my favorite book of the year. Yes, I am cementing it's spot right now.

Angie Thomas is an amazing writer. Her characters are perhaps the best I have ever read. They are real three-dimensional human beings that are living right in front of you. They bring you into their worlds, letting you know their emotions and motivations without ever being over the top. Each character is distinct and complex.

Her writing is also amazing. The sentence structure, word choices, and descriptions make the world so vivid that it still seems real to me. Starr, the main character, lives between two worlds and these world show beautifully in the way that Thomas writes. I can not wait to read her next book, she is truly an amazing writer.

Then there is the topic of the book. Talking about the dynamics between police and the black community is a complex topic, especially since it involves the death of so many young men and women. I cannot imagine a better way to tell the story then Thomas does. Starr is caught between her world of being black and going to a white school. By including Starr in both worlds it bridges the gap between the cultures and allows to reader to not only identify with their culture but to emphases with the other. Then you have her uncle who is a police officer, allowing his voice to be heard. You have the Asian best friend that tends to represent all non-black minorities. I think an entire thesis could be written on the dynamics of how she chose to represent this issue in her book.

I am amazed by this book. I think that everyone should read it. I plan to get a hardcover copy so that my children will read it. Not only is it amazing literature it is a message that needs to be heard, and Thomas lends her amazing voice so that it can be understood.