3.5 stars I waited awhile to pick up this book because the hype on it was so overwhelming, and I was nervous that I wouldn't like the book as much as everyone else did. And I guess, technically, I didn't, since most people gave this book 5 stars. But I did really appreciate this book and it's message, and think that it's a really important book to read.

Synopsis (In case you've been living under a rock):
Starr is a young black woman. She lives in a neighborhood that is predominantly African-American. She goes to a private school an hour away where she and her brother constitute about half of the black population in the school.

One night she is at a party when gunshots ring out. She flees the party with her friend, Khalil. They are stopped by a white officer who ends up shooting and killing Khalil in front of Starr. The rest of the book follows her journey in the months after this event.

What I liked:

1. Starr's voice was so strong. This story is told through her perspective in first person, so we really get a sense of who she is. I enjoyed her inner conflicts. She talks about how she feels like she has two different personas: one for home and one for school. As the story goes on, she is able to merge those into one individual, and she is stronger for it.

2. The family dynamic. Now, this family unit wasn't perfect. Starr's brother Seven was the result of a hookup her father had with a local gang leader's girlfriend. Also, her parents argued several times throughout this book about the best way to raise their kids, especially with thoughts to keeping them safe. I found myself really frustrated with her father, who was stubborn and seemingly unyielding for a good chunk of this book. That being said, I loved that it was obvious on every single page that her parents lived for her and her brothers and that they would die for them as well. Other characters didn't have that assurance, and knowing how realistic that actually is in our society is sad.

3. The unapologetic reality. This is not a light and fluffy YA contemporary. There are a few moments here and there that made me smile and laugh, but that is not what this book is about. This book shows the poverty, the despair, the institutionalized oppression. It can be quite uncomfortable to read at times, which just shows how successful it was. It's not supposed to make us feel good. It's supposed to make us stop, think, and act.

4. The message. This book is not cut and dry. The message is not: White people bad, black people good. No one race is this book is glorified, and no one race is vilified. It's simply stating that centuries of systematic oppression has led our society to this violent point and that it is unacceptable.


Things I didn't like:

1. Some of the slang used felt awkward. I think that in 15 years when someone picks up this book, some of the language used will seem dated. I just hope it doesn't take away from the important message this book in trying to convey.

2. Some of the conversations were awkwardly placed. In the middle of a violent riot, Starr and her friends start quizzing her white boyfriend about his likes and dislikes and teasing him when they think his answers are a result of him being a white boy. Now, I'm not going to get into whether or not this constituted 'reverse racism' (I hate that term, by the way. Racism is racism, no matter the recipient), but I do think it was a very strange halt in the action. Like I said, they are literally in the middle of a riot where people are looting about burning down buildings around them, and they're laughing and joking about macaroni and cheese. I feel like it lessened the impact of what was going on in the story. That conversation could've happened at a different time in the story.

3. I wish that Starr's friends (at school and home) were fleshed out a little more. This includes Chris, her boyfriend. I liked them together, and I liked that their relationship forced her father to address his own misconceptions.
I also thought that Hailey's character seemed a little extreme, but I disagree with people saying her reactions were exaggerated. I've seen and heard people who say things just as heinous and then say, "I'm not racist! I've got a black friend!"

All in all, this was a very powerful read. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is not an easy story, but it is important.

Black Lives Matter.