Tue, Apr 14
|Zoom
The Hate U Give
What does it cost to stay silent when you’ve witnessed the truth? This powerful story asks us to sit with the tension between safety and courage and to consider when speaking up becomes unavoidable.
Time & Location
Apr 14, 2026, 5:15 PM – 5:55 PM PDT
Zoom
About the event
We’ll be discussing The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, a novel following a Black teenage girl who witnesses police violence and must decide when and how to speak up.
The book examines code-switching, loyalty, protest, and the personal cost of telling the truth.
About the Author & Story
Angie Thomas is a novelist and former teen rapper who grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. Her writing is deeply shaped by her lived experience navigating a predominantly Black neighborhood and a mostly white private school, an experience that informs much of her work.
The Hate U Give is a work of fiction inspired by real events, including the police killing of Oscar Grant. The story follows Starr Carter, a Black teenage girl who witnesses police violence and must navigate grief, fear, loyalty, and the pressure to speak out.
Thomas has shared that her goal was not to write a political treatise, but a human story, one that centers the emotional complexity of young people living inside systems they did not create, yet are deeply affected by.
Why This Book Has Been Challenged
One of the most frequently banned books in the U.S., targeted for:
Depictions of police violence and racism
Use of profanity
Portrayals of protest and activism
What to Expect
This conversation centers on witnessing, silence, and courage. We’ll reflect on moments when staying quiet feels safer and what it takes to speak anyway.
Reading is optional. Curiosity and openness are enough.
We hope to see you there!
-Jonelle + Karen
This event is open to all genders and races, our book club is rooted in curiosity over certainty, connection over debate, and the belief that thoughtful stories can gently shift how we see ourselves and the world.