This book is 100% relevant to what is going on in today's society. Kids stopped by the police for being black and one of them is shot dead for no reason other than their color. This is happening so much in the real world and Angie Thomas writes an anthem for today's youth: do the right thing and it probably won't matter if you're the "wrong" color. This book made me angry at how much truth it spews, and I'm a thirty-something middle class white female! Ugh. Summary - Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter has to maintain two personalities. One, she is Starr in her neighborhood where her ex-ganglord father runs the local grocery store. The other, she is Starr in her prep school 45 minutes from home where she is one of two African-American students. She lives both of these lives with her head held high and is a good kid, a good student. When attending a neighborhood party, she runs into an old friend, Khalil, and they reminisce about their childhood friendship. When shots ring out at the party, the two get in Khalil's car, and they're out driving when stopped by a police officer. Khalil asks why they're stopped and the officer tells him to get out of the car. When Khalil leans into the door to make sure Starr is ok, the officer shoots him. Now Starr is the witness, torn between her two worlds, and Khalil's death makes national headlines. Riveting, thought-provoking, and so spot-on with today's headlines, Thomas's novel could be "The Outsiders" for this generation.
Mrs. Denney's Rating: ***1/2