Play Book Tag discussion

Great book. The wonderful thing about reading in general and specifically reading outside your own areas of experience is the ability to step into another world. Sometimes that world is one of fantasy and sometimes it is harsh reality.

Starr Carter is a 16-year-old African-American girl who lives in the fictional, mostly poor black neighborhood of Garden Heights (City and State unknown), but attends an affluent predominantly white private school, Williamson Prep. She struggles constantly with the different types of "Starr" she has to be - one at home in Garden Heights and a different person when at school with her other (mostly white) friends (although Maya is Chinese.)

The book starts as she's shamed by a close Garden Heights friend to attend a local party. She meets up again with former very close friend, Kahlil, who she hasn't seen in many years even though they grew up together from the age of 3. There is gun shot and they decide to leave the party. We are there as they are stopped by a police officer and it leads to a police shooting. How is the shooting handled by the authorities? How does Starr handle the trauma, and how does her family deal with it? I was struck by the calm dealing by the family when there are sounds of violence and gun shot. The reader is also introduced to kind neighbors at Starr's home and her father's store. On the other hand there are gangbangers and the tension caused by them for those living in the neighborhood.

There is blame for the police and the authorities but Starr's uncle is also a police detective so she knows it isn't all police nor all white people and, in fact, they know that so much of the problem is the violence in the neighborhood by the gangs and just plain poverty for so many of the residents.

The end is satisfying and very tense. I was awake all hours finishing this book!

Nice review, Barbara. This was such a tough book but a good one nonetheless.

This was such a powerful, necessary book.

Definitely on my TBR, hope to get to it soon!

I thought this was a great book too when I read it. The characters felt very real to me. I loved how the author wrote their dialogue.

Has anyone seen the movie? I read the book and I always love to watch the film or TV adaptation but in this case I really didn't want to be heartbroken again, and visually. Looked like a really good cast though.

Meli wrote: "Has anyone seen the movie? I read the book and I always love to watch the film or TV adaptation but in this case I really didn't want to be heartbroken again, and visually. Looked like a really goo..."

I shied away from seeing the movie for the same reasons.

Also haven't watched the movie. Sometimes the book is so pristine, I don't want to tarnish the memories with a mediocre movie.