The Hate U Give (final chapters) ;(

Chapter 24, 25

Summary

24:    Seven (Starr's older brother) said things will be alright. Everything went south.

    In the midst of escaping from the rampagious crowd, maneuvering through the streets, and struggling to find even one open road, Seven's car grunts and then stops. They are out of gas. As they get out of the car and walk towards the gas station, the teenagers approach the street where Khalil was killed where the protest is most intense. The people are chanting "A hairbrush is not a gun" since One-Fifteen confronted he mistaken the hairbrush in the car as a gun which led him to shoot him. Ms.Ofrah, the lady who listened to Starr's experience and an activist for BLM leads the crown from the top of a police car. The police call for dispersing. For a split moment, Starr recalls the night of Khalil's murder, and images of the happening are depicted in her head. 

    A little something is inflicted in Starr and she finally gains the urge to do something. After Starr insists she wants to take action, Ms.Ofrah leads her to the front of the protest. Starr introduces herself, and several cameras are now facing her way. The entire world now knows she is the one who was with Khalil when he was murdered. Starr states that the fact Khalil lived is more important than that he died. 

    As the crowd grows louder after hearing Starr's strong voice, the police are infuriated as well. The police throw tear gas at the crowd and then Starr picks up the canister and throws it back at them. Tear gas stings all their eyes and smoke permeates the atmosphere. As they are finding a way to find safety, a Goon offers a ride. Inside are an old couple with and a camera broadcasting the protest. Starr endeavors to keep her eyes open as she watches her neighborhood tremble, in horror. Fortunately, when they reach their dad's store, it is still intact. They tumble into the store and dive for some milk, covering themselves in it which somewhat heals their eyes. As they say goodbye to the couple who gave them a ride, suddenly, out of nowhere, a Molotov cocktail launches into the store and explodes. 

25:     Within seconds, the entire aisle is engulfed. As they all shove towards the back door, it doesn't budge. They do not have the keys and since it is a pretty unpredictable and dangerous community, of course, the door is bulletproof, kick-proof, shoulder-proof, everything-proof. They see Mr.Lewis and scream for help. Maverick and Lisa (Starr's parents) arrive shortly, opening the door and calling the ambulance. They all tremble to the floor and try to fill their lungs with fresh air while coughing and wheezing in their oxygen masks. 

    King drives up with a cigarette in his mouth, almost as if he is clearly showcasing himself as the arson. Maverick threatens King but he does not even flinch. People in the vicinity of Maverick's burning store all come out and say that King should be arrested. They leave King and Starr's parents come to talk to her. She explains she did not think the grand jury's decision was right, and insisted Khalil deserved better. Lisa reminds Starr that unfortunately, somethings go wrong even if you do everything right. Maverick grudgingly admits Chris (Starr's white boyfriend) did a good job protecting her and finally wants to know him more. 

    People cheer as the police arrest King for his barbarous acts. DeVante who has been injured even before all the smokey chaos, lies on the floor,, unable to move. He does not give up on apologizing to Uncle Carlos though. However, Uncle Carlos assures him that he and his family love him and will protect him if he becomes a witness. If he speaks up about seeing King obtain copious amounts of drugs. DeVante replies that if Starr can use her voice as her weapon, there is no better weapon for him to utilize. 

Thoughts

I admire the movement where people of young generations are using their own voices, no matter how young they may be, their voice is becoming powerful weapons. Moreover, these voices are moving huge groups of people across the world. It took ample guts and plentiful courage for Starr to speak up, and undoubtedly did take some time. However, that has now invigorated others like DeVante to use their voice and speak up about what they have witnessed. Battling against the many wrongs that permeate society. This chapter really brought me hope as well as the responsibility to use a voice and stay loud. 

They technically 'ditched' their old neighborhood to reside in a more comforting, quiet, and safe community. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and I have no oppositions to that. What I truly love about the chapter is how the whole family is trying to make things work. Whether if it for the mother to take more late hour shifts, or for the father to grow a farm, they'll do anything to persevere and make their kids' wishes come true.

I was shocked when Kenya told Starr that King severely hurt Iesha (his wife) after they had left the party, a few chapters ago. I had totally forgotten about that but when delivered the news, I felt as sad and bewildered as Starr probably was. To imagine the excruciating pain she must have gone through is just too unjustified. The conclusion of an episode is delivered to the reader a few chapters later when it actually happened, but these are the details that really make us readers feel included in the story. 

Chapter 26 (final chapter!)

Starr's speech on top of the police car and her throwing tear gas cans at the police are now discovered on every news channel. Even in the newspaper, her dad reads every morning. Ms.Ofrah calls to apologize to her parents for putting Starr in danger and for the grand jury verdict. However, she does say Starr has a future in activism. Starr receives tesk from multiple people. Maya texts her enthusiastically, praising what she saw on the news. Chris informed her that he was grounded but everything was totally worth it. Hailey pleads for their friendship to go back to how they used to be, but she isn't taking responsibility for her hurtful words so she comes to realize she is not worth keeping as a friend. Then deletes her contact.

The family stand in the front of the immensely ruined house, tearily. The family starts to clean up the store as Maverick still contemplates on whether to rebuild the house. As they sweat profusely mid-summer, under the bright sun, Kenya arrives. Kenya tells Starr she's proud of speaking out. Kenya confesses she has already been afraid Seven was a brother to her out of obligation, and a brother to Starr out of love. However, Starr strongly denies and confirms Seven is 'our' brother. (Seven's stepmother is Kenya's mother) When Kenya attacks her saying that Starr is always so embarrassed of Kenya and the neighborhood she lives in, Starr hasno choice but to admit the hurtful truth, but is not anymore. 

Starr wraps up the book, bringing it back to Khalil. She promises and vows to continuously fight for justice and for a better ending. She names real-life victims and the last one being, Emmet Till. 

Three lines on the last page, vowing she will not give up. 

Thoughts

    In this final chapter the 'ugly truths' come out, one after another. Notwithstanding the hurtful things Starr admits, but to me, they didn't appeal as 'ugly' as Starr perceives them to be. She shouldn't be ashamed of being ashamed of her neighborhood because there's a lot to it, much more than any slight embarrassment the average person has experienced in a lifetime.  

    A lot has happened in Starr's life, to the point that 'a lot' doesn't even justify the rollercoaster of events and emotions throughout the book. Thus, the story ends with a long chapter about family and the socialization of a warm neighborhood. After a long exhausting time, there is no boyfriend, no school teachers, no gossipy friends, no media being shoved into Starr's face. The peace and relaxation, the feeling of losing (Khalil) but gaining something more can be fathomed by this peaceful chapter. 

    Starr's narration in the last 2 pages completely differentiated from the past 25 chapters where words and thoughts were scattered across the page. These last paragraphs were permeated with the hope that didn't necessarily have a reason, but the power, the urge that was released from every fraction of her words were far from relinquishing. 

And that puts an end to the stupendous and formidable 437 pages of congested drama, reality, warmth, and realizations that truly touched my soul (and probably many others).  

"Once upon a time there was a hazel-eyed boy with dimples. I called him Khalil. The world called him a thug. He lived, but not nearly long enough, and for the rest of my life I'll remember how he died." -Starr Carter

After listing many black peoples' names who have been shot due to police brutality, Starr remarked, 

"There are so many more. Yet I think it'll change one day. How? I don't know. When? I definitely don't know. Why? Because there will always be someone ready to fight. Maybe it's my turn."

If I could, I would quote this entire book which would definitely not meet any guidelines of a Turnitin submission, but I hope for many many more to read this book. Truly a classic in the making. ;)