WEEK FOUR-2. The Hate U Give

Chapter 18, 19, 20

18:     The parents abruptly bring the three kids to a new neighborhood and unfamiliar house. Starr was disoriented by the environment contrasting with Garden Hills (where they reside). When being told this was their new home, all of them were bewildered and beyond excited. Sekani asks his father if he is settled on living in the suburb with "fake" people, as he calls white people, but Maverick replies his family's safety is always a priority. 

    As they chat on the floor of their new home, Sekani tattles that Seven is planning on enrolling into a Central Community instead of a University, for the reason of taking care of his siblings. Maverick is so proud of his son grasping the opportunity of being accepted into top schools with a scholarship, so he is infuriated and shocked. Maverick lectures Seven cannot miss out on such extraordinary opportunities and deny going to prestigious schools that have already offered Seven a seat. When the family arrives home, gunshots interrupt their family time watching basketball. Starr is certain they are coming for her and outraged by her speeches on television and other public gatherings. Although Starr's mom confirms her safety supersedes and prevails over anything, as does Maverick. Inwardly, Starr's worries only escalate. 

19:     The day of justice arrives. Today, Starr will speak at the court to secure Khalil's justice. As they make their way to the courthouse, Starr reminisces a trip to visit her dad in the court, back when she was still three. She had innocently complimented his orange jumpsuit, but Maverick told her never to wear one herself. 

    Enormous fear, anxiety, and worrisome mingled within her as she entered the grand jury. Since even her family is not allowed to enter the courtroom, with prodigious support she promises Khalil to tell the truth of what happened that night. The DA questions if Starr is ready to speak the truth of the happening. Notwithstanding her profuse fear, she announces she is ready, for the sake of her family, friends, and Khalil. 

20:    Starr was overloaded with innumerable questions, and stayed at the grand jury for three hours. Two weeks later, results have not been announced yet. She explains her feelings as if waiting for a meteor to hit. 

    As Starr arrives at school, her two best friends are having a conversation. Hailey calls Starr a liar, with evidence of Starr and Khalil at her 12th birthday party, taken from the media. The two start raging at each other about things they've done in the past and how they owe one another an apology. As the fight intensifies, Hailey proclaims that Khalil was a 'thug' who would've died anyway, and the police only did everyone a favor. The concealed side of Starr suddenly inflicted, threw a punch right into Hailey's face, and that was the beginning of an intense fight. Both of the girls' brothers join in, and eventually, all of them received three-day suspensions. 

Thoughts

    As a reader, where they reside was not too much of a concern. However, once the parents announced they were moving neighborhoods, through the narration I could really perceive how life-changing and thrilled they were. There were no detailed explanation of Maverick and the bond he had with their old community, but seeing that he reconciled his love for his family was heartwarming. I do not know what they consider "fake" and "real", but taking every chance to keep family safe is the most "real" thing that Maverick probably could've done. 

Once they arrived home, the Carls family was having the time of their life. The illustration of this divine family time was exceptionally long so I was flicking through the pages without reading it too deeply. With all the commentatory on basketball, it really reminds me of how this book is brimming with pop culture references. I enjoyed reading about the family time they spent, bundled in front of the TV, full of evocative detail. Until gunshots were narrated and the house windows were broken. All these shocks happening are so abruptly, and there is always a thump in my heart when it happens. But I guess this is how it is for them in reality as well. 

    Many characters appear in these chapters, for it is the day of Starr going to the grand jury. There are adequate security and ample love from a strong and supportive family which was so empowering to read. Starr has already gone through enough, yet still challenges to speak under such pressure in front of a formal audience which is truly inconceivable to me. Notwithstanding the burden, hopefully, some of it is taken off of her shoulders with succor and comfort. 

Part 3 (21)& 4 (22)

21:     The Carter's (Starr's family) host a birthday party/graduation party for Seven in Uncle Carlos's backyard. Each of the family's friends is invited, which means Maya and Chris are too. Starr is nervous about her two completely contrasting worlds colliding at a big event. Along with those two, DeVante, Kenya, and her other friends are all there. Long story short, they all have a divine time, with no problems at all, getting along supremely well. 

    The doorbell rings, and as Starr goes to check who it is, in the camera is Iesha (Seven's step-mother (?) and Kenya's mother, Maverick's ex-wife). Iesha demands to be informed on why she isn't invited to her son's big event. Seven claims he has never been treated like a 'beloved son', in the hands of Iesha, but she comes back at him calling Seven ungrateful. Their conflict intensifies until both of them walk away dementedly. 

22:     Ms.Ofrah calls to inform Starr that the Grandy Jury's decision will be announced today. Chris picks Starr up and drives them to his house. As the two talks, Starr admits she probably thinks the jury will not indict the police officer who shot Khalil. Starr becomes insecure and does not even know if they should be dating, but as always, Chris's heartful and assuring words embraced her warmly. 

    At Chris's house, Starr suddenly receives a call from her brother being informed DeVante is gone and probably in trouble. They hurriedly rush to Iesha's house. Kenya calls the friend group into an upstairs room where DeVante lays bleeding. Iesha flings the door open, and orders Seven to bring DeVante, Kenya, and Lyric (her children and the boy in excruciating pain) out somewhere. As Starr walks out of the room last, she observes Iesha flirting with King (her husband), and it clicks. She is not so much of a bad person. In fact, she is distracting King from the escaping children. Starr explains Iesha is managing King herself even if he gets violent after noticing DeVante has disappeared. Seven hears what Starr is saying and feels the urge to go protect her but the others encourage him to keep driving and for once, feel the love and take whatever Iesha is willing to give. 

Thoughts

Strangely enough, I felt like a bystander overwhelmed watching all this chaos happen before my eyes. However, what I was most impressed by was how understanding and genuine Chris (Starr's boyfriend) was. He has never undergone such hardships Starr faces only a daily, yet his effort to at least know what she has to cope with is inspiring and astounding. 

Iesha being discourteous when informed of not being invited to the part really infuriated me. I did not think she had the worth to celebrate her son's birthday with such less care and love. However, just like Khalil being distant from his mother, all in all, our real mothers are the one and only mother who gave us birth and there are no objectives to that. Although my lungs were tightened in vexation, I learned to cope with my feelings while reading it. 

When Starr's friend confronted her with pictures of her and Khalil, she was more focused on Khalil than her friends accusing her. She probably recognized that even when she thought they were having fun, the debilitating effects of poverty were very much evident in Khalil's life. Starr had always known he was a sweet person, but now the information is out there, her fears of being judged no longer must've been revitalizing. 

Starr having to keep her two worlds apart from each other must've been excruciatingly tough and painful. When she admitted her two worlds colliding, the relief in me was unreal. Moreover, the difference between her words is apparent from the text or wording she uses which is really interesting as real. Her literature and speech are much more sophisticated around her white friends, and more slang is included when talking with her black friends which seems more like herself. 

I love how every chapter in this book ends with a robust hit of emotion. For example, this one was (All in all, it's a good day. Good days don't last forever though.) which was impossible for me to put down the book. 

Part 5 (23)

23:     The teenagers all load into the car and head to their grandparents' house. Seven vows to help Starr cope with handling the grand jury's decision, and do whatever her heart desires. She unaccustomedly announces she wants to protest and riot. Chris asks what riot will do, and what burning houses will do. Starr claims white people do not understand anything. They leave the little ones and ride to where everyone is protesting. Members of both gangs are severely shouting at the top of their lungs standing on top of police cars. The loud crowd chant "F*** the police", but when the people start burning down businesses and especially black-owned businesses, she recoils. Starr realizes this is not the catharsis she was willing to obtain. 

    The police show up with riot gears. As the violence escalates to the point of danger, Starr points out the people burning things do not live in the neighborhood and are only fed up. 

Thoughts

    When I first witnessed riots through social media last year, I was out of words for what I saw on my tiny screen. I did not know how to feel about riots because some say that is the only way people can achieve people's attention. I gave it my all to understand the burning anger in black people, and after trying every as peaceful as possible, still, nothing is gain. So, I came to the conclusion that I comprehend the want to do such destructive riots. 

    On the other hand, some people will actually lose their jobs completely, and will not be able to make a living due to these riots. Not everyone who lives in that neighborhood may be doing racist things (that may not be the concern, but) and the majority may even be oppressed people. Black-owned businesses already have a hard time surviving in a world literally made for everyone except black people. 

    There were innumerable times I thought that Chris would leave Starr and possibly break up, but they did not. In fact, Chris was the one stopping Starr from pulling away and let all these things get to her. I anticipated that Starr was living vicariously through her boyfriend, but that support is undoubtedly what she needs under this circumstance.