Angie Thomas is an American young adult author. She was born in Jackson, Mississippi, where she still resides but considers Atlanta her home (2), on September 20, 1988. (1) She is known for her novel, The Hate U Give. Which was started as a senior project in college. (2) Angie grew up in an economically depressed neighborhood. In her childhood, she was exposed to many things. These things consisted of gun violence, drug dealing, and much more. She found a safe place when writing books. When she was younger, she wasn't only an author, but she performed as a rapper. (1) With the need for diverse books, Thomas submitted her novels to a nonprofit organization. (1)
The Hate U Give:
Not only is this a book but it's also a movie. The Hate U Give is a novel by Angie Thomas. The novel has a theme of racism, police brutality, and struggles for justice and equality. This novel is The New York Times' Number one best-selling novel. The novel is about a 16-year-old female, Starr Carter, who moves between two worlds, the poor neighborhood and the fancy suburban prep school (3). Starr witnessed the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer, after being pulled over for no reason other than being black. All because he reached for a hairbrush. Khalil was unarmed and killed because of the color of his skin. The balance between Starr's two worlds was shattered. (3) After the shooting of Khalil, people in the Suburban Prep School started to call Khalil a "thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger." (4) There were also protests in the name of Khalil. Local police and drug lords tried to terrorize Starr and her family. (3) Stating that she can't talk and if she did, terrible things could happen. People wanted the information on Khalil's death and what actually happened on that tragic night. Starr is the only one who knows what actually happened on that tragic night. What Starr does or doesn't say could upset her community. (3) The spilling of Khalil's death could also put her and her family in a dangerous environment. The novel, The Hate U Give, is a story based off of Angie Thomas's childhood, and to this day a bunch of other people's childhoods. It is also related in many ways to today's environment, society, racism, police brutality, and the struggle for justice and equality.
Other Works:
Angie Thomas's second novel, On the Come Up, is another New York Times Best Seller. (2) This novel is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Bri who wants to be a rapper. (4) She is the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big. (4) With her mother losing her job unexpectedly, food banks and shutoff notices are piling up. (4) This story is about fighting for your dreams. Even though you are struggling and going through a rough time become who you are and want you want to be, not what everyone expects you to be. (4) In the year 2020, she released Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. Angie Thomas shares her advice and best practices for developing a true writing project. (4) Find Your Voice ignites creativity and helps bring your own unique stories to life. (4) In 2021, she returned to Garden Heights with Concrete Rose, which is a prequel to The Hate U Give. (2) Concrete Rose is about a sixteen-year-old boy named Maverick Carter. He is the son of a gang legend. Maverick knows one thing and that is a real man takes care of his family. (4) Maverick takes care of his family, the only way he knows is dealing with the King Lords. (4) Maverick has everything under control until he finds out he is going to be a father. (4) With suddenly having a baby, a baby who depends on him for everything, it is not easy. Trying to sling dope, finish out school, and raise a child. (4) He is offered a chance to go straight and when it is offered, he takes it (4) with no hesitation. When Lord King's Blood is in your veins, you can't just get up and walk away. Maverick is threatened to be taken apart because of loyalty, revenge, and responsibility. (4) Maverick is going to have to figure out for himself what the definition to be a man actually means, especially after the brutal murder of a family member. (4)
Interview #1: Angie Thomas: the debut novelist who turned racism and police violence into bestseller
When Ms. Thomas was growing up, she witnessed drug dealing and gun violence, she wrote her novel off of her own childhood. "When I was six, I was at the park, and two drug dealers decided to recreate the Wild West with a shootout, ... I ended up running out of the crossfire, and, the very next day, my mom took me to the library, because she wanted me to see that there was more to the world than what I saw that day." (5) That was stated by Thomas in an interview. Thomas was inspired by the deaths of people (5) to write about police brutality, racism, the struggle for justice, and the struggle for equality. When Thomas was younger, she supported the organization as well as shared their missions. (5) When Thomas was younger, she saw and felt the lack of black authors. (5) Thomas used what is seen as a negative light, gangbanging, as a device to create empathy towards her characters who were current or former gang members or drug dealers themselves. (5) It would also lure in readers who never encountered a conversation about black identities and consciousness. (5)
Interview #2: Talking with Angie Thomas, Author of the Best-selling YA Novel Inspired by Black Lives Matter
A week after Angie Thomas's young adult novel, The Hate U Give, was published, it shot up to the top of the New York Times. The Hate U Give came out and sold more than 100,000 copies. (7) When saying "Black Lives Matter" to different people you get many different reactions. Angie knew there were many calls for diversity in children's lit, but she as a person of color, asked herself how diverse is too diverse? (7) She took a chance and asked if the Black Lives Matter movement was an appropriate topic for a novel so, she messaged her now agent, Brooks Sherman about the topics. He didn't see anything about them inappropriate. (7) In many cases many unarmed black people lost their lives, and many victims were still very young. (7) These victims were Trayvon Martin (age of 17), Tamir Rice (age of 12), Michael Brown (age of 18) and many more. When young people see this, they are affected by it. (7) Young boys who she knew in her neighborhood said that it could have been them. When they see this, they see themselves. Thomas wanted to write her books for them. (7) Teenagers are finding their voices, and this is one topic they are vocal about. (7) Starting with building empathy in them, some things we fight for now, we won't have to in the future. (7) The book The Hate U Give is what many people go through. There are stereotypes about if you sound ghetto, or use a lot of slang, that is what makes you black. (7)
Influences:
Personal Reflection
Throughout reading Angie Thomas's short stories and novels, you learn a lot about what type of writer she is. Many individuals can relate to what Thomas writes about. I have seen protests firsthand in my hometown. I feel like "Black Lives Matter" is a heavy topic for many people. I think that these innocent people shouldn't have had to go through police brutality, racism, or struggle for justice and equality. Sadly, people have to go through what Angie Thomas has written about. For example, in her novel The Hate U Give, Khalil Starr's childhood best friend was shot because of the color of his skin. In the present time, this still happens. Rodney King was beaten by the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) after he was arrested on June 17, 2012. George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer after being arrested on May 25, 2020. Breonna Taylor was fatally shot when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment, as part of a drug dealing operation investigation. African Americans go through this daily. I think we need more authors like Angie Thomas.
(1)“Angie Thomas.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Angie-Thomas. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
(2)Angie Thomas, angiethomas.com/about/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
(3)Angie Thomas, angiethomas.com/the-hate-u-give/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
(4)“The Hate U Give (the Hate U Give, #1).” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
(5)“Angie Thomas: The Debut Novelist Who Turned Racism and Police Violence into a Bestseller.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/26/angie-thomas-the-debut-novelist-who-turned-racism-and-police-violence-into-a-bestseller.
(6) Cachero, Paulina. “Author Angie Thomas on How Books Empower the next Generation.” Time, Time, 6 Aug. 2020, time.com/5875827/author-angie-thomas-time-100-talks/.
(7) Evans, Dayna. “This Author Wrote a Best-Selling Novel Inspired by Black Lives Matter.” The Cut, The Cut, 20 Mar. 2017, www.thecut.com/2017/03/angie-thomas-the-hate-u-give-interview-ya-novel.html.
I agree that we need more writers like/more recognition brought to authors such as Angie Thomas. I remember seeing the movie of The Hate U Give and how it impacted me. It made me think a lot about how different my experience is with the police force than that of a black individual.
ReplyDeleteI feel like your blog is very well written, well organized, and insightful. I like how you wove together bits of personal information about the author throughout the blog and not just within your introduction. I also feel like I was very informed by the end of it on Thomas's work and felt like I wanted to read more.