By Sandra Rivadeneira and Julie Yu
Malden Reads is a reading organization for the Malden community, encouraging Maldonians to read and participate. It is a program inspired by the motto, “One City, One Book,” that collaborates with the Malden Public Library and MATV. Every year there is a new central book. They started to select books every year starting off with The Soloist in 2011. In 2016, Malden Reads picked The Martian by Andy Weir and A Man Called Ove by Fedrik Backman for the 2017 book selection.
The book selection of 2018 is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This novel was published on February 28th, 2017, and has already received many high praise from authors such as John Green and has received awards in The Boston Globe Horns Awards. In the first month after release, the novel sold over 100,000 copies and since then has been one of the top books on the New York’s Best Sellers list. The Hate U Give is the second time that a young adult novel is chosen as Malden Reads book selection, the first time being The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie which was the main book selection in the year 2013.
The Hate U Give is centered around racism and how impactful it is in a person of color’s life. It is a heavily inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. This young adult novel is about a 16-year-old black girl named Starr Carter who lives two very different worlds, the poor neighborhood she lives in and the rich and fancy suburban prep school. She goes through a life-changing situation when she watches her unarmed best friend get shot by a white police officer. Everyone is asking Starr about the night her friend was shot, but Starr worries that whatever she says might harm her home, family and her life.
Originally this project was not intended to be an actual book. In 2009, on New Year’s Day, a 22-year-old African American man was shot by police officers. This news put Thomas in a shock. In her senior year of college, she developed a short story for her creative writing program. What started as a short story slowly expanded, and later became a book.
Chemistry Teacher, and Class of 2018 Advisor, Katherine Haskell explained how there was not one reason as to why the book was good. She had stated that “The storyline was relevant” and how it gave another side we don’t always see, “it gave a voice to victims and the families”. Not only was the storyline in a present-day setting, but so was the dialogue between the characters. “ The dialogue is true to how urban teenagers speak”, which gives the reader a sense of relatability. Haskell stated that she loved how all the characters didn’t come from perfect backgrounds, “which made it even more realistic”. Because events in the book relate to real-world problems, “ it gives people a view from a new perspective”.
The book is a tremendous success among the youth audience. Being published on February 28th, 2017, The Hate U Give has already been offered a movie adaption by 20th Century Fox. The lead as Starr Carter has been given to the actress Amandla Stenberg who is known for other young adult movies such as Everything, Everything, and The Hunger Games. Other castings include Sabrina Carpenter, current music artist and former Disney star, and Anthony Mack, known as Falcon in multiple Marvel movies.
The selection for the Malden Reads 2018 book is a very serious and thoughtful process. When finalists are announced and the final votes can only be done by members who have read all the books. Some of 2018’s finalists included The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd and American Street Ibi Zoboi. For now, pick up a copy of The Hate U Give and see what all this talk is about.
