'The Hate U Give' and our favorite socially conscious books

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Angie Thomas' new YA novel The Hate U Give. The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, a black teen who witnesses her unarmed friend Khalil get shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. In addition to having to face the trauma of witnessing the shooting, as the sole witness to the incident, Starr finds herself at the center of the trial against the cop that shot Khalil. But after speaking to her police department about the incident, Starr quickly learns that any sense of justice following the shooting is going to be hard fought — rather than investigating the officer, the authorities conduct a character attack on Khalil, who was a drug dealer at the time of his death, with rumors circulating that he may have been in a gang. Now, mourning the loss of her friend, Starr must figure out how to find her voice and speak out, even while both cops and people in her neighborhood seek to silence her. Then, inspired by the way The Hate U Give addresses gun violence and police brutality, we discuss our favorite socially conscious literature including Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, and Shrill by Lindy West.
Aliza recommends Harry Styles' solo album Harry Styles. "His stuff is so good. It's got this '70s/ '80s vibe. I was literally listening to it on loop for a good two days."
Martha recommends Amandla Stenberg's cover of Mac DeMarco's song Let My Baby Stay. "She directed the video and edited it, and it's so amazing. She's so talented." You can watch the performance here. Martha also recommends watching The Bachelorette.
MJ recommends the Twitter account WeRateDogs™, a Twitter account that gives very optimistic and absurd ratings to dog photos.

This week on the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Angie Thomas' new YA novel The Hate U Give. 

The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, a black teen who witnesses her unarmed friend Khalil get shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop. In addition to having to face the trauma of witnessing the shooting, as the sole witness to the incident, Starr finds herself at the center of the trial against the cop that shot Khalil. But after speaking to her police department about the incident, Starr quickly learns that any sense of justice following the shooting is going to be hard fought — rather than investigating the officer, the authorities conduct a character attack on Khalil, who was a drug dealer at the time of his death, with rumors circulating that he may have been in a gang. Now, mourning the loss of her friend, Starr must figure out how to find her voice and speak out, even while both cops and people in her neighborhood seek to silence her.
 

Then, inspired by the way The Hate U Give addresses gun violence and police brutality, we discuss our favorite socially conscious literature including Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, and Shrill by Lindy West.

Aliza recommends Harry Styles' solo album Harry Styles. "His stuff is so good. It's got this '70s/ '80s vibe. I was literally listening to it on loop for a good two days."

Martha recommends Amandla Stenberg's cover of Mac DeMarco's song Let My Baby Stay. "She directed the video and edited it, and it's so amazing. She's so talented." You can watch the performance here. Martha also recommends watching The Bachelorette.

MJ recommends the Twitter account WeRateDogs™, a Twitter account that gives very optimistic and absurd ratings to dog photos.