Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.

In Chapter Nine, Lisa tells this story when Starr blames herself for the Garden Heights strife after the first night of riots. Lisa comforts Starr by sharing the story of Starr’s birth, and how despite Lisa taking such care during pregnancy, Starr couldn’t breathe when she was first born. Here, Lisa offers a model for how to cope despite an unjust system. Just as Lisa could only control certain factors in her pregnancy, Starr has limited control over whether the legal system pursues justice for Khalil. The police’s initial decision not to press charges against One-Fifteen is an early example of the many failures of justice throughout The Hate U Give, and Starr cannot take personal responsibility for all of them.