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Genre
The Hate U Give is a bildungsroman or coming-of-age novel. It is also an example of YA (young adult) fiction.
Narrator
Starr Carter narrates The Hate U Give as events unfold.
Point of View
Starr speaks in the first person, offering commentary and insight into how events make her feel and providing background information. While her observations are subjective, Starr does not intentionally distort the truth, and in fact tries to clarify as much as possible the way she feels and why.
Tone
Starr tells the story in a colloquial manner as if talking to a friend. She reacts to events as they occur, leading to a wide range of emotions as she experiences them.
Tense
The Hate U Give is told in the present tense.
Setting (Time & Place)
The novel is set in the 2010s. It is set in Garden Heights, an inner-city neighborhood in the southern part of the United States—possibly a fictionalized version of the Georgetown neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi, and the suburbs associated with that city.
Protagonist
Starr Carter is the protagonist of the novel.
Major Confict
After a police officer shoots her friend, Khalil, Starr Carter must gain the courage and confidence within herself to testify before a grand jury to seek justice for his death.
Rising Action
After One-Fifteen shoots Khalil, Starr gives a statement to the police about what happened. However, at Khalil’s funeral, Ms. Ofrah reveals that the police are not intending to prosecute One-Fifteen. Starr decides that she can no longer keep silent and agrees to testify before the grand jury. King warns Starr not to bring him into the testimony. Starr condemns both King and One-Fifteen on television.
Falling Action
The grand jury decides not to prosecute One-Fifteen. Starr speaks at the head of the protest but gets caught in the ensuing chaos when police throw cannisters of tear gas. Starr and her friends take refuge at the Carter family store, but King tosses a Molotov cocktail into the store and burns it down. The neighbors tell police that King started the fire, and the police arrest King.
Foreshadowing
Examples of foreshadowing in The Hate U Give include Khalil’s world-weariness, King threatening Maverick, Lisa’s anecdote about Starr’s birth, and Maverick worrying about the store.
