Angie Thomas-- Lilli

# Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas, inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, which actually started as her senior project in college. When it was acquired by publishers, it came out thriving at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015 and won numerous awards. The Hate U Give was #1 on the New York Times list and it also is on mine. This novel is high up on my favorites list and number one on my recommendation list. Angie Thomas didn’t stop there. She is an incredible writer as she tackles the subjects of racism and police brutality.

## Biographical Information

Angie Thomas, inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, which actually started as her senior project in college. When it was acquired by publishers, it came out thriving at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and won numerous awards. The Hate U Give was #1 on the New York Times list and it also is on mine. This novel is high up on my favorites list and number one on my recommendation list. Angie Thomas didn’t stop there. She is an incredible writer as she tackles the subjects of racism and police brutality.

Thomas was born in 1988-- raised and still lives in Jackson, Mississippi. During her early life, she was exposed to multiple gun violence instances. She witnessed a shootout at the young age of six. During an interview with The Guardian, Angie shared this story. She explained that the next day after witnessing the shootout, her mom brought her to a library. Her mom explained to her that there is more to the world than what she saw that day. This experience is what inspired her to write. Growing up, Angie dabbled in her music skills in rapping and hip hop. She attended Belhaven University where she was the first black teenager to graduate from her creative writing course while she received her degree in fine arts.

In college, one of Angie’s professors told her that her experiences were unique and that writing could give a voice to those who had been silenced and whose stories had not been told. Angie stated, "I want to make you think at times; I want to make you laugh at times; I want to make you cry at times – so he was an influence in that way." She explained this as she discussed her motivation as she writes.

Most recently, In 2020, Angie released Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal to Writing Your Truth with the goal of providing a tool to help aspiring writers use their voices to tell their stories. In 2021, Angie returns to the world of Garden Heights (where The Hate U Give and On The Come Up takes place) as she wrote the prequel that focuses on 17 year old Maverick Carter (Starr’s Dad) in the novel, Concrete Rose.

## Themes

**The Power of Language**

Something that Angie Thomas writes about is the power of language and our voices. When Angie Thomas Spoke at Central Piedmont Community College’s Halton Theater in March 2019, she discussed the importance of finding her voice. She encouraged and inspired the audience to find and use their voice.

The characters in Thomas’ novels all represent the inspiration and encouragement to use your voice. In her book, The Hate U Give, the main character, Starr, teaches readers to stand up for what she believes in. She uses her voice as power to influence others. In addition, in her next book, On The Come Up, the main character, Bri, uses her voice while rapping. She teachers readers to amplify their voices...literally!

**Racism and Police Brutality**

Angie Thomas touches on this topic in a lot of her books and writing. Specifically, in The Hate U Give, Thomas hits on this topic hard and strong and portrays an important message. In The Hate U Give, Starr, the main character, Starr, is battling between her two worlds; at home in Garden Heights and at her private school across town. One night, Starr is in the car driving with her friend, Khalil, when they are pulled over. Khalil steps out of the car and gets patted down by the police officer. When he opens the car door to check on Starr to ask if she is okay. The officer shoots and Starr watches her friend die. Starr struggles to voice her support for Khalil as she enters her school, especially as she is facing one of her best friends who is ridiculing her for utilizing social media to talk about police brutality. Starr faces many micro aggressions from some of her closest friends at her school. Thomas’ writing allows readers to understand implicit biases that are present and the negative effects that they have on black youth.

## Style

Angie Thomas writes her novels as told in first person from the point of view and perspective of the main characters. Specifically, The Hate U Give, is written from the perspective of Starr Carter, a 16 year old girl who witnessed her friend get shot and killed by a police officer. As Angie uses first person in her novels, we are able to see Starr’s thoughts and feelings and how she is perceiving what is happening. We feel what Starr is feeling and how she is navigating her two different “worlds” -- her preppy private school and her home life in Garden Heights-- as she narrates the story. Crafting this writing style is powerful and impactful for the readers and audience.

## Bibliography

https://angiethomas.com/

https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/08/27/the-hate-u-give-a-modern-wakeup-call-to-subtle-racism/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/26/angie-thomas-the-debut-novelist-who-turned-racism-and-police-violence-into-a-bestseller

https://www.nationalbook.org/people/angie-thomas/

https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author\_name=Angie+Thomas

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/angie-thomas/hate-u-give/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/search/angie%20thomas

## Criticism

When searching for reviews on Angie Thomas and all of her novels, I can honestly say that finding critiques was very difficult. Angie Thomas has won a ton of awards and has done such an incredible job inspiring people with her writing. The following reviews really speak for themselves and portray how amazing of an author she is!

According to Common Sense Media--

* The Hate U Give received 5/5 stars
* On The Come Up received 5/5 stars
* Concrete Rose received 5/5 stars