The Hate U Give

Starr Carter is a 16-year-old Black girl who lives in the fictional, mostly-poor Black neighborhood of Garden Heights but attends an affluent, predominantly-white private school, Williamson Prep. After a gun goes off at a party Starr is attending one weekend, her childhood best friend Khalil is driving her home when they're stopped by a white police officer who has Khalil, who is Black, exit the car; outside it, Khalil reaches into through the open driver-side window to check on Starr and picks up a brush. Thinking the object is a gun, the officer fires three shots into Khalili, killing him. His death becomes a major national news story. Starr's identity as the witness is initially kept secret from nearly everyone outside her family except for her two best friends, Hailey Grant and Maya Young, and her white boyfriend Chris, who attend Williamson Prep together, all unaware of Starr's connection to the news story. Having to keep this secret weighs on Starr, as does her need to keep her Williamson and Garden Heights personas separate.