Book to Movie Review: The Hate U Give

     I almost didn’t review this. I thought I couldn’t. All I really wanted to say was “Perfect Movie is Perfect.” But even though it was, it deserves so much more than that. 

     I was blessed to get to go to this movie showing with my friend from work. She is a movie critic as well as a librarian, and when she got the advance screening for this one she said she immediately asked me. I couldn’t be more grateful. 

     In short, I loved it. My favorite part also happened to be my favorite part of the movie as well, the family dynamic. The cast brought my favorite bookish family to life on the big screen perfectly. They gelled so well and at times made me even forget I was watching a movie. The entire cast was PERFECT together. 

     As for Amandla Stenburg, she was PERFECT. My God y’all I felt every bit of emotion she brought to the screen. She is DESTINED to win some kind of award for this performance. She was so believable and so STARR. 

     As for the movie, it stays true to the book. Like really close. There’s some differences, but not enough to make bookworms pissed. It’s just the normal “we can’t have the movie be 8 hours long so…” Also, take tissues with you. I forgot mine and me and the person I went with used our hands, our shirts, napkins, everything. It’s so emotional. I cried the whole damn movie. We both walked out with puffy red eyes and huge smiles on our faces. 

     Lastly, yes Angie Thomas does make a cameo and honestly, this is the best cameo in a book to movie I’ve seen. It’s super fun and I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks when they catch her. Once the movie comes out, if you’ve seen it and missed it, I will let you know where it is! Just DM/email me to ask!)

     As for the set, it really brought Garden Heights to life for me. I really related to it because I was Starr when I was younger, school in a “different” place and all. It was surreal to watch it come to life. And if that’s how I felt, I can only imagine how Angie Thomas felt. 

     This movie is the best movie I’ve seen all year. I’ve already pre-ordered tickets to see it on opening night with my husband. Please y’all, go see this on opening weekend. We need more YA books to movies and more movies with more diversity. Show Hollywood these are the things we want to see.

     This book and now this movie are now huge parts of my life. I can’t wait for you all to see and love this as much as I did. I hope it makes as big an impact on you as it did me. 

Overall, I give this