Today’s post for Book vs Film focuses on The Hate You Give. On this occasion I will briefly review both film and book before giving my opinion on which is better. Read and let me know if I am correct in my assessment.
Be warned! Spoilers may occur!
The Book:
I remember being blown away the first time I read The Hate You Give. The writing was powerful and moving. I remember being concerned at the time, because there was a lot of hype for the book. Was it just one of those books that I would read and be disappointed by. Underwhelmed by the story.
That was not the case then and definitely not the case on my reread of the book. For me the story was all the more powerful and compelling.
I felt like I understood Starr more. She was more relatable, and her difference in personality at home and school were more understandable. Although I still felt on this reread that her relationship with Chris was still the weakest part of the book.
The Film:
I thought that the film was a fantastic adaption of of the book. Managing to balance the light and the dark, and the hate and love, which one being suffocated by the other.
One moment that sits with you throughout is a scene at the beginning when Starrs father tell her and her older brother how to behave if stopped by the police. It’s a moment where you think that this not right. But then Starrs childhood friend is shot by the police. And that’s when the injustice sinks in.
And it is this that will hit you again and again throughout. The film doesn’t shy away from this moments. But instead embraces them. Showing not only the big obvious signs of racism but also the subtler forms. From kids pretending to be ‘street’ to the police having a different reaction depending on a person’s skin colour.
And then the casting itself is amazing, as each and every single person was how I imagined when I read the book. Which made the film pretty perfect in my mind.
Opinion:
I felt like there wasn’t much difference between the two.
The film felt like it was after my tears! I mean, it was effective, and it uses your emotions to make the point hit home. But there was some clunkiness to it that I can’t remember while reading the book.
And after reading the book it definitely felt like it was a modern classic, as it was insightful, and truthful. Providing answers rather than questions. All the while pointing out the wrongs but never being preachy. Learning about the barriers and inequalities are a learning curve for both the reader/watcher and Starr.
Winner:
This was a super close one but the book is definitely the winner as my emotions were all over the place!
However, if you only wanted to watch or read The Hate You Give, I think you would still get the same feelings. This is honestly one story that you don’t want to miss.
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