The Hate U Give

 The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Pages: 454

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr."

Such an emotional roller coaster story of someone who has her foot in two different worlds. I highly recommend that it be read as words cannot express how much this book made me feel and think about the world we are living in.

Algorithms of Oppression

 Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

By Safiya Umoja Noble

Pages: 256

"In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color."

I started reading this as a part of a class assignment and got pulled in to finish the rest of it. The conversation that Safiya has started with this book really makes me rethink how I use the internet and the repercussions it has on minorities. My one critique is that she often repeats the same examples and re-explains her concept that she outlined in the first chapter throughout the whole book.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I loved the characters in this book; I loved the familial relationships. I loved that everything was personal; it was about being a part of a community. I loved that it showed people in their humanity, because often times people are in bad situations to protect the people around them. I love that it talked about the importance of having and using your voice.
I like to think that I'm close to the situation, because I'm from Missouri, and I went to Mizzou during the 2015 protests, but I won't ever truly understand what it's like; so, I loved having the perspective of someone who was in those situations.
(I'm also just a giant shipper, so Starr and Chris were killing me)
464 Pages