Harvest of hatred

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter navigates two contrasting worlds: the poor black neighborhood where she lives, riddled with gangs, drug dealing and poverty, and the posh high school she attends in the white suburbs. The uneasy balance between these two worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the murder of her childhood friend at the hands of a white police officer. Events escalate and the news of his murder makes headlines and news bulletins, with some supporting his murder and others demanding justice for him, some describing him as a criminal and drug dealer, and protesters taking to the streets demanding justice for him and for hundreds of oppressed people around the world who suffer under the whips of injustice and the arbitrariness of the machines of racism and class discrimination.

Everyone wants to know what happened that night, and because Starr is the only eyewitness in this case, what she says - or doesn't say - could turn her community upside down and put her life in danger. It tells the story of an ordinary girl in exceptional circumstances, addressing racism, police brutality, double standards, distorting facts and other important topics. The novel has won numerous awards and has been at the top of bestseller lists for a long time.