Angie Thomas: Stories That Speak

About Angie Thomas: 

   Angie Thomas is a very popular American Author with stories known for race, identity, friendship, and more. Born on September 20, 1988.  Thomas grew up in a sad African American neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi. There, she experienced a very harsh experience with drug dealing and guns. A lot of what happened shaped and rolled into her future career where this made her find peace in books. She went on to study creative writing at Belhaven University in Jackson, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2011. (1)

Angie's Big hitter: 

   Summary of the Novel: 

    In 2011, Angie Thomas was a student at Belhaven University, where she started writing her first novel, The Hate U Give (2). The book tells the story of 16-year-old Starr Carter, who lives in a poor neighborhood and goes to a private school in a wealthy, white suburb (2). Her identity widens when Starr witnesses a white cop kill her friend Khalil. Thomas wanted this book to have a universal appeal. The big hit grew from a short story she wrote as a student in 2009 after the killing of Oscar Grant. Thomas was inspired to expand the story while she was working as a secretary in Bishop. Even though the book was such a big hit, Thomas did explore the fantasy genre but was up in the air on it. A professor suggested that she should use her own experiences, so that is what she did.

Success of the Novel: 

Angie was scared to approach agents because the book was based around Black Lives Matter. However, when she made the decision to use Twitter to contact her agent, it paid off. She then submitted the novel to We Need Diverse Books and was awarded one of its five Walter Dean Myers grants in 2015. Two years later, The Hate U Give was published to critical and popular acclaim. The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times bestseller list, launching Thomas to international fame (1). It was the recipient of many awards, including the 2017 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for fiction, and was named a Coretta Scott King Honor Book in 2018. A movie based on the novel was released in 2018 to positive reviews (1).

Angie Thomas Other Works: 

    Angie Thomas has written several more books than The Hate U Give. "On the come up", A similar setting and deal as The Hate you give. "Concrete Rose" is a prequel to The Hate U Give. " Nick Blake and the Remarkable" has the "Manifestor Prophecy" and The Book of Anansi" which are very different from The Hate U Give. There is several different books written by Angie that all have impacts on other people's lives. 

Angie's Impact on Others: 

   

     Angie has impacted lots of people through her novels, but especially through The Hate U Give. This novel makes young people speak up on issues that are affecting communities. Angie's book helps the reader understand different experiences than their own. This can make not just the readers, but everyone speak out and try and take action and make a difference based off of what Angie writes. Her writings truly make people think on the struggles and what really goes on this world and how people are treated.  

Works Cited:

“Angie Thomas.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Angie-Thomas.

“About Angie Thomas.” Book Analysis, https://bookanalysis.com/angie-thomas/.

“Angie Thomas, Author of The Hate U Give: ‘Books Play a Huge Part in Resistance.’” The Guardian, 27 Jan. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/27/angie-thomas-the-hate-u-give-interview-famous-fans-readers.