Angie Thomas Best Books 📚

Yet apart from that, she also has other books she has written. Here are the top 5.

The Hate U Give

‘The Hate U Give‘ is her number one best-selling book that she published in 2017. It is a moving story of a teenage girl that witnessed the shooting of her friend by a police officer. The friend, Khalil was unarmed and posed no harm, but because the police officer had already racially profiled all black teenage boys in the neighborhood, he shot him as he reached for his hairbrush.

The protagonist Starr Carter goes through different emotions, from mourning her friend to keeping quiet about what she saw to finally deciding to speak up and get justice for her friend. The judges decided that they didn’t have enough evidence to indict officer one-fifteen, the one who shot the teen, and this led to a lot of protests and riots in the neighborhood. 

Because of the sensitive nature of the theme of police brutality, which is one of the themes in the book, she found it hard to go to agents after writing her book. However, she used Twitter to reach out to an agent, which turned out to be a wise decision, and she got her book published. The story was inspired by an actual shooting she witnessed in her neighborhood while growing up. This shooting of an unarmed black teenager and other black people in America gave rise to the Black lives matter movement, which was greatly impacted by this novel. At one point, police unions wanted to stop this book, but they didn’t succeed.

On the Come Up

This was Angie Thomas’ second book following the success of ‘The Hate U Give,’ her first book. In this book, the author returned to Garden Heights to explore the life of another young black girl and her friends, family, and neighborhood. On the Come Up tells the story of Bri, who is living in a post-Khalil world and wants to make it into the Hip Hop music business. The story follows Briann, popularly called Bri in the book, who wanted to become a rapper like her father. 

Thomas has mentioned that this novel is her answer to her critics and those who wanted ‘The Hate U Give’ banned or censored. The book shines the spotlight on the consequences of Bri’s actions as he fervently pursues her dreams. It was tough trying to be one of the greatest rap artists of all time. With her father dead and her mother losing her job, life was quite tough for her. She dreams of leaving her neighborhood and at least moving into a big city through her music. The book was published by Balzer + Bray on February 5, 2019, as a paperback.

Concrete Rose

This is Angie Thomas’ third book. In the book, she again went back to Graden Heights, the main venue for her stories. But this time, she went back in time, seventeen years earlier, before the events that happened in ‘The Hate U Give.’ In the book, we read the story of 17- years old Maverick Carter, who struggles to become a real man and take care of his family. His father, a former gang leader, was in prison, and his mother couldn’t make ends meet even with her two jobs. So he decided to start dealing with the King Lords so that he can help his family.

The seventeen-year-old had an almost perfect life until he found out that he is going to be a father. Angie decided to showcase the life of an African American boy as she focused on the girls in her two previous books. And she did very well with it. This book depicts the suffering the black boy goes through while trying to survive. It’s a gripping tale of black boyhood and manhood. It was published on January 12, 2021, by Balzer + Bray as a paperback.

This book was inspired by Tupac Shakur. It gives an insight into the lives of some of the characters in ‘The Hate U Give.’ You will understand Starr Carter’s parents more after reading this book. After Maverick felt his life was now arranged well, his girlfriend getting pregnant hit him hard. Now he is juggling so many responsibilities – still training to take care of his mom, his pregnant girlfriend, his gang members, and the racism in their society. It is a gripping tale that is as real as any and shows what really happens to a black man in such a city. 

Find Your Voice A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth

Apart from the three novels that Angie Thomas has written so far, she also wrote a guided journal. In the journal, Angie shares practical advice and best practices that anyone can use to write their truth.

The number one New York Times bestselling author included step-by-step craft ideas, writing prompts, tips, strategies, and exercises that any writer can use. Thomas shares tips on discovering story ideas, creating memorable characters, shaping your story, creating your setting, plus more. In the journal, you find many inspirational quotes from Angie’s other novels clearly illustrated. The journal is published in Paperback and softback and was published on March 5th, 2020. This is a journal that will surely help any writer in their writing project. 

Blackout

This is another work of Angie Thomas, but she didn’t do this alone. This was a collaboration between her and five other critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors. They brought the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark. It tells the story of what happened when a summer heatwave covers and totally blankets the city of New York and puts it into darkness.

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