Friday, February 1, 2019

The Hate U Give Buddy Read Update #3

So this week Maria from A Night's Dream of Books and I read chapters 15-21 and I don't think we could have ended on a bigger cliffhanger.  Thank heavens I can read ahead (oops, did I say that?).    Below you will find the questions  Maria sent me this week so continue reading if you don't mind spoilers and then hop over to her blog and see what I asked her. 

1.) At the beginning of Chapter 15, Starr and her mom, Lisa, are having breakfast at an IHOP restaurant. They are also having a conversation about several things. What do you think of their mother-daughter relationship? Do you think Starr's mom is cool? 

I actually kind of have issue with the whole "cool mom" concept.  I think too many parents are worried about being cool and slack off on the parenting. I may be tainted from 14 years of investigative child abuse/neglect cases though.  That being said, I will say I think Lisa is a really good parent.  She is supportive and encouraging of her daughter but isn't afraid to call her out on her crap.  In addition, I think it's good that Starr and her siblings can see the interaction between Mav and Lisa.  They are aware the relationship has not always been perfect, but have also been able to see how they have worked through their personal problems (mainly Mav's) and gotten stronger.  Now as an outside adult, yea I personally think Lisa is pretty cool.

2.) Okay, I'm backing up to Chapter 14. How did you feel about the obvious contrasts between the interview in that chapter -- Officer Cruise's father was interviewed -- and Starr's own interview, in Chapter 16? 

The interview from Officer Cruise's father didn't really surprise me.  And to a point, I can understand wanting to stand up and protect his son.  However, I think his interview was solely focused on what all this has done to his son and his son's family and how he is being treated unfairly.  Starr's interview was primarily about Khalil.  On the whole she didn't make it personal and if I remember correctly, didn't even mention how hard the situation has been on her and her family.  Also, while critical of how the whole incident was handled, she didn't personally attack Cruise and I do feel his father contributed to the character assassination of Khalil.

3.) Were you surprised when Maverick showed his family the new house they'd be living in, which was located in a safer neighborhood? Why do you think he changed his mind about moving out of Garden Heights?

Actually not really.  I figured he would come around eventually on the concept of moving (and honestly don't know that Lisa would have given him a choice in the long run).  I think he saw that moving was actually what was best for his kids and no matter what people said about him, he is all about his kids.  Also, I think the fact that he helped DeVante move out of the neighborhood for safety reasons really put the risk he was placing his kids in by staying in perspective.  Also, I think he realized he could do more for Garden Heights not having to worry about his family all the time than he could if they stayed there.

4.) It's highly ironic that Lisa, who is married to Maverick, is more of a mother to Seven, whom Maverick fathered in an affair with Iesha, than Seven's biological mother is. Do you think this is more Iesha's fault, or King's, whom she's married to? Do you think that Iesha has really been trying to protect Seven from King all these years?

While King is to blame and really is a horrible individual, I tend to blame Iesha more.  It seems like if she wanted, she could have taken the kids and left.  Also, see question one.  I think Lisa works really hard to have a good relationship with Seven and it speaks tons about her character that she accepted him into her life so easily.  I don't see how Iesha has really tried to protect Seven at all. 


So there you have it.  Maria mentioned struggling somewhat to come up with questions this week but I think she did a good job.  We're on the home stretch now!


13 comments:

  1. I didn't realize this story had so many tangled relationships, wow. I'm interested to see your overall reaction of the book when you've finished!

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    1. Yea, there are lots of people in this one to keep track of. I think it's pretty well written for a YA novel. None of the usual tropes here.

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  2. oh you are reading THUG! That's fantastic! I ADORED that book!

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  3. Usually a book with so much hype is one I feel I have to have, but for some reason, I haven't grabbed this one.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. It's almost too close to the news today to be enjoyable but for the most part, it's pretty well written.

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  4. GREAT answers, Barb!! :)

    I totally agree about Lisa. I think she's a TERRIFIC parent!! Starr knows she can always go to Lisa without feeling intimidated. And yes, Lisa is pretty cool. She really understands and empathizes with her daughter.

    You've pointed out some very important differences between the two interviews. Yes, Officer Cruise's father focused on personal issues, while Starr focused on what should be focused on -- Khalil's murder. Cruise's father just tried to get sympathy for his son, while Starr emphasized the injustice of the murder.

    Another great point about how Maverick was already helping DeVante, so he would have been more open about moving out of Garden Heights. I totally agree!

    I also agree that Iesha could have taken the kids and left King. However, I do think this would have been very difficult, as King was a criminal. This is a very complicated issue. I have very mixed feelings about her, though.

    Thanks for sharing!! Looking forward to next week!!

    HUGS TO YOU AND THE PUPS, AND "WOOF, WOOF" TO THEM!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

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    1. Yea, Iesha is a character I kind of wish Thomas had flushed out more. I watched the movie this weekend and it made her really unlikable in my opinion.

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  5. Seems like you are liking the book okay, but I still don't want to read it...lol. :)

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  6. I waited a bit before grabbing this. Getting ready to read it before the movie now.

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    1. Just watched the movie this weekend. It's good and I can't even say the book is better - they are just different.

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  7. It's interesting the differences that come out of your QnA versus the movie and my impressions. I think Lisa worked hard to make a relationship with Seven, but the movie made me feel that Lesha was kind of trapped in her relationship with King, and would have liked things to be better with Seven.

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    1. I have now read the book and watched the movie and there are some real differences. I would enjoy either on their own but wonder why they chose to leave some things out of the film.

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