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of Khalil's death. We learn a little about the prevalence of gang violence and drugs in Garden Heights. Starr is having nightmares. She overhears her Uncle Carlos arguing that she should testify about the shooting. Starr agrees to talk to the police. Starr visits Ms Roaslie and learns that Khalil was, indeed, selling drugs. Williamson Prep- we see how Starr interacts with her white peers. We are also introduced to Chris, Starr's white boyfriend. We learn that Starr's friend Hailey has unfollowed her after she posted a picture of Emmett Till. In this chapter, Starr gets a fright when Chris grabs her hands and has a flashback to Khalil's murder. Starr testifies at the police station and is angered by the way the police refer to Khalil's murder as "the incident". She questions the validity of a lot of the questions she is asked (eg. if Khalil had anything to do with the fight at the party). Starr and Lisa leave the police station angry as the police have repeatedly tried to twist Starr's words and Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten implied that Khalil was the criminal rather than the victim. We learn a little of Starr's conflicted feelings about dating a white boy. Hailey makes a racist comment about fried chicken during a basketball game. Hailey denies being racist, weaponising her shared grief and Starr denies knowing Khalil who is being portrayed as a drug dealer in the media. Khalil's funeral. Khalil is in an open casket like Emmett Till. April Ofrah (Just Us for Justice) addresses the funeral and tells them that the police do not intend to arrest One-Fifteen. She invites the congregation to join a peaceful march in protest. Before the end of the funeral, the King Lords arrive and King places a grey bandana on the casket, insinuating that Khalil was a King Lord.. Starr reflects on how Khalil looks like a mannequin- he has been dehumanised and become a symbol for others to use. The protests over Khalil's death turn to riots and the children stay at home while Maverick watches the store. They sit on the floor below the trajectory of stray bullets. Starr and Seven go out to play basketball the next morning and meet DeVante, a drug dealer from the King Lords. Lisa and Maverick are furious that they went out without telling them. Starr is struggling with the police's decision not to prosecute One-Fifteen. She blames herself for not coming forward immediately. Starr and Chris talks about their racial differences which Chris argues don't matter but Starr insists are important parts of their identity. Starr is in the family car when they are stopped by the police. She panics, revealing how traumatised she has been by the event. She has flashbacks and panics- suggesting she has PTSD (associated with war zones, highlighting the extent of the violence). This highlights the lasting effects violence has on children. Starr has lost her childhood innocence and no longer believes her mother will be able to protect her- forced to grow up too quickly. Maverick's expanded understanding of Thug Life clarifies the links between the police and the gangs, and reveals how they create an interconnected cycle of racialized poverty that destroys black neighborhoods. Thomas named the novel after this cycle because it underpins Khalil's death and the resulting fallout. When we look at Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Khalil's story through Maverick's framework, we understand that King trapped Khalil into drug dealing because Khalil lacked other economic options, while the police use Khalil's drug dealing to justify shooting him. Maverick insists Starr cannot judge Khalil for not escaping this cycle because without support or money, it is too strong to break. This conversation marks a turning point for Starr because it demonstrates the true cost of her silence. Khalil's death, while a tragedy in its own right, is also part of a system that hurts her entire community. Starr realizes that her silence means complicity in this cycle. The pupils at Williamson prep decide to protest the shooting- many of them seeing this as a way of getting out of going to class and some admitting that they believe the shooting can be explained by the fact that Khalil was a drug dealer.. Starr is angry and admits to Chris that she knew Khalil. There is a contrast between the violent reaction the protests in Garden heights receive from the police versus the television coverage the white protests receive. Starr and Sekani see their father searched by the police. Starr finally gains the courage to speak in this chapter after Kenya reminds her of what's at stake. Kenya articulates the distance built between Starr's Garden Heights and Williamson selves. Kenya accuses Starr of abandoning the neighborhood and Khalil for an easier and safer life, and states that Starr's abandonment will allow the violence in the neighborhood to continue. Because Starr did not want to admit her shame and fear of Garden Heights, Kenya's accusation forces her to reexamine her choices and priorities. However, from the police attack on Maverick, the reader knows that Starr's fears of retaliation are very real, emphasizing the difficulty and danger of this choice. In fact, the final decision factor for Starr comes when Maverick promises to protect her. Combined with Maverick's Thug Life speech in the previous chapter, Starr now has both personal and political reasons to speak out. Starr agrees to speak to Ms Ofrah and this meeting forms a direct contrast with her police interview earlier in the novel. Ms Ofrah calls Khalil's death a murder and as a result, Starr feels she can use this word too (contrasts with the word 'incident' used by Officer Gomez). Ms. Ofrah validates Starr's feelings of loss and helps Starr regain her confidence in her perception of events. Starr did not think Khalil had a gun in the car until the media suggested Chapter Thirteen there might have been. Ms. Ofrah's correction highlights how the media eroded even Starr's understanding of the truth and validates Starr's original experience. Ms. Ofrah's use of the word "murder" to describe Khalil's death reframes Starr's understanding of Natasha's death and how it connects to Khalil's. Up until now, Starr has only called Natasha and Khalil's murders "deaths," a phrasing that is more direct than "incident," but still removes a perpetrator from the crime. The legal system did not seek out Natasha's murderer, treating her murder as a "death" instead of something done to her. Starr realizes that just as the police have devalued Khalil's life by not charging One-Fifteen, they devalued Natasha's life by not searching for her killer. That the lives of these children did not merit investigation or justice enrages Starr. When she says that she wants everyone to know that Khalil and Natasha's lives mattered, Starr means that she wants law enforcement and the general public to treat their deaths as murders and acknowledge that someone stole their precious lives. In Maverick's office, Mr. Lewis explains how the King Lords beat him up. Mr. Lewis insists that DeVante is actually the one in real danger. King ordered the King Lords to kill Devante on sight. Maverick attacks DeVante, shouting that King would not want DeVante dead for refusing to shoot someone. Devante confesses to stealing money from King to buy bus tickets for his family. He knew that if he killed Dalvin's killers, their gang would kill him. When DeVante's mother found out, she threw him out of the house to protect his sisters. He begs for Maverick's help. The family take Devante to Uncle Carlos' house. Chris arrives, and Starr decides she must be brave enough to tell Maverick about Chris. Maverick is outraged over Starr dating a white boy and hurt that she told Uncle Carlos before him. Lisa drags Maverick outside to talk. Chris doesn't understand why his whiteness is an issue, and Starr retorts that he had a conversation with his parents about her being black. Maverick and Lisa's argument escalates. Lisa hates that Maverick brought DeVante to the suburbs but won't let the family move. Maverick proclaims the suburbs are fake, and Lisa objects that she prefers fake and safe. Maverick storms back in the house, promising Starr they will talk later. Chris leaves. Chapter Fourteen Devante reveals Khalil hadn't been a King Lord. King tried to recruit Khalil, but Khalil refused, and King lied at the funeral to save face. Brenda had stolen from King, and Khalil sold drugs to pay off Brenda's debt. Starr blames herself for doubting Khalil and thinks public opinion would change if they knew why Khalil sold drugs. The amount of trouble surrounding DeVante shows how adult responsibilities have hurt him. After Dalvin's death, Devante sees himself as the provider for his family, and realizes that by following King's orders and retaliating, his family will lose their provider. Therefore, DeVante resorts to theft as an escape for his family because he is a teenage boy without resources or adults in his life who have the power to protect him. DeVante's tears during his confession contrast his previous tough talk and highlight how most of his "gangster" persona is feigned strength because he cannot afford weakness. Starr's comparison of Devante's tears to Khalil's tears over Brenda shows the way parenting their parents put both boys in danger. Although drug dealing did not kill Khalil, Starr regrets that he had been in that much danger in the first place. Just as Khalil slipped through the cracks because he had no support network, DeVante might too. Chris's visit to the house highlights that he only has a shallow understanding of Starr's situation. He asks why his whiteness matters because he does not yet grasp that Starr dating him automatically makes a political statement in a racist society. Furthermore, Starr must prompt him to notice the similarity between Chris talking to his parents about Starr's blackness and Maverick's distress over Chris's whiteness. One possible explanation for Chris not seeing this connection is that he still sees white people as the default. He had to explain Starr's blackness to his parents because being black is a deviation from the normal (being white), whereas he doesn't expect an objection from Maverick because he does not realize his whiteness requires explanation. For this reason, DeVante considers Chris's interest in black culture ridiculous. Chris doesn't understand the black experiences that underpin these cultural products and still views them as a unique way of expressing himself. Starr goes to Maya's house where Maya and Hailey are hanging out. Hailey asks why Starr is mad at them. Hailey feels they shouldn't have to apologize for protesting because others protested too. Hailey adds that Starr still owes her an apology for calling her racist. Starr says even if Hailey didn't mean it, the fried chicken joke felt racist. Hailey complains that by that logic, if she felt protesting was right, Starr's objection doesn't matter. One-Fifteen's father claims that Khalil had been speeding, and that Khalil and Starr acted as if they were planning to attack. He says Khalil threatened One-Fifteen, so One-Fifteen thought the object in the car was a gun. One-Fifteen's father laments that his son just wanted to get home. Starr notes that she and Khalil wanted to go home too. Since the shooting, One-Fifteen has been attacked at work. Starr remembers Uncle Carlos's bruised knuckles and realizes he hit One-Fifteen. Hailey proclaims One-Fifteen's life matters too. Starr tries to leave the room. Hailey asks why Starr disagrees, and Starr cries that his life always matters more. Starr asks Hailey if she unfollowed her Tumblr because of the Emmett Till post. Hailey explodes, shouting that Starr called her racist. Starr protests that she never brought up race. Hailey leaves, screaming she doesn't know who Starr is anymore. Maya admits that Hailey has unfollowed Starr because of her posts about black issues. Maya and Starr discuss how Hailey has been racist towards them both and decide to confront her together. Hailey's fixation on the word "racist" allows her to avoid taking responsibility for her words. Throughout the entire argument with Starr, Hailey expresses shock and dismay that a friend would call her racist, as if racist were a slur. However, Starr has not called Hailey racist, but expressed hurt at Hailey's racist words and actions. Since Hailey does not acknowledge the difference, she acts as if Starr insulted her personhood instead of addressing the behavior that hurt Starr's feelings. Furthermore, Hailey treats the friction between them as Starr overreacting to differences of opinion. For example, Hailey compares her feelings about the protest to Starr's distress about the fried chicken joke, implying that she doesn't have to understand Starr's point of view if Starr won't understand Hailey's. However, Starr's feelings about the fried chicken joke connect to the joke's racist history. The protest only mattered to Hailey as an excuse to play hooky, so her anger stems from not liking that Starr called out her insensitivity. Since Hailey refuses to differentiate between a critique of her actions and a critique of her character, Starr cannot have a productive discussion about why Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen she's upset. The interview with One-Fifteen's father shows how white people use stereotypes to portray black people as dangerous and justify their deaths. In order to portray Starr and Khalil as violent, his account differs significantly from Starr's narration in Chapter Two. The media bolsters this account with images of dangerous parts of Garden Heights, making Starr and Khalil seem dangerous by association. Even though Starr notes the ridiculousness of portraying two teenagers as "superhuman" enough to hurt an armed police officer, the stereotypes invoked mean that some people, like Hailey, will not question this account. Furthermore, One-Fifteen's father uses positive archetypes of white people to make One-Fifteen seem innocent. The cross necklace One-Fifteen wears invokes Christianity as a shorthand for morality and goodness. One-Fifteen's father also emphasizes that One-Fifteen has a family and children, which portrays him as an upstanding family man unlikely to do wrong. However, these positive portrayals erase that Khalil had a family and a future ahead of himself. The interview sets up a narrative where One-Fifteen's life has great importance and has to be defended at all costs, whereas Khalil's life is acceptable collateral damage Maverick and Starr discuss her relationship with Chris. Maverick admits he has been worrying that Starr had chosen a white boy because of his relationship with Lisa. Starr does a televised interview about the murder. This works to undo the damage caused by One-Fifteen's father's interview, but leaves Starr vulnerable. Just as One-Fifteen's father focused on portraying One-Fifteen as an upstanding family man, Starr foregrounds the teenage boy that she knew and loved, emphasizing his sense of humor and his youth to dispel the thug image she knows the audience might have in their minds. She also introduces Khalil's circumstances which she knows complicate people's assumptions about what a drug dealer is and why someone would deal drugs. However, this interview has grave consequences for Starr as she puts herself in danger by indirectly mentioning King, which highlights how much Starr risks by advocating for Khalil, unlike One-Fifteen's father, who only faced ridicule on Twitter. Thomas uses the language of boxing to Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen describe Starr's talking points, showing that despite the danger and emotional fallout, Starr has competed and scored a rhetorical triumph, likely changing some minds. Starr goes to the prom. Chris is acting strange with her and Hailey ignores her and Maya. Hailey ignoring Starr and Maya emphasizes how Hailey's whiteness functions to center herself in relationships and how she refuses to acknowledge the racial realities Starr and Maya face. Hailey's anger at Maya for telling Starr about the Tumblr shows that she worries more about whether she appears racist than whether she hurt Starr's feelings. Hailey's dismissive attitude when Maya brings up the cat incident further highlights her lack of compassion. When Maya tells Starr about the cat incident, Starr does not try and explain why she didn't intervene, but instead promises Maya she will not let Hailey get away with that again because Starr cares about Maya. That Starr and Maya have a perfectly great prom night without Hailey demonstrates that their friendship does not require Hailey's leadership. The tensions between Starr and Chris finally come to a head, but Chris proves that his love for Starr can withstand difficult conversations. Instead of shutting down Starr's fears and deflecting, like Hailey, Chris asks to know more about the difficult parts of Starr's blackness and poverty and listens without interjecting. He apologizes for giving Starr the cold shoulder instead of talking to her about his concerns, taking responsibility for the hurt he directly caused. Chris proves that Starr can trust him with her whole self and wants to work through difficult conversations. When Chris raps their song, Starr does not flinch away this time because Chris has proven that he will listen to her experiences as a black girl, and Starr does not need to lump Chris into the same category as One-Fifteen. Maverick and Lisa consider moving the family to a safer neighbourhood. Sekani reveals that Seven is considering going to a less reputable college in order to protect his mother and sisters from his father. Gunfire and a brick through the window interrupt a family evening in front of the TV. Maverick and Lisa's insistence that Seven go to a four-year college highlights the difference a responsible parent makes in a teen's life. Just like DeVante and Khalil, Seven often finds himself forced into a parenting role because lesha does not take on the responsibility of Chapter Nineteen keeping her children safe. Seven's idea of going to community college instead of the prestigious schools that offered him scholarships follows a similar (though less drastic) path as DeVante and Khalil in that Seven considers making a rash decision that could diminish his opportunities. Fortunately for Seven, Maverick and Lisa provide a support network that keeps him from shouldering this burden. Maverick's reminder that Seven's role, even when dealing with lesha, is that of a child and not an adult encourages Seven to prioritize his own future, and distinguishes his relational support from that received his Garden Heights peers. The ambiguity of whether the police or the King Lords attacked the Carter house emphasizes that both groups benefit from Starr's silence and the Thug Life cycle. The police do not want Starr to testify because her testimony holds One-Fifteen accountable for his actions, and therefore holds law enforcement accountable for the murderous consequences of their racism. Indicting One-Fifteen would force them to examine uncomfortable truths about their role in Garden Heights and take responsibility. King wants to profit off his hold on the drug dealings in the community. Starr not testifying keeps him out of jail and stops her from chipping away at a system that both helps King financially and forces young men to do the most dangerous parts of drug dealing for him. Therefore, which of these forces attacked the Carter house almost doesn't matter because they both stand against Starr and her mission of justice. Starr considers stepping down as a witness in order to protect her family. In doubting Maverick's Black Power icons, Starr shows the enormity of the forces she faces by testifying and the inherent dangers of heroism. Although Maverick brings up the Black Panthers and Malcolm X to inspire her, their grisly ends remind Starr of the unfortunate reality that fighting for justice is inspiring in part because it is dangerous. Although Starr believes in Maverick's philosophy, she understands that their righteousness does not make them safe. Maverick's idols met terrible ends because they threatened the status quo, which made them the targets of powerful people, as demonstrated by the U.S. government itself going after the Black Panthers. Starr realizes now that because fighting for Khalil and Garden Heights means fighting against structural injustice, she has put herself and her family in grave danger, just like Maverick's heroes. Starr goes to the courthouse to testify. Ms. Ofrah greets Chapter Twenty Starr with a hug. Lisa tells Starr how brave she is. Starr insists that she's not brave, but Lisa says that being scared and doing something anyhow is brave. Maverick hugs them both. With the support and love of her family, Starr finally feels ready to face the grand jury. Starr enters the courtroom and swears on the Bible to tell the truth. Privately, she promises Khalil to tell the truth, too. When the District Attorney asks Starr to confirm that she knows that she is not the focus of criminal charges, Starr says yes, but internally comments that she and Khalil have been on trial since the murder. The DA asks if Starr is ready to tell the grand jury what happened. Starr feels terrified and wants to hide, but refuses to let the people praying, her parents, or Khalil down. She announces that she is ready. Starr's testimony before the grand jury marks the climax of the novel because this is when Starr speaks out against the injustice of Khalil's murder due to systemic racism. Starr testifies to Khalil's personhood by telling the truth of what happened that night. When she's sworn in as a witness, Starr silently promises Khalil to tell the truth, which signifies that she testifies for him more than anyone else, affirming that his life mattered enough for her to fight for it. Starr follows both Maverick and Lisa in her actions because she does the right thing despite the very real dangers she faces from both the police and the King Lords. At this moment, Starr has done all she can to fight for Khalil, and has no control over whether it will work. Starr's anecdote about Maverick's sentencing and her resulting hatred of the courthouse casts doubt on the justice system's ability to account for racialized poverty and the violence that results. Her actions here follow Lisa's advice to always do right, even if the outcome is uncertain or doubtful. Starr testifies to the grand jury for three hours. Two weeks later, no verdict has been announced. Hailey realises Starr knew Khalil and accuses her of being a liar. Starr looks at the photo of Khalil Hailey is showing her and notices how happy he looks to have money. This is in contrast to earlier in the novel where the photo upsets her as it portrays Khalil as a 'thug' and this reminds her he was dealing drugs. Now she is able to look at the photo without judging Khalil for the mistakes the media weaponised against him. She no longer fears people Chapter Twenty One judging her for her relationship with him. Hailey makes more racist comments and Starr and Hailey fight. Hailey demonstrates that she does not care how her comments affect her friends. She tells Starr to 'get over' Khalil, reducing Khalil to a disposable life, erasing his personhood and value to Starr. When Hailey suggests Khalil's drug dealing marked him for death anyhow, Hailey not only devalues Khalil's life, but the lives of many people Starr cares about who used to deal drugs, including Devante and Maverick himself. Therefore, Hailey suggesting that the world is better off without Khalil not only minimizes Starr's grief, but also effectively wishes for the deaths of people Starr loves. Hailey turns the argument violent by treating black lives as acceptable collateral in society. In Chapter Twenty-One, Starr finally bridges her Williamson and Garden Heights selves by introducing Chris and Maya to Kenya and realizing that she does not have to compromise. Kenya and Maya's instant bond emphasizes that Starr's two halves are not nearly so incompatible as she thought. The easy connection between Kenya, Maya, and Chris suggests that Starr's Williamson self has not been drastically different from her Garden Heights self, but rather a toned-down version of her whole self. Maya and Chris care about Starr as a person, and therefore have no problem seeing her whole self. Kenya, Maya, and Chris's interactions are a stark contrast to Starr, Maya, and Hailey's tense and guarded relationship. Thomas shows us that acknowledging differences in experiences based on race does not have to prohibit people from finding common ground. Seven's heartbreaking argument with lesha shows the emotional effects of him constantly acting as the responsible adult in that part of his family. In previous chapters, Seven nearly gave up going to a four-year college so that he could protect them, essentially sacrificing his future. Nevertheless, lesha throws Seven out of the house at King's behest and does not attend his graduation, proving that her maternal support of Seven is eclipsed by her unwillingness to stand up to King. Seven's emotional outburst shocks the reader because for most of the novel, Seven maintains composure, even in stressful situations like being mugged by Garden Chapter Twenty Two Disciples. The intensity he expresses implies that this anger has built up for a while because Seven has taken care of lesha, Kenya, and Lyric for so long. His parting shot-that lesha couldn't even reciprocate the love he gave her-demonstrates Seven's vulnerability and desperate need for lesha to be his mother. In Chapter Twenty-Two, Starr's comment that Chris should prefer a blonde girl like Hailey comes right after her doubt in the grand jury, revealing her fear of white people always choosing to privilege white lives over black ones. If the grand jury does not indict One-Fifteen, they choose his life over Khalil's. Therefore, Starr worries that Chris, as a white boy, would prefer a white girl over her. Chris's reassurance that he prefers Starr demonstrates that he loves Starr as a whole person, including her blackness. This love for Starr as a whole person shows when Chris refuses to have sex with Starr because he remembers her previous fear of having sex and understands that her rocky emotional state means she cannot truly consent. Chris's care for Starr in this scene demonstrates that he has lived up to his promise to listen to Starr's experiences and respect them. Starr's final judgement of lesha demonstrates how Lisa has influenced Starr's growth over the course of The Hate U Give and that Starr now understands that anyone can change. Throughout the novel, Starr never liked lesha for good reason, but she still recognizes lesha's move to protect Kenya and Lyric in Chapter Twenty-Two. This contrasts with Starr's anger at Brenda in Chapter Five, where Starr denies Brenda's feelings as a mother because of her previous mistakes. Lisa's lessons in compassion allow Starr to notice that despite lesha's flaws, she still has put herself in danger of King's retaliation in order to protect her children. Starr recognizes that Seven's outburst in Chapter Twenty-One changed lesha for the better because lesha has finally stepped up to the role of mother. Therefore, Starr will not let Seven take on the parental role again and protect lesha, which would push her back into the old pattern. Although she initially finds the anger cathartic, Starr rejects the riots as a coping mechanism because she doesn't want to hurt Garden Heights. The blind anger and rage the rioters show evoke Maverick's words about how every black man has rage within him from slavery and that this rage is dangerous when activated. We see the Chapter Twenty Three Chapter Twenty Four real danger of this anger here, where in addition to lashing out at those who hurt Garden Heights, the rioters burn the businesses that anchor the community. Because of Maverick, Starr knows that a store can change a community by providing jobs and resources, and also that small businesses like Maverick's store are sources of incomes for local families. In addition, Starr realizes that many of the people damaging the stores are black people from outside Garden Heights who do not have to live with the consequences of broken stores. While they feel the same rage as black people from within Garden Heights, smashing community resources matters less because they do not rely on those resou ces. Starr realizes that her style of activism involves anger that leads to building and growth, not destruction. Chris resolves to stay in Garden Heights during the protest and this establishes Chris as an ally to black causes and introduces the idea that being an ally is a constant work in progress. Initially, Chris balks at Starr's anger over the verdict because he is new to learning about how endless the fight against injustice can feel. Nevertheless, when Starr asks him to try and understand how she feels, Chris supports her and even joins in with the crowd's angry rapping. Significantly, even in their jokes about Chris being "light skinned," Starr, Seven, and Devante conclude that Chris cannot be black, emphasizing that blackness is not truly about superficial things like music taste or being able to rap. Coupled with Chris's misstep about black names, this conclusion emphasizes that even Chris is not free from racist beliefs, but what sets him apart is his willingness to acknowledge his mistakes, listen, and work to change his behavior. Starr ends up addressing the protestors from the front of the protest, saying "Khalil lived!". In doing so, she reclaims Khalil's humanity and emphasizes that Khalil's life had value. Because the media portrayed Khalil as a drug dealer and therefore inherently dangerous, so much of the narrative surrounding Khalil involved debating whether he deserved to die or not. Starr argues that the details around Khalil's drug dealing and possible gang connections distract from the issue at hand, which is that One-Fifteen shot an unarmed teenage boy during a traffic stop. By shouting before both the community and the police that Khalil's life mattered, she re-centers the narrative to focus on the life lost, to proclaim that a teenage boy died because One-Fifteen saw a dangerous thug instead of a child. Starr and Ms. Ofrah call this Chapter Twenty Five Chapter Twenty Six speech Starr's weapon because her speech both fights against the system that indicted Khalil in his own murder, and fights for the boy she loved. Starr, Chris and Seven take shelter in Maverick's store when the store is hit with a Molotov Cocktail and begins to burn. The kids are trapped in the store as it burns. Lisa and Maverick arrive on the scene in time to get them out. King arrives and lights a cigarette, revealing that he was behind the arson. Starr speaks out about King. Starr's courage in speaking out for Khalil and bringing attention to King's damaging influence inspires the residents of Garden Heights to stand up against King. Whereas multiple people once considered Mr. Lewis's tirade against King foolish and dangerous, now multiple neighbors step forward as witnesses to assure that King gets arrested for arson. Starr's courage in fighting to free Khalil's memory from both King and the police has transformed the idea of "snitching" on King from dangerous to brave and noble. Because he sees Starr's willingness to face danger in order to fight for change in the community, DeVante cites Starr's speech as a reason why he will testify about King's drug dealings. Starr's courage may not have indicted One-Fifteen, but she has galvanized the neighborhood and encouraged the residents to fight for themselves. Starr's reflection on the injustice of the grand jury's decision highlights the power of systemic racism. Her only way to fight for Khalil was to testify before the grand jury at great personal risk, and yet not even her best fight and having the truth on her side were strong enough to get Khalil justice. The heartbreaking results reposition Lisa's advice about "doing right" as a warning that sometimes not even Starr's best intentions can change the immense forces stacked against her. Starr tells Lisa that she threw the tear gas back at the cops instead of "continuing to do right" because she felt Khalil deserved better. She tried to "do right" with her anger by protesting peacefully, but the police still treated her as violent. Lisa does not press Starr again after Starr's insistence that Khalil deserved better, showing that Lisa has no good answer to Starr's anger because she cannot deny the unfairness of the situation. The next morning, Ms. Ofrah calls to apologize for putting Starr in danger and for the grand jury verdict. She tells Starr that she's proud of her and thinks Starr has a future career in activism. Starr stares at the Tupac poster that she bought to remind her of Khalil and the message of Thug Life. She reflects that all the hate last night hurt everyone, and now they must figure out how to fix it. Starr checks her texts. Maya texted enthusiastically after seeing Starr on the news. Chris texted to tell her he's grounded but has no regrets. Hailey also texted to apologize. Starr wants to know what she means by her apology. Hailey says she's sorry about the decision and that Starr is mad at her. Hailey wants their friendship to go back to how it was. Starr realizes Hailey isn't taking responsibility for her hurtful words. Starr texts to say that things will never be the same and deletes Hailey's number from her phone Chapter Twenty-Six draws some distinct parallels to Chapter Three that highlight how Starr and other characters have grown throughout the novel to create a stronger family and community. In Chapter Three, Starr feels too paralyzed to speak for Khalil and she worries her fear disappoints Maverick. Now, Starr's voice has carried so far that she appears on every news channel, and Maverick addresses her as "Li'l Black Panther," expressing pride in seeing Starr continue the work of his heroes. Whereas Maverick and Lisa considered Sekani too young to even know about Starr's ordeal, Sekani now not only knows about the store's destruction, but maturely volunteers everyone to support Maverick. Mr. Lewis once accused Maverick of being a bad influence on the neighborhood, but now sees Maverick as a force for good because Maverick has become a community leader who actively fights against gang violence. These changes show how the events of The Hate U Give made the Carter family stronger individuals who support each other to be stronger together. Deleting Hailey's number signifies that Starr will no longer tone herself down to make her white classmates comfortable. Hailey wants their friendship back, but in their old relationship Hailey controlled the narrative of who Starr was, and Starr played a sidekick role. A return to their former friendship would therefore involve Starr ignoring all the hurt Hailey has caused over the course of the novel. Hailey's apology expresses a desire to erase what happened instead of taking responsibility for her hurtful words and actions. Starr realizes that their friendship has no way forward because she does not want to shrink back into the old pattern. She invokes Lisa's framework of weighing a person's mistakes against her love for them, and finds Hailey lacking because Hailey's actions have continuously not shown any care for Starr's feelings. In stark contrast to Hailey's selfish apology, Starr's apology to Kenya reaffirms their friendship because she takes responsibility for hurting Kenya and establishes a path forward for them. Starr can apologize to Kenya because she both understands that Kenya's accusation that Starr was ashamed of Garden Heights was true, and that she can only heal if she owns up to her feelings and actions. By focusing on Kenya rather than herself, Starr recognizes that part of why Kenya claimed Seven was because of how Starr hurt Kenya with her shame. Furthermore, Starr realizes that her shame in Garden Heights also caused Kenya to feel shame over her difficult family life. When she reassures Kenya that Seven loves her, Lyric, and lesha for themselves and not out of obligation, Starr works to break Kenya's shame. Therefore, by bringing this shame out in the open, the two girls can reconcile and heal. Starr's bittersweet farewell to the reader transcends the boundaries of the novel and presents a call to action. Thomas lists the names of the real black men and women killed by law enforcement to remind us that while Khalil is fictional, his story has a lot in common with very real murders. By connecting those victims to Khalil, Starr challenges the reader to see the humanity in the victims and the injustice in their stories. She emphasizes that she will never forget Khalil or what happened to him, which suggests that readers, too, should not forget the names of the victims of police violence. Starr passes the torch to the reader by declaring that the only way things will change is if people still fight. If readers want police violence to end and the cycle of Thug Life to break, they must follow Starr's lead and speak out for justice.