Archived Reading Groups

Oct. 12

Brenda Brown

A doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction: Language, Diversity, and Literacy Studies in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. She is a reading specialist and educational consultant with 27 years of experience in education. She served in the roles of the classroom teacher, literacy instructional coach, and instructional grant administrator before changing her career focus. She also worked at the University of Texas at Austin Institute for Public School Initiatives as a regional reading technical assistance specialist, statewide coordinator, and reading grant reviewer. She received a B.A. in Public Relations-Communications from the University of Central Oklahoma, a M.Ed. in Language Literacy from Texas Tech University, and a M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Lubbock Christian University.

Oct. 19

Apryl Lewis (she/her/hers)

A doctoral candidate in English at Texas Tech University in the areas of African American literature, trauma studies, and cultural studies. She has a publication forthcoming in Women, Gender, and Families of Color, a publication in Sport in American History, and a co-authored publication in Spark: A 4C4Equality Journal. Apryl completed her B.A. in English at Texas Tech and her M.A. in English at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

1. In the opening scene of Angie Thomas’s novel, The Hate U Give, Starr reflects, “There are just some places where it’s not enough to be me. Either version of me.” In what places have you felt this same tension? In what ways is this tension particular to people from historically oppressed groups?
2. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois referred to this tension as “a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.” What are examples of "double-consciousness" within the book?
3. Thomas frequently uses motifs of silence and voice throughout the book. Find instances in the book where silence or voice and speech are noted, and talk about the author’s possible intentions for emphasizing these motifs.
4. How do you think Starr would define family? What about Seven, DeVante, Kenya and Khalil? Do you have to be related by blood to consider a person family? How do you define family?
5. Starr is frustrated by people’s treatment of her after the shooting. She doesn’t want them to pity her, valorize her, or treat her differently because of it. Can you relate? How does grief have a way of alienating you? What are the invisible losses of losing someone?
6. How is Starr’s struggle to be her authentic self resolved or not by the end of the novel—through her fight with Hailey, her testimony to the grand jury, her involvement in the protest, or her family’s move?

Adapted from book discussion questions posted on LitLovers and Horizons for Homeless Children.