CALLING ALL TEENS! At 6 PM on Friday, October 28, Buxton Books and the Unitarian Church will host the first meeting of the Banned Books Y.A. Book Club. Teens will engage in conversations about the book club pick, the importance of accessibility for all books, and the detriments of censorship.
Join us for a discussion about The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, a #1 New York Times bestselling debut novel, which was longlisted for the National Book Award. The Hate U Give debuted to rave reviews, won several awards, and sat atop The New York Times bestseller list for 50 weeks. But the story has drawn attention of would-be censors, who have attacked it for being “pervasively vulgar” and for the depiction of drug use, profanity, and offensive language. Released in early 2017, the book immediately landed in the eighth spot on the American Library Association’s top ten challenged and banned books list.
The Hate U Give was challenged by the Fraternal Order of Police in Charleston, South Carolina, where the book was part of the Wando High School summer reading list. The Fraternal Order of Police called the book: “almost an indoctrination of distrust of police and we’ve got to put a stop to that.” Once again, several members of the Banned Books Week Coalition have stepped up to defend the book.
Doors for the event open at 5:30 pm. Conversation to begin at 6 pm. This is a FREE event, but registration is required. Click here to register!
For those commuting, we recommend parking at Queen Street Parking Garage (93 Queen St) or Majestic Square (corner of Archdale and Market streets).
ABOUT THE HATE U GIVE
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: What really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
ABOUT ANGIE THOMAS
Angie Thomas was born and raised in Mississippi, but now calls Atlanta her home. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. Angie is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, started as a senior project in college.
ABOUT THE UNITARIAN CHURCH
The Unitarian Church in Charleston is a 200-year-strong, welcoming congregation that embraces and CELEBRATES diversity...of thought, belief (and non-belief), background, lifestyle, and life experiences. They acknowledge and respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and practice justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. They gather, not because they have found all the answers, but because they wish to question together. It's the acceptance of DIFFERENCES that creates and sustains their vibrant community.