Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2018. Winner of the 2018 Silver Inky Award #1 New York Times bestseller A Teen Vogue Best YA Book of the Year "Stunning."-John Green "A masterpiece."-The Huffington Post "An essential read for everyone."-Teen Vogue "Outstanding." -The Guardian Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. Now a major motion picture from Twentieth Century Fox, starring Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games and Everything, Everything), K.J. Apa (Riverdale), Regina Hall (Girls Trip), Anthony Mackie (The Avengers: Infinity War), and Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World).

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

A routine traffic stop turns tragic for two African American teens, leaving one dead and the other irrevocably changed by the shooting and its aftermath of legal battles, survivor's guilt, and race riots. Thomas's fictionalized story of the Black Lives Matter movement is powerful, and the star turn here by reader Turpin makes it all the more riveting. Turpin, who was PW's 2016 Narrator of the Year, delves into the character of Starr, who struggles with whether to come forward with the truth about the shooting when doing so means her own life will come under terrible scrutiny. She conveys the complexity of the 16-year-old protagonist who sounds both youthful and mature for her age, as she relies on code-switching to navigate two different social settings-her mostly black neighborhood and mostly white school-until, partway through the novel, she starts breaking all the rules she's previously used to compartmentalize her life. Turpin also turns in memorable performances for various supporting characters, especially Starr's parents, who come from contrasting backgrounds and approach Starr's crisis differently, and several of the kids at school. Turpin's remarkable sensitivity carries this performance to the ranks of greatness. A HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray hardcover. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Starr has learned to adapt her personality to fit two worlds. "Garden Heights Starr" helps her ex-gangbanger father in his neighborhood grocery. "Williamson Starr" has a white boyfriend, and is one of the few black students at a tony prep school in an exclusive part of town. When gunshots ring out at a Garden Heights party, Starr and her friend Khalil leave. Soon after, Khalil makes an innocent but unanticipated move at a traffic stop, and Starr witnesses his death by a white officer. In the ensuing weeks and months, Starr deals with reactions: her own, her family's, and those of her inner-city neighbors and upscale private school friends. Starr's first-person narration creates an immediacy that draws listeners into the anger and grief.she is feeling, while also acknowledging that Khalil may have been involved with drugs and that gang activity is driving families out of Garden Heights. Debut author Thomas populates her story with true-to-life characters-flaws and all. Starr's family members are particularly well-drawn. Bahni Turpin perfectly captures dialect, cadence, and slang, providing each individual with nuanced tones. At times, Starr's voice is thoughtful and gentle; at others, it is spitting out four-letter words in frustration and outrage. -VERDICT A thought-provoking, highly current, and worthy addition that will enhance most high school collections.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.