Angie Thomas is the author of the highly acclaimed book The Hate U Give (THUG). Angie Thomas’ birthday is today, so we wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate her work.

THUG follows a 16-year-old girl named Starr Carter who lives in two worlds. She struggles to find herself as someone caught between these worlds and what it is like to live between two worlds: the poor side of town and an elite prep school on the other side of town.

Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. This event unlocks something inside Starr, compelling her to speak out and stand up for what is right. Her voice will inspire you with its power and make you never want to put this book down!

This powerful story about a teenage girl who witnesses her friend’s death at the hands of police has captivated readers across America. It has also been banned or challenged from schools because it includes strong language and discusses important topics like racism and the intersection of police brutality and bias and is thought to promote an anti-police message according to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Also, THUG portrays youth activism, but most importantly, it shows how Starr has learned to make sense of senseless violence while still keeping hope for humanity alive through empathy and understanding.

Angie Thomas, author, activist, producer, and public speaker, turns 33 today. To celebrate her birthday and share some facts for this talented young adult author with you all, we have compiled a list of 10 things you should know about Angie Thomas.

1)      Angie Thomas was born on September 20th, 1988, in Jackson, Mississippi.

2)      Former teen rapper featured in Right-On Magazine.

3)      Her first novel, The Hate U Give, is based on her experiences growing up poor in Jackson, Mississippi.

4)      Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr.

5)      She graduated from Belhaven University with a BFA in creative writing.

6)      Since The Hate U Give’s release, she has also written two other novels – On the Come Up and Concrete Rose, debuting #1 on New York Times Bestsellers List.

7)      The Concrete Rose is a prequel to Angie Thomas’s New York Times bestselling novel, The Hate U Give.

8)      Thoms is the winner of ALA’s William C. Morris Debut Award, ALA’s Michael L. Printz Award Honor, ALA’s Coretta Scott King Award Honor for The Hate U Give and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA), the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize (UK), and the Deutscher Jugendliterapreis (Germany).

9)      On the Come Up has been optioned for a film from Paramount Pictures.

10)   A few words from her: “I look at books as being a form of activism. Sometimes they’ll show us a side of the world that we might not have known about.” – Angie Thomas.

When Angie Thomas’s book THUG debuted it won accolades from many! Happy birthday to this talented author whose voice continues to be heard around the world today and for many more years to come!

Sabine Jean Dantus

Before joining Lynn University as an outreach librarian, Sabine was a teacher and librarian at YOUmedia Miami, a media technology program at the Miami-Dade Public Library System for teens and before that was a content specialist in programming and production with WPBT-TV South Florida PBS in Miami. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at Lynn University’s College of Communication and Design, and is one of the primary faculty advisors for the student newspaper, iPulse. As an outreach librarian at the Lynn Library, her research specialties and liaison area are to the Communication and Education students. Sabine is writing her first book on empathy-based library marketing and communications and how to be equitable and inclusive in libraries with ALA-ACRL. Her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science and Master’s degree in Mass Media and Journalism are from Clarion University in Pennsylvania.