The Hate U Give is a fantastic novel. It’s flawless in the way it brings up inalienable rights and equality among society’s members. That’s why when I heard of the movie, all I could hope for was that it would do the book justice.

Although it took me a few days to get myself to the movie theatre, once I got there, I was wonderfully surprised. Unlike most movies, The Hate U Give stayed true to its roots and portrayed just as much emotion as its literary counterpart.

Sitting there in the theatre surrounded by strangers, I bawled my eyes out. There was a point at which I had to use all of the energy I had to contain my sobs; it got so bad that I wasn’t able to breathe and my body was convulsing from the lack of air.

It’s not just the message of movie that made me have a breakdown in public, but the portrayal. You can see and feel the hurt from the actors; it is as if you are experiencing their lives with them. Not many movies can take you that far from reality to where you become part of the story.

Although I was ugly-crying the entire time, I left the theatre with a sense of tranquility and knowledge. While the movie depicts the evils in the world, it is nice to know that as a society we can recognize them and move toward a more harmonious way of living.

Because of the impact it had on me (and hopefully on other people), this is a film that, when the time comes, I will willingly give up my money to purchase so I can watch it on repeat until the day I die.