The Hate U Give: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

That evening, protests erupt in Khalil’s name throughout Garden Heights. Maverick spends the night at his store to protect it from rioters and instructs his family to stay indoors. Starr compares her neighborhood to a “war zone.” Upon hearing the sound of machine gunfire Lisa instructs the children to move to the den, where there are no windows.

The family turns on the television to watch coverage of the protests, which have grown violent; police are tear-gassing protestors, cars have been set on fire, and people are running and screaming through the streets. The police appear on screen and say they have no reason to arrest One-Fifteen. To Starr’s anger, the news makes it sound as though “it’s Khalil’s fault he died,” alleging there was a gun in the car and calling Khalil a drug dealer and gang banger. Starr is not sure what to believe, but knows that regardless, Khalil did not deserve to die.

That night, Starr has a vivid nightmare about Natasha’s death.  The next morning Seven bangs on her bedroom door,  reminding her that it’s the day of their monthly basketball game. Starr yells out to her parents that they’re leaving, and the two head to Rose Park—a large park filled with rusting playground equipment, broken beer bottles, trash, and cigarette butts. Still, the park holds sentimental value for Starr, who played there with Khalil and Natasha.

Starr and Seven play basketball, but then two young teens in the colors of the Garden Disciples approach. They ask Seven if he is “kinging”—that is, part of their rival gang—and even though he says he is neutral, the teens demand he and Starr hand over their things. DeVante, a King Lord around Starr’s age sitting nearby, intervenes. He asserts that Rose Park is King territory and pulls up his shirt to reveal the gun in his waistband. The Garden Disciples leave.

Starr initially thinks DeVante is cute, until he calls her “li’l mamma”; Starr hates nicknames. Seven introduces them and Starr realizes this is the same DeVante Kenya fought over at Big D’s party. Seven tells DeVante he’s sorry about his brother, Dalvin.

Maverick pulls up to the basketball court, furious that Starr and Seven left the house without telling him or Lisa. He rants as he drives them home, pointing out the danger of going to play ball when the neighborhood is so dangerous that the National Guard has arrived. Back home, Lisa is equally angry. She demands Starr and Seven hand over their cellphones, and says they are all going to Carlos’s house. 

Later that day, Starr watches Maverick examine his roses, which are looking dry despite his frequent watering. Lisa drives Starr to Carlos’s house. On the way, they see protestors marching for Khalil, and Lisa can sense her daughter’s feelings of guilt. Lisa tells Starr that Starr was not breathing when she was born; though Lisa had tried to do everything right throughout her pregnancy, this moment made her feel as though she had done something terribly wrong. A nurse grabbed Lisa’s hand and said even when doing the right thing, things can turn out wrong; “the key is to never stop doing right.”

They arrive at Carlos’s house, which is in a gated community close to where Chris lives. Starr notices how peaceful and safe everything is there, with joggers and kids playing in the streets. Nana, Lisa’s mother, greets them and immediately begins to complain about how Carlos’s wife Pam has started baking rather than frying her fish. Chris shows up at the front door unannounced, wanting to check on Starr following the riots and also demanding to know why she has been ignoring him. Starr angrily blurts out that he simply cannot understand what is going on with her because he is white. Chris insists he doesn’t care about their differences, and asks Starr to help him understand. Starr decides she has missed him too much and he is her “normal,” and they reconcile. She still cannot bring herself to tell him she is the witness in Khalil’s case.