The Black Widows by Angie Thomas

The Black Widows Reviews

• 
  Barb H

  Earlier in her writing career, Angie Thomas penned this short story, which became
  The Hate You Give. This book earned her much recognition, both as the novel and then the successful movie. I enjoyed both productions.
  
  This deep-felt tale is a picture of many of life's trials and issues which face Black youngsters, particularly as they enter the teen years. Thomas has expertly demonstrated the racism, the poor education, the painful ladders to success in life and the many temptations that confront them. This is the story of Khalil, whom we will meet in Thomas's later tale. It is difficult to view the problems which he faces.
  
  My short-story group defined many of the burning issues presented and agreed that this was a significant literary work.
• 
  Dee Fairchild

  great short story on khalil!
• 
  Daniel Kleven

  A short story published in Belhaven University's Creative Arts Journal The Brogue in 2011, where Angie Thomas earned a BFA.
  
  The story features Khalil and Starr, the protagonists of Thomas's award winning book
  The Hate U Give, is told from Khalil's point of view, and has a different ending, but the seeds are there for the full story which she fleshes out later.
  
  The book reads to me like a remix of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale
  The Red Shoes -- Thomas's constant reference to "shoes" or "the shoes" -- 32 times in 7 pages -- including intense personification where "the shoes" are almost the main antagonist, in a mix of antagonists including poverty, the landlord, drugs, drug dealers, and the police, it is "the shoes" who loom largest as a symbol of all of it. The shoes "told"; they "had done plenty"; "those shoes made him stop and stare at them at least once a day"; "those shoes seemed to have summoned hands from the smoldering asphalt to grab his feet and keep him in place" -- and that's just on the first page. As the story progresses "the shoes" become increasingly anthropomorphic, even supernatural, and they wield the kind of power you encounter in a fairy tale like Andersen's.
  
  It's a remarkable piece of "creative writing" especially for an undergraduate student. One can see even here the talent that Thomas has gone on to develop so well in her subsequent books.
  
  I found a pdf of this story here:
  
  
  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
• 
  MadOnReading

  This is the short story that became The Hate U Give, and although it was written several years prior to THUG, you can tell Angie Thomas is a masterful writer. Very skilled.
  
  It tells a version of Khalil's story, and a lead-up to his death, and we see several of the characters from THUG. I especially enjoyed seeing Starr through Khalil's eyes.
  
  There is a hugely strong narrative voice in this story, and Angie Thomas touches on the important themes that her other works examine: racism, education, poverty, and the idea of being trapped in a way of life.
• 
  Brooke

  If this is a story for a collegiate publication (IDK if they have a name, but my college had one too) then it's no wonder Angie Thomas has shown herself to be a stellar writer. Knowing that The Hate U Give grew from this, it has a workshop feel to it and it is an excellent short story. Super glad I tracked it down.
  Story 18 of 2022.
• 
  Christine

  After reading (and becoming obsessed with) The Bate U Give, I learned it was based off this short story. I swear at this point Angie Thomas can do no wrong. Her writing style is SO captivating and lifts the characters right off the pages and into your mind. Crazy talent!
• 
  Vanshikha Vij

  3.5
• 
  Tanya

  Short and sad. Apparently a college paper short story that eventually spawned The Hate You Give and Concrete Rose.
• 
  Frans Kempe

  A short story that would be the start of Angies novel. Good and thoughtful story
• 
  Joanna’s Reading Rainbow

  This is the short story that eventually became “The Hate U Give.” It is short but powerful. Each word has purpose. Although readers of THUG will see similarities in both of these works, you will be happy to know that the stories are not exactly the same. It’s definitely worth reading.