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Starr goes to a spring break dance in Garden heights. People at the party are dancing, drinking alcohol and smoking weed. Starr went to the party with her friend Kenta only after she begged her to go for a week. She didn’t want to be at the party because she doesn’t know anyone there because she doesn’t go to the same school. This makes her feel uncomfortable and invisible when Kenya talks to her friends and Starr is not included. The people at the party keep looking over at Starr because the people think she all that because she goes to Williamson prep school.
Kenya asked Starr why are you wearing sneakers and her brother's oversized hoodie to the party? Seven is Starr's and Kenya's brother from the same mother, Iesha. Starr doesn’t care what other people think about the way she dresses or thinks. Kenya is really the only person from Garden heights that she hangs out with.

At the party Kenya had seen the person she really hates and Kenya tries to get Starr to help her handle Denasia but Starr tries to talk to Kenya stay out of the drama. Starr sees Khalil at the party, they start to talk and Khalil says how strange it feels that it feels talking to Starr after 6 years. She notices he is wearing new Jordan's and that is not like him years ago. She was concerned where he might be getting his money from.

Kahlil, Starr, and Natasha were friends who call themselves the Hood Trio.  Natasha was killed at the age of 10 by a drive buy shooter. They hear gun shots coming from the dance floor.  Khalil takes Starr to his car to try to get her to somewhere safe.  While they are driving, they continue to talk, sing and catch up.

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They hear sirens and see a cop pulling them over. Starr remembers “the talk” her parents gave her when she was twelve about how to behave in front of police officers.  Lisa, her mother, thought she was too young, but Maverick, her father, said she was old enough to be arrested or shot. He emphasized doing exactly what she was told and speaking only when spoken to and make no sudden moves. Starr notes that if her loud-mouthed father said to be quiet, she knew she’d better listen.

Starr remembers Maverick’s instructions to get a good look at the cop’s face, and notes that the officer is a white man with the badge number one-fifteen. He has pulled them over for a broken taillight and asks where they are coming from, to which Khalil responds with “nunya.” The cop demands Khalil to get out of the car. When he is getting out of the car, the cop yanks him out and pins his arm behind his back, and proceeds to search him three times and finds nothing. When the cop was not looking, Khalil opened the car door to make sure Starr was ok.  The cop saw this and fired three shots at Khalil’s back.

Starr witnessed this horrible tragedy on her friend.  Starr gets out of the car to go to her friend. All she can scream is ”NO, NO, NO!” The cop then points the gun at her and tells her to put her hands up like she was a threat.

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People start to gather as the police search the car.  Starr is told to wait in the ambulance for her parents to arrive and take her home. Her parents hugged her long and tight.  On the way home, Starr go sick in the car and threw up out the window. She was still in shock.  When they got home, her mom helped her out of her bloodstained clothes and into a hot bath.  Starr had nightmares and kept waking up during the night.

Starr lives in grandmother’s old house because she moved in with Uncle Carlos, her son.  She now lives in a safer neighborhood. When Starr went to the kitchen the next morning to get breakfast, she hears Seven and their father talking about King being abusive to Iesha, Kenya, and Lyric. King is Iesha’s boyfriend and a drug lord. Seven lives with them and his two sisters, Kenya and Lyric.  Seven brings up Kahlil’s death and her parents and Seven try to console her. They decide not to tell anyone, including her younger brother, Sekani, that she was present at the shooting.

Kenya’s fathers takes her to their grocery store to keep her busy this Saturday. She packs groceries for the customers.  Mr. Lewis, the barbershop owner next door, was trying to make it sound like Kahlil got himself killed because he was selling that stuff. Starr served him day old coffee because he was speaking this way. Kenya stopped by and Maverick gave the girls money to get him and themselves some lunch at Reuben’s restaurant across the street. When they came out, King was pulling up in his car with the radio blasting.  He tried to say he was Starr’s uncle, but she knows he is not. He was trying to play like he was family and she considers King nothing to her. He offers both the girls money to replace what they spent at the restaurant, but Starr refusing to take anything from him. King want to send a package to the grocery store and Maverick told him no. King felt Maverick owed him a favor for helping him buy the store. Maverick says they are even because Maverick went to jail for three years to keep King out of prison.   He warns King to never touch Seven again and if he does, he will owe him a whooping.  King makes Kenya get in the car and leave with him.

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Saturday night, Starr had nightmares and kept waking up. She got up and was on her way to the kitchen and heard Uncle Carlos talking to her parents. He wants Starr to talk to the police and tell the truth what happened. Maverick didn’t like the idea. He thinks the people will turn her words around and use them against her.  Her mother, Lisa, is scared for Starr to speak to the police. She thinks people will come after Starr and her family. Uncle Carlos promising Starr she will be safe and the cop won’t be there. They wanted justice for Kahlil so they agreed to let Starr talk to the police on Monday after school. Lisa will be with her the whole time.

Instead of going to church on Sunday, Maverick, Lisa and Starr went to Ms. Rosalie’s house to see her. This was Khalil’s grandmother. Ms. Rosalie took Lisa in when she was pregnant with Starr in high school and her mother kicked her out and she had nowhere to go. She also babysat Starr and Sekani when Maverick was in jail so that she could finish college. Starr spent a lot of time playing here with Kahlil growing up.

Tammy was Ms. Rosalie’s youngest daughter and Kahlil’s aunt from New York.  With Khalil’s mother, Brenda, using drugs, he once said he would rather have Tammy as his mother. Starr told him that Tammy was too busy to take care of him. She now regrets saying that. Ms. Rosalie had Starr sit next to her and held her hand the whole time. She told Starr and the others that Kahlil was selling that stuff. But he looked up to Maverick and wanted to talk to him so to help him get out of that business. Khalil remember Maverick telling him that selling that stuff would only “lead to two things, the grave or prison.” He didn’t want either and was ready to get out. He didn’t get that chance.

Maverick gave Ms. Rosalie an envelope full of cash to help pay for the funeral. He also told her they are raising money in the neighborhood for her. The community is joining together during this time by bringing her food if they can’t do anything else for her.

Kahlil used to say to Starr when she was leaving, “See you later, alligator.” So when she was leaving today she remembered this and said “After a while, crocodile.” But she found it harder to say it to someone that was not there anymore. She smiled and said it anyway.

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Starrs family prays together before leaving the house, like they do every morning. Starr tries to keep from crying at school, but she does a few times thinking of Kahlil. Other things make her feel uncomfortable at school today.  Her friends talk about their vacations during springs break to the Bahamas and Florida to see Harry Potter World.  Starr only saw her friend killed during spring break.  If there was a family vacation, it would only be to a local hotel with a pool. Hailey unfriended her on social media. Starr was in a fight with Chris, her white boyfriend, because he knew she wasn’t ready for sex and he tried. Starr’s mother knows Chris is white, but she doesn’t dare till her father.

Chris tried to make up with Starr by singing out loud the Fresh Prince of Bel- Air theme song in the crowed school hallway. It worked, she smiled but kept thinking of Khalil. Chris reminds her of the cop that killed Kahlil because they are both the same whiteness and this makes her cry.  But Chris doesn’t know why.

The kids take Lisa food at the clinic afterschool.  Brenda shows up crying with sores and scabs all over her body from drug use. Lisa tells her she can get her help to get clean but she has to want to.  She agrees that Cameron needs her and she doesn’t want to be like this anymore. Starr gets mad and says Brenda has no right to be upset now, she was never a good mother to Khalil. Lisa reminds Starr that Brenda is Khalil’s mother regardless of her mistakes. Starr sees this when she takes Brenda some food and looks in her eyes.

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Starr and her girlfriends are watching a basketball game of girls vs. boys. They just had fried chicken for lunch.  Hailey got mad that the girls were only playing so they can flirt with the boys because their playing sucked.  She convinces Starr and Maya to play against the boys, but Chris takes one of the boy’s place.  Chris did this so he can try to talk to Starr.  Starr avoids his questions.  On one of the plays, Hailey yells at Starr to pretend the ball is some fried chicken if she wants to stay on it.

Starr gets angry when she hears this comment and runs to the locker room.  Hailey says she didn’t intend the comment to be racist, but Starr was not convinced.  The girls were trying to find out why Starr has been acting differently lately. They were afraid to ask her if Khalil was the same person she invited to birthday parties years ago. Starr was afraid her friends would treat her differently if they knew the truth, so she denied knowing that Khalil. So make it seems she was upset because it was the anniversary of Natasha’s death. The coach tells her to go talk to the school psychiatrist. She calls Uncle Carlos to pick her up instead with the excuse of stomach cramps. He takes her for frozen yogurt and gets her to tell him what is really bothering her. She told him that the cop pointed his gun at her until someone else showed up, like she was a threat also. Carlos hugs her while she cries and apologizes that she went through this.

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The following day is Khalil’s funeral. Starr does not like the sight of Khalil’s lifeless body in the coffin. It reminds her of Natasha’s corpse. Starr’s family sat in the front row with Khalil’s family. The funeral was a celebration of life with upbeat songs and prayer. It get more serious when April, a representative for a Garden Heights police accountability advocacy group called Just Us for Justice, speaks and tells the people that Khalil was unarmed when he was killed. She invites everyone to a peaceful protest after the service.

King enters the church with Iesha and a group of King Lords.  Starr’s mother always tenses up around Ieasha because Maverick made Seven with her during a “for hire” session he had after a fight with Lisa. King places a folder gray bandana on Khalil’s body. This says that he was involved with the King Lords. Rosalie throws the bandana back at King and Maverick tells him to leave. Ieasha is rude to Rosalie and calls her a “Bi- and ol’ hag”.

After the service, Starr cries and her The following day is Khalil’s funeral. Starr does not like the sight of Khalil’s lifeless body in the coffin. It parents comfort her. When the make it out of the church, April Ofrah says she is there to protect Starr’s privacy, not exploit her.  She tells Starr to” call her when she is ready” to speak to her.

There are more people outside the church than in it.  They were holding posters with Khalil’s face and words like “Justice for Khalil.” Maverick, Seven and Sekani stay and protest, while Lisa and Starr go home.

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Starr and her mother went to the police station for the interview. Starr was questioned by a young white man, Detective Wilkes and a Latina woman, Detective Gomez.  She was asked to recount what happened. It seems like they were trying to put Khalil on trial for dealing drugs or drinking at the party. They were trying to discredit Starr’s testimony by implying she might have been drinking at the party.  Gomez seemed to not believe the officer forced Khalil out of the car and shot him for no reason.  They wanted to know why Khalil was opening the car door. He never got to finish his question to Starr before he was shot dead.  Starr and Lisa left the station feeling that this investigation will not be fair.

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That night, protests start in Garden Heights. Maverick spends the night at his store to protect it from rioters and instructs his family to stay indoors. Starr says her neighborhood is like a “war zone.” Lisa hears machine gunfire and tells the children to move to the den, where there are no windows. The family turns on the tv to watch the protests. Police are tear-gassing protestors, cars are set on fire, and people are running and screaming in the streets. On tv they hear that they are not going to arrest the police officer. Starr gets mad. They make it sound like “its Khalil fault he died,” by 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 Khalil did not deserve to die.

That night, Starr has a vivid nightmare about Natasha's death.  The next morning Seven knocks 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. The park holds sentimental value for Starr because she played there with Khalil and Natasha. Starr initially thinks Devante is cute, until he calls her “li’l mamma”.  Starr hates nicknames. Seven introduced them and Starr realizes this is the same DeVante  that fought at big D's party. Seven tells DeVante he’s sorry about his brother, Dalvin who was killed.

They arrive at Carlos 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 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.

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Lisa and  Starr spent the night at Carlos to avoid the riots, but protests continued while they drove home the next morning. Starr is terrified when they have to pass through a police checkpoint, and grips the door handle. They make it through, but Starr does not let go of the handle until they get home. Back at their house, Maverick asks Starr to hang out with him that day, promising her ice cream and the chance to  watch Harry Potter. Starr's father says that the Hogwarts houses are really just gangs; they wear the same colors, never snitch on each other, and some even have matching tattoos.

Starr gets into the car with Maverick, who plays Tupac as he drives. Starr mocks him for showing his age, but Maverick insists Tupac cared about uplifting black people. Starr tells Maverick what Khalil told her about Tupac’s definition of Thug Life. Maverick asks what Starr thinks Tupac meant, and she replies those at the “bottom of society” “get the short end of the stick,” and are also feared by society. Maverick continues to push Starr to explain how drugs, racism, and a lack of opportunity trap communities like Garden Heights in a cycle of poverty and crime. He says that people become drug dealers because they need money and “don’t have a lot of other ways to get it.” He connects this to the lack of proper education in minority communities, drug industries, and a justice system that disproportionately punishes black people.

After listening to her father, Starr realizes that the protests and anger in her community are much bigger than Khalil. She decides that she cannot be silent if she wants the system of oppression to change, stating “my silence isn’t helping us.”

Maverick agrees to help DeVante get free of King, and says he can start by working in the store. While showing him how to put price stickers on items, DeVante opens up to Starr about feeling helpless as he watched Dalvin, his brother, die—a feeling Starr knows all too well. Maverick allows DeVante to stay with the Carters that night. Starr overhears her parents fighting, Lisa angry with Maverick for putting the family in danger by bringing DeVante home, and insisting they continue to live in Garden Heights. She says has made her choice and will do what she needs to do for her children.

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The next day at Williamson things are strangely quiet. Starr asks what is going on, and Hailey reveals that her brother, Remy, is starting a protest for Khalil simply to get out of class. Making matters worse, Hailey says it is messed up that they’re protesting a “drug dealer’s” death. A disgusted Starr tells her that should have nothing to do with it and tells Hailey to leave her alone. She decides she is “done following Hailey.” Five minutes into class students start chanting “Justice for Khalil” and students walk out of the classroom. Only Starr and Chris stay in class. Later in the lunchroom, Starr is happy to see that Jess, a friend from the basketball team who is white, refused to join the protest as well.  She, Starr, Chris, Seven and Layla joke that they are protesting the “Get Out of Class Protest.”

After school, Starr sees Mr. Lewis outside Maverick’s store and preparing to give an on-camera interview. Maverick says it is in response to some cops getting jumped around the corner. Starr mentally begs the news crew not to put Mr. Lewis on live TV, but the interview begins. Mr. Lewis tells the interviewer that thugs have been terrorizing Garden Heights for years, and he will “name one right now they can come and get.” Much to Starr and her family’s horror, he then snitches on King. Maverick calls Mr. Lewis crazy after the interview for snitching on television, insisting he is “a dead man walking.” Mr. Lewis asserts that unlike the rest of the neighborhood, he isn’t scared of King. He reveals the prosthetic leg he got from the war as well as a scar on his stomach he got “after some white boys cut me ‘cause I drank from their fountain.” Compared to all that, he says, King’s “games” are nothing. He says King is still controlling everyone in Garden Heights, including Maverick.

A police car with two officers shows up and they approach Maverick and Mr. Lewis. An officer named Larry who is black, accuses Maverick of harassing Mr. Lewis, a claim both calmly deny. Starr notes that Mr. Lewis has his hands by his sides, and must have had “the talk” too. She also thinks they have targeted her father because of his baggy clothes and tattoos. Larry asks for Maverick’s ID, which he very slowly hands him, not wanting to make any sudden movements. Upon seeing his name, Larry forces Maverick to the ground and thrusts his knee into his back. A crowd of familiar neighborhood faces, including Mr. Reuben's nephew Tim, have gathered.  The officers tell them to leave, but they insist that this “is their business.”

Larry begrudgingly lets Maverick up. Before the cops leave, Larry tells Maverick he will “keep an eye on him.” After the incident, a shaken Maverick and the others go inside the store. Maverick slams his fists on the counter in anger. Mr. Lewis no longer at odds with Maverick, tries to comfort him, while Seven asks his siblings why the officers treated “daddy like that”? Seven comforts his little brother. Tim says that the officers humiliated him in order to scare Starr off from speaking up; news had spread that she was the witness. Kenya overhears this and calls Starr a coward for not speaking up more on behalf of Khalil. She says that if Khalil were from Williamson, Starr would be have defended him, and further accused Starr of abandoning both Khalil and her for the bougie world of her private school. Kenya insists Starr has a chance to help the entire neighborhood, and that Khalil would have spoken up for her.

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Tanks rumble through Garden Heights. A curfew is in place. Seven is home with the family. Everyone feels safer with him around, and the mood is lighter in the Carter home. Maverick tends to his roses which he fears are dying. He and Lisa have made up, and Maverick watches his wife as she works on the computer.

Maverick asks Starr to get her old laptop to give to DeVante for school. Back in her bedroom, Starr checks on the new Tumblr blog she has started called The Khalil I Know. It includes photographs and stories about Khalil that contradict and complicate the image the media is painting of him. She sends the Tumblr link to Kenya. Though this isn’t speaking up on the news, Starr feels that she is still doing something for Kahlil.

Hundreds of people have liked her photos and begin posting their own memories of Khalil. Someone posts a video of Tupac explaining “Thug Life,” and Starr finally feels like she fully understands what it really means. Starr brings her old laptop to Seven's room, where he and DeVante are playing video games. She notices the Slytherin blanket on Seven’s bed and notes that they all wanted to be Slytherins when they were little because they associated the Harry Potter house with being rich. When you are live in the projects, is “the best thing anybody can be.” Starr also notices the black trash bag of clothes next to Seven’s bed, and Seven tells her that King moved back in with lesha and officially kicked him out of the house. Starr tries to comfort Seven, but he insists he is okay.

Maverick gets a phone call from a frantic DeVante about something the others don’t hear, and says they are on their way.

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Back at the store, the Carters find a badly beaten Mr. Lewis, his eye swollen shut and cheek slashed. He says five of the King Lords attacked him, and is proud of putting up a fight. Lisa and Maverick note that he is lucky to be alive; with King Lords, snitches do not simply “get stitches”—they get “graves.” Mr. Lewis scoffs at their concerns. He says they were really after DeVante —that King will kill him when he finds him, and that King also knows Maverick is hiding him.

Starr is surprised to see Carlos at home in sweats in the middle of a workday. DeVante is impressed by the size of Carlos and Pam's home, but worried about staying with a cop. Carlos reveals that he was put on leave, and Starr immediately knows it was due to her. Carlos explains the rules of living in his house to DeVante: no guns, no swearing, and he must go to school. Nana rudely says she won’t live with a “murderer,” but the others shoo her away.

Starr was surprised to hear DeVante say that Khalil used to talk about her. He also asserts that Khalil was not in a gang. King tried to get him to become a King Lord, but Khalil refused, and the bandana at the funeral was King’s way of saving face. DeVante explains that Khalil never wanted to sell drugs—and, in fact, that no one ever wants to. Khalil only started selling because Brenda stole from King, and he wanted to pay back her debt. Starr is ashamed that she thought the worst of Khalil, just like everyone else.

Starr begins to explain that if only the world knew the reason why Khalil was selling drugs—but DeVante finishes her thought: they would not call Khalil a “thug” like him. DeVante says he is a thug, but that he has only done what he had to in order to survive. He tells Starr that the King Lords were the closest thing he had to a family, and that they looked out for him in a way no one else could—providing the food, clothes, and protection his mother could not. Having to constantly look out for his mother and sisters, DeVante appreciated having someone to help take care of him “for a change.” Starr realizes neither he nor Khalil had much of a choice when it came to falling into a life of crime.

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The following morning Lisa takes Starr to IHOP, but Starr barely touches her food. Lisa expresses her anger about the previous night’s interview, saying a grown man could not possibly been afraid of “two children.” People on the internet seem to agree. People she has never met are calling the interview “BS.”

Maverick and Starr head back to the store together. There, Maverick asks Starr what she sees in Chris—and if she has a problem with black boys. Starr wants to know if Maverick has a problem with white people. He admits that his reservations about Chris stem from insecurity: he worries that he did not set a good example for his daughter about black men. Starr responds that he set a good example of what a man should be, and Maverick kisses the top of her head. Starr and Maverick pick up food from Rebuen’s for dinner on the way home.

At dinner Lisa casually mentions that she has a second interview for a job at the same hospital where Pam, Carlos’s wife and a surgeon, works. Pam recommended Lisa for the job of Pediatrics Nursing Manager, and thinks it is as good as hers. The job would mean a six-figure salary. Much to Starr’s surprise, Maverick says he and Lisa will look at houses near the hospital before the interview and that he is determined to get the family out of Garden Heights. After dinner, Seven tells Sekani that he won’t be leaving. He will go to community college to stay near his mother and sisters.

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Needing to clear her head, Starr leaves and walks to Maya’s house nearby. Maya is excited to see Starr, but Hailey, who is also there, remains cold. After a brief time playing video games, Hailey cuts the tension in the room and asks Starr why she is mad at them. Starr asks why Hailey attended the fake protest for Khalil and Hailey defends herself by saying everyone else did it too. Maya apologizes for using a “tragedy to get out of class,” but Hailey refuses to admit she was wrong. Instead, she demands Starr apologize for calling her racist. Starr realizes that Hailey has always been a master of twisting situations so that she seems like the victim, but Starr refuses to fall for it anymore. Starr insists her fried chicken comment was, in fact, racist. Hailey still refuses to apologize, and they sit in tense silence while watching tv. As he tells the story of the shooting, One-Fifteen paints a picture of Khalil’s death that is nothing like what Starr experienced.

He portrays both Starr and Khalil as dangerous threats who cursed at One-Fifteen, resisted his orders, and conspired to take him down. One-Fifteen’s father says his son was “a good boy” who rightfully feared for his life, thought he saw a gun, and just wanted to get home to his family, yet the media is portraying him as a “monster.” His son’s life has been “hell” since the shooting, and a fellow officer even attacked him. Starr realizes this must have been Carlos. In her anger, she states that the interview has “killed” a part of her—the part afraid of speaking out.

After Hailey has gone, Maya says that Hailey was lying: she did unfollow Starr’s Tumblr because she was tired of seeing, as Hailey put it, the “black stuff.” As Maya names civil rights activists Starr posted images of, Starr is impressed that she has been “paying attention.” Maya says she had said nothing to Starr out of hope that Hailey would come around, but feels ashamed for not knowing better. Hailey had said racist things before.

Starr walks back to Carlos ’s house, where she finds her uncle having a beer outside. She can tell that something is deeply wrong; Nana was a violent alcoholic, so even one beer is a big deal to Carlos. Starr notices the bruises on Carlos’ knuckles and puts things together. Carlos is on leave because he punched One-Fifteen in the face. The idea of her uncle fighting makes Starr crack up with laughter. Carlos smiles too, saying that as someone from Garden Heights, he “knows how to fight.” Starr is touched, but also worries about Carlos losing his job. Carlos says he loves his family more than the force, and that Starr is the reason he became a cop in the first place. Starr asserts that they need good cops like him. Carlos admits that the interview with One-Fifteen's father made him rethink his earlier dismissal of Khalil as nothing more than a drug dealer. He is angry with himself for trying to rationalize the death of a boy he watched grow up. Whatever Khalil’s background, Carlos says, he should not have been killed for “opening a car door.” He also says that had he been at that traffic stop, he would not have shot Khalil.

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Five weeks have passed since the shooting, and April Ofrah has arranged for Starr to do an interview with national news anchor Diane Carey. A limo picks the Carters up from Garden Heights, and as they drive away Starr is heartened to hear her neighbors shout words of encouragement. Lisa has made everyone dress up as if they are going to church, and instructs them on how to speak at the studio.

Chris texts Starr asking what color her prom dress is, but Starr has been too distracted to think about that; Ms. Ofrah has had her prep for her interview every day after school. Starr has also been helping at Just Us for Justice, and listening in on their staff meetings to learn more about police reform and protest tactics. Starr continues, telling the world that Khalil was not in a gang. Thinking of DeVante, Starr still says that even if he were, that does not make his killing acceptable.  The media has been treating him unfairly, like putting him on trial for his own murder.

Starr goes on to detail the night of Khalil’s death, assuring that there was no gun in the car, that she and Khalil posed no threat to One-Fifteen, and that the officer pointed his gun at her after killing Khalil. She says she does not hate cops, but is tired of them assuming black people are dangerous. These assumptions are what killed Khalil. Remembering Ms. Ofrah’s words that speaking out is the way Starr can fight for justice, she ends the interview by wondering whether One-Fifteen wishes he had shot her too.

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The interview was one of the most watched in the network’s history, and there is an outpouring of support for Starr online. Kenya texts her approval, but also says King is angry that Starr snitched on him.

The Saturday of prom arrives, and Starr is sitting in a Rolls Royce with Chris. He behaves coldly towards Starr, answering her questions “robotically” and barely looking at her. Loud music greets them as they arrive at the ballroom, and Starr notes how different Williamson and Garden Heights parties are. For one thing, the people at Williamson can’t dance like those at big D's. Starr feels less hesitant here, because being black makes her “cool by default.” She could make up a dance and everyone would think it was a new trend.

Still in the car, Starr opens up about her life in Garden Heights, as well as witnessing Natasha's death and later Khalil’s. She tells Chris about living in a smoky, rat- and roach-infested apartment in the projects. Maverick, who struggled to get a job as an ex-con, had to use food stamps to buy clothes. She admits her guilt over not being there for Khalil. She calls Chris her “normal.” They say “I love you” to each other. Seven and Layla tap on the car door, and the four go back inside the prom. Chris gets up in front of the crowd and raps The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song for Starr. They dance the night away, and Starr doesn’t think about Khalil. She calls it “one of the best nights of her life.”

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Maverick and Lisa take Starr and her brothers on a “trip.” At first they think they are going to Carlos’s house, but they pass his neighborhood. They eventually stop in a similar neighborhood, though there is no gate and there are more people of color. They stop in front of a brick house. Inside smells of fresh paint. The kitchen has granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. As Starr, Seven, and Sekani look around with wonder and confusion, Lisa announces that she got the job at the hospital and that this will be their new home. Though Maverick has complained about the fakeness of life in the suburbs, he says the realest thing he can do is protect his family.

Soon a group of King Lords, led by Goon, arrive at the Carters’ door. They are “Cedar Grove” King Lords, signifying that they are part of a different “set” than King is. Maverick says they will be providing security for the evening. Unable to trust the police, Maverick turns to the sort of justice that reigns supreme in Garden Heights: gangs.

Carlos is outraged at the invitation of gangbangers to the house, saying King Lords may have been behind the attack in the first place. Maverick accuses him of not wanting to protect Starr because he is scared about how working with gangbangers will look to his fellow cops. Carlos screams at Maverick, pointing out all he did to raise Starr and Seven while Maverick was in prison. Every time Iesha dropped Seven off, often for weeks, he bought clothes and food, and provided shelter. He says Maverick better not ever insinuate he doesn’t care about the children. Maverick goes silent.

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Maverick and Lisa take Starr and her brothers on a “trip.” At first they think they are going to Carlos's house, but they pass his neighborhood. They eventually stop in a similar neighborhood, though there is no gate and there are more people of color. They stop in front of a brick house. Inside smells of fresh paint. The kitchen has granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. As Starr, Seven and Sekani look around with wonder and confusion, Lisa announces that she got the job at the hospital and that this will be their new home. Though maverick has complained about the fakeness of life in the suburbs, he says the realest thing he can do is protect his family.
Lisa says they hope to get settled before Seven goes off to college, so that he has time to make his room his own. Seven reveals that he wants to go to Central Community, a junior college in Garden Heights, to stay close to his mother and sisters. maverick and Lisa think he can’t be serious; Central Community is “Garden Heights High 2.0” and lacks many of the opportunities of the other schools Seven applied to. Maverick insists Seven is not responsible for his sisters, and deserves to take advantage of the chance to go to school wherever he wants. Soon a group of King Lords, led by goon, arrive at the Carters’ door. They are “Cedar Grove” King Lords, signifying that they are part of a different “set” than king is.  says they will be providing security for the evening.

Unable to trust the police, Maverick turns to the sort of justice that reigns supreme in Garden Heights: gangs.

Active Themes

Carlos is outraged at the invitation of gangbangers to the house, saying King Lords may have been behind the attack in the first place. maverick accuses him of not wanting to protect Starr because he is scared about how working with gangbangers will look to his fellow cops. Carlos screams at Maverick, pointing out all he did to raise Starr and seven while Maverick was in prison. Every time lesha dropped Seven off, often for weeks, he bought clothes and food, and provided shelter. He says Maverick must not ever insinuate he doesn’t care about the children. Maverick goes silent.

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The next morning Starr wakes up to the smell of bacon. Lisa and Pam have cooked breakfast for the King Lords, who gobble everything up quickly. Lisa tells Starr to bring a plate to her father and uncle outside, and finds them sitting on the back of Maverick’s truck. Carlos motions for Starr to sit in between them, and much to her surprise, they appear to be getting along—joking with one another about the characters of Garden Heights. Carlos insinuates that they worked through their issues, their shared love of Starr being much more important than any qualms they had with each other.

The King Lords drive the Carters to the courthouse. Starr flashes back to many years earlier, when Carols drove her, Seven, and a sobbing Lisa to the courthouse to say goodbye to Maverick before he was taken to prison. He came outside in his orange jumpsuit, but could not hug her because he was handcuffed. For the next three years Starr hated the courthouse because it took her father away from her.

This scene echoes the power the court maintains over black lives. It is a force that splits up families and disrupts communities, further keeping them in a cycle of crime. Though the court is the only way to get justice for Khalil, Starr knows all too well that it is not as impartial as it pretends to be.

Starr is sworn in and begins her testimony in front of the grand jury. She gets off to a halting start, and the judge tells her she must speak up so everyone can hear what she says. The judge says they are going to discuss the details of the night of Kahlil’s death. Part of Starr is terrified, but another part of her remembers that her parents are watching her, and that Khalil needs her.  Strengthened by this thought, she says she is ready to speak.

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Later the Carters’ house is filled with both King Lords and Garden Disciples. Maverick says that regardless of the indictment verdict, they can’t let riots get out of hand and have people burn the neighborhood down; though people are angry, destroying their home won’t fix things. Tim, Mr. Reuben's nephew, says they all need to get more organized and avoid targeting black-owned businesses. Maverick agrees, and urges the gangs to put territory wars aside together for the sake of Garden Heights. Fighting has only given the cops more power to do whatever they want. Starr was surprised to see the different gang members slap palms.

Maverick emerges as a leader in the community’s fight for justice. Marking black-owned businesses is a way to prevent people from, as Tupac would say, “fucking everybody” out of anger. The fact that the rival gangs not only agree to meet, but to work together reflects the novel’s theme that people must put aside petty differences and work together to end oppression.

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Starr’s family had moved into a new house in the suburbs, but to Starr it doesn’t feel like home yet. The grand jury is due to announce their decision in a few hours. Starr is feeling nervous so she calls Chris. The two hang out in Chris’s bedroom, and Starr tells Chris that they shouldn’t be together because of the difference in their races, backgrounds, and wealth. Chris reassures her that they should be together. When Starr tries to initiate sex, he tells her that it’s not a good time because she’s not in a good emotional place. Starr cries into his chest, and they fall asleep.

Starr wakes up a few hours later to a frantic call from Seven: Lisa and Carlos is out looking for Starr, and Devante has been hurt. Starr's dad picks Starr and Chris up, and they drive to Kings house. They find DeVante and Kenya in Iesha bedroom; DeVante is bruised and bloody because some King Lords jumped him while he was visiting his brother’s grave. King and his gang party in the backyard, waiting until sundown to kill DeVante.

Iesha walks into her bedroom and threatens to let King know that Seven is there. Ultimately, she tells Seven to take Kenya, Lyric, and DeVante and leave the house—an act of sacrifice, since King will undoubtedly take his anger out on Iesha once he finds out that DeVante is gone. Seven is angry at first that Iesha told him to leave so she could party, but Starr points out that she was trying to help. Seven turns the car around, wanting to protect Iesha from King, but the others convince him to accept his mother’s attempt to save him. As he turns the car once again, a radio program announces that the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Cruise.

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Starr's dad drops Kenya and Lyric at their grandmother’s house as riots continue in Garden Heights. Seven asks if Chris wants a ride home, as things are about to get “wild,” but Chris says he wants to stay with Starr and for everyone to know the indictment decision was wrong. He feels out of place in the crowd, and realizes this must be how Starr and her dad must feel at Williamson.

They climb atop a bus for a better view, and see King Lords and Garden Disciples protesting together on top of a police car. The crowd grows more violent, with people screaming to flip the police car and smashing its windows. Starr recognizes that her anger over the verdict is shared by her community. Someone starts playing NWA’s “Fuck the Police” and Starr shouts along with it. Despite her love for Carlos, she has realized this is not about good cops like him. Devante was impressed that Chris knew NWA lyrics.

The atmosphere in the car lightens as they try to “test” Chris to see if he’s black by asking him about certain elements of black culture. The group make lighthearted fun of stereotypical things white people do, but the mood becomes slightly tense when Chris asks why black people have “odd names.” Seven points out that Chris is judging things from a “white standard,” that many of these names are common in black communities, and that white people give their children strange names as well. Suddenly gunshots go off nearby, frightening everyone in the car.

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Seven tries to avoid the protests, but many streets are blocked off by the police. When his car runs out of gas on an unfamiliar street, the group gets out to walk to a gas station. As they walk, Starr shows Chris her old apartment building and the Taco Bell she used visit with her family. Chris says maybe they can go to Taco Bell together someday, which makes Devante laugh. Chris says he wants Starr to know he will go anywhere with her, no matter what neighborhood.

Police throw tear gas at the protestors. Starr looks back and even more chaos erupts as everyone scatters. Starr manages to find Seven, Chris and Devante through the stampede, but they are all being choked by thick white smoke. They spot a gray pickup truck barreling toward them and realize it is Goon. He stops and tells Starr and her friends to climb into the back of the truck. Also in the truck are other protestors, along with a man Starr recognizes as a national news anchor with a cameraman. Starr can’t stop coughing from the tear gas. Starr checks her phone, and has a lot of worried and angry voicemails from Lisa who says she saw her  throwing tear gas on TV. Just as Starr and her friends are getting up to leave the store, someone throws a glass bottle with a flaming cloth through the door. The store goes up in flames.

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The group tries to get out the back door, but it’s locked, and Starr keys. Smoke fills the aisles and they struggle to breathe. Mr. Lewis sees them from outside and screams for help. Tim comes running and opens the front door, but the path to it is blocked by flames. Moments later Maverick shows up and rushes to unlock the back door. Everyone tumbles out of the store. Neighbors with buckets of water try to put out the flames, which have spread to Mr. Lewis’s store as well, but the fire is too big to control. Khalil pulls up across the street in his gray BMW. He and other King Lords laugh and point at the fire. Mr. Lewis screams at King for starting the fire, but King keeps laughing and hides behind his King Lords. Mr.lewis shouts that King burned down Maverick’s store—loud enough that the gathered crowd hears it. The police and a firetruck arrive. As the police order the crowd to back up, Mr. Lewis tells them that they need to be focused on King because he started the fire. King calls him a liar, but to Starrs immense surprise, Maverick speaks up to confirm Mr. Lewis’s story. Starr is shocked that her father has “snitched.” But soon many in the crowd join in to confirm that they, too, saw King start the fire. up to confirm Mr. Lewis’s story. Starr is shocked that her father has “snitched.” But soon many in the crowd join in to confirm that they, too, saw King start the fire.The police take King and his boys away in their patrol cars. Devenateasks Carlosif he is going to kick him out for walking off without telling anyone, but Carlos assures him that he will just be grounded for the rest of his life and that they love him. Carols then says that, thanks to all the witnesses, they should be able to charge King for arson, though they won’t be able to hold him for long. Devenate asks if knowing where Kings stash was would help them put King away for good. Carlos says it would help the whole neighborhood if King went to jail, and promises that he would protect DeVante. Remembering Aprils claim that his voice is his strongest weapon, DeVante agrees to turn witness on King.

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The next morning, April calls to apologize for putting Starr in a dangerous situation, but also says she thinks Starr has a future in activism. Starr looks at the poster of Tupac on her wall, which was the first item she put up in her new bedroom because it felt like “bringing Khaili” with her. She says that all the rioting last night was because people were angry, and “it fucked all of us.” She decides it is time to “un-fuck” everybody. Hailey texts
Starr to say that she is sorry—for the verdict and that Starr is upset with her. Starr understands this means she is not sorry for her actions, just for Starr’s response to them. Hailey also says she wants things to be the way they used to be, but Starr texts back that they never will be, because Hailey may never see how wrong she was. Remembering Lisa’s advice to weigh the good and the bad of a relationship, she decides to cut Hailey out of her life and deletes her phone number.

Starr recognizes that Hailey may never change, and that she does not have to be friends with people whose words and beliefs contribute to her oppression. She no longer cares about being accepted by people who will never fully accept her.

Active Themes

Starr walks down the hallway, noting that she has yet to get used to the layout of their new house. Maverick is at the kitchen counter, clipping the rosebush he brought all the way from Garden Heights. Many of the roses are dry and dying, but Maverick sets the bush in a new clay pot and waters it. He says they are a little damaged, but the new soil will help them “reset” and bloom once again. Kenya arrives and says she heard her father started the fire. She also tells Starr that King beat lesha so badly that she is in the hospital, but she will be okay. She says the police raided their house and needed to ask Iesha questions, causing Starr to realize that Devante must have talked to the cops already. kenya then apologizes to starr for always calling seven “my” brother instead of “our” brother. She says she felt insecure about their relationship, fearing he really wanted to be with the Carters and felt ashamed of Kenya’s side of the family. She says it felt like Starr was ashamed of her too, having never introduced her to her Williamson friends. Starr seemed like she was ashamed of all of Garden Heights, in fact. Starr admits she may once have been ashamed, but is not anymore. Kenya asks what they will do next, and Starr says they will “rebuild.” starr says the world called khailil a thug, but she will remember him as a hazel-eyed boy with dimples.  She will never forget how he died, and will fight for a better ending. She has realized that the fight for justice is about more than Khalil. It’s about her entire family and community. She then lists the names of real-world black individuals killed at the hands of police, acknowledging there are many more. She says it’s about Emmett Till. People in communities like Garden Heights are starting to fight back. She promises she will never forget, never give up, and never be quiet.