A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF BLACK FEMALE ADOLESCENCE, IDENTITY AND RACIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN YA FICTION OF ANGIE THOMAS

Authors

  • Himani Negi Assistant Professor, Department of English, SSJDWSSS Government PG College, Ranikhet, Almora, Uttarakhand, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v13.i5.2025.6909

Keywords:

Young Adult Literature, Black Lives Matter, Ethnicity, Racial Consciousness, Adolescence, Feminism, Literary Theory

Abstract [English]

This paper examines the representation of Black female adolescence in the young adult (YA) fiction of Angie Thomas, focusing primarily on The Hate U Give and On the Come U Drawing on Black feminist theory and intersectionality, the study explores how Thomas constructs identity, agency, and racial consciousness through her protagonists, Starr Carter and Bri Jackson. The analysis demonstrates that Thomas’s narratives foreground the lived realities of systemic racism, gendered stereotypes, and class marginalization, while simultaneously offering frameworks of empowerment, voice, and resistance. The paper argues that Thomas’s work contributes significantly to contemporary YA literature by centering Black female subjectivity and fostering critical racial awareness among adolescent readers.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abate, M. A. (2023). He Cuts Roses that Have Blooms as Big as My Palms. Children's Literature in Education.

Bickmore, S. T., and Clark, S. (Eds.). (2024). On the Shoulders of Giants: Celebrating African American Authors of Young Adult Literature. Rowman and Littlefield.

Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. (2025). Reflecting Realities: Survey of Ethnic Representation within UK Children's Literature 2025. CLPE.

Hinton, K. (2023). Down Home: Going South in Rita Williams-Garcia's Novels. Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 43(3), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1353/chq.2018.0036 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/chq.2018.0036

Johnson-Feelings, D., and McNair, J. C. (Forthcoming). The Brownies' Book Magazine. Centennial Studies Series.

Kett, J. F. (2024). Reflections on the History of Adolescence in America. The History of the Family, 8(3), 355–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1081-602X(03)00042-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1081-602X(03)00042-3

King, W. (2023). Stolen Childhood: Slave Youth in Nineteenth-Century America. Indiana University Press.

Lugo Vazquez, S. (Guest Ed.). (2024, May). Puerto Rico [Special Issue]. Anansesem.

Qasim, N., and Zaidi, N. A. (2025). Racial Discrimination in Young Adult Diasporic Fictions. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review.

Thomas, A. (2023). The Hate U Give.

Thomas, A. (2024). On the Come U

Intersecting Feminism, Race and Class in Angie Thomas's The Hate u Give. (2025). Indiana Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Levin, A. (2023). Finding the “Herstorical” Narrative in The Hate u Give. English Studies in Africa. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003152606-21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003152606-21

Vanfosson, J. (2024). Themes and Trends in Contemporary Young Adult Fiction. JSTOR.

Downloads

Published

2025-05-31

How to Cite

Negi, H. (2025). A FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF BLACK FEMALE ADOLESCENCE, IDENTITY AND RACIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN YA FICTION OF ANGIE THOMAS. International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 13(5), 345–353. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v13.i5.2025.6909