If you connected with Starr speaking out after witnessing Khalil’s shooting and the way the grand jury and protests test her courage, you’ll be drawn to Justyce’s letters to Dr. King in Dear Martin. As he’s handcuffed without cause and later faces a violent encounter that spirals in the media, his struggle to stay true to his values mirrors Starr’s tightrope between Garden Heights and Williamson Prep. This is a sharp, heartfelt look at bias, public scrutiny, and the cost of telling the truth.

You watched Starr code-switch between Garden Heights and Williamson Prep, find her voice at the protest, and call out Hailey—so you’ll love how Xiomara finds power in slam poetry in The Poet X. Her secret notebook and open mic stage become what the bullhorn and TV cameras are for Starr: a way to speak, even when family pressure and neighborhood expectations try to quiet her.

If Starr’s split life—family dinners in Garden Heights, basketball games and microaggressions at Williamson, and tensions with Hailey and Chris—felt real to you, Jade’s story in Piecing Me Together will resonate. Navigating a scholarship at a mostly white private school while caring for her mom and her neighborhood, Jade wrestles with who gets opportunities and who gets labeled, echoing Starr’s clear-eyed take on class, race, and belonging.

Starr’s grief for Khalil—and her choice to testify—anchors The Hate U Give. In Long Way Down, Will steps into an elevator with a gun, ready to avenge his brother; each floor brings a haunting visitor who forces him to question the rules he’s been taught. Like Starr choosing voice over silence despite King’s threats, Will must decide who he wants to be when the elevator doors open.

If you appreciated Starr’s intimate narration—her humor with Seven, awkward honesty with Chris, and raw fear after Khalil—Julia’s voice in I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter will hook you. She narrates her grief, cultural expectations, and a fraught family life with the same immediacy, searching for truth about her sister much like Starr searches for the courage to tell hers.