Garden Heights

Garden Heights is the urban neighborhood where Starr lives with her family, and where Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer. Maverick Carter, Starr's father, owns a corner store here, and Lisa Carter, Starr's mother, works as a nurse at the local clinic. The community is the site of increasingly violent protests after Khalil's death and the grand jury's decision not to to indict Officer Cruise. Two rival gangs, the Garden Disciples and the King Lords, are engaged in a turf war in the neighborhood, but it is also a thriving, tight-knit community where people look out for one another. This is evident in the small details, like the barbecue restaurant owner offering free meals to kids who earn good grades, and people bringing meals to Khalil's grandmother's house after his death. But it is most evident at the end of the novel when the...