The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Clarke, Maxine Beneba. The Hate Race. Corsair, 2016.

Maxine Beneba Clarke's The Hate Race is a memoir that traces Maxine's childhood experiences in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. The memoir toggles between the past and present as Maxine seeks to confront her childhood trauma and to reconcile with it.

In the present day, Maxine is living in Melbourne with her two children. While walking to the primary school to pick up her son one day, a stranger drives by and yells racial slurs at Maxine. Maxine sits on the curb and cries. She feels angry with herself for being upset, as this sort of racial violence is not new to her.

The narrative shifts into the past. Maxine was born in Sydney in 1979 to Bordeaux "Bordy" Clarke and Cleopatra "Cleo" Clarke. Bordy's parents were Jamaican and Cleo's parents were Guyanese. The couple grew up in England and lived in London after they were married. When Bordy found a new teaching job in Sydney, he and Cleo left the UK. They settled in the Sydney suburb of Kellyville where they started a family together.

The Clarkes were one of the only Black families in Kellyville. When Maxine was little, she did not think anything of her skin color. However, in preschool, her classmates began to ridicule and bully her for being Black. Carlita Allen was particularly cruel and made Maxine feel inferior. The situation only worsened over time. In year one, Maxine's classmates and teachers invalidated her experience when she tried to tell them about her home and family. Her peers also made fun of her when she came to school with a Black Cabbage Patch Doll.

As Maxine got older, she grew more accustomed to the bullying she faced at school. She learned to stop telling Cleo about it because the abuse by the students got worse when she told on them. Over time, she decided to stop speaking up for herself.

Maxine started to feel better about herself at the end of year six. When she graduated, she was named valedictorian and received an award. She felt proud of herself and excited that she had proved everyone wrong about her.

When Maxine started high school, she and her new best friend Selina were inseparable. Maxine always felt better at school with Selina by her side. However, a racist, sadistic student named Greg Adams made Maxine's life miserable. He and his friends tormented Maxine relentlessly. Maxine also received racist notes in her backpack and discovered that bullies had destroyed her art sketches. Sometimes Maxine was sent to the school psychologist, but the counselor had no sympathy for Maxine and dismissed her complaints.

Despite her classmates' rejection, Maxine continued trying to fit in at school. She changed her hair and tried to participate in new activities to win approval. Eventually, she realized that she did not want to be friends with such cruel people. Maxine made better friends when she joined the debate team. She proved herself to be a skilled debater and public speaker. She tried out for the school play and was cast in a leading role. Maxine started to have more pride and to be more confident.

The narrative returns to the present day. Maxine walks her son to school. On the way home, she and her baby daughter sit in the grass. Maxine studies her surroundings and reflects on her life in Australia. She realizes that this is her and her children's country and that she is a part of a long, resilient lineage.