Throughout the book The Hate U Give, family plays a crucial role throughout each of the characters and can be seen as one of the themes in the book; Family is not always defined by blood .The book offers a perspective on nontraditional families and the way these families provide each other with comfort, support and love.

Starr has a blended family because Seven isn’t Lisa’s biological mother; he has a different mother than Starr and Sekani. Nevertheless, Maverick and Lisa are able to support Seven in many different ways: they go to his graduation, convince him to go to college outside of the city, talk to him about the importance of not joining a gang. In the book Seven says to Iesha “The woman right there did everything you were suppose to and then some” (Thomas, 365). This quote is an example of how the importance of family unity can strain in the face of abuse and hardship. When Seven’s birth-mother wasn’t there for him throughout his childhood, Lisa took care of him and played the role of a mother Seven never had. Seven had a family that loved him when he didn’t have anyone to go to. Another example of how family playing a role in throughout the book was when Maverick realized being a father was more important to him than being in a gang.
         

Before Maverick became a father, his earlier life evolved around gangs. His father was the biggest drug dealer the city had ever seen and was a King Lord. He went to prison when Maverick was eight and after Maverick picked up where his father left off. He became a King Lord at the age of twelve, and found out that was the only way for him to survive but all that changed when he became a father. In the book Maverick says “Then I became a daddy, and I realized that King Lord s*** wasn’t worth dying for. I wanted out” (Thomas,175). This is an example of family playing a role throughout the book because he wanted to be their for his kids and that inspired him to get out of the gang. His family meant more to him than being a gangbanger and to be involved in his children’s life he needed to leave. He ends up in jail to be become free from the gang and be a part of his family again.
      

Throughout the book, we as the reader can see how important family is to each of these characters no matter how the family is built. Each of them care about one another regardless of where they came from or who they are.