'It's easier for young men to find a gun than a book character like them'
- Published
"It's easier for young men to find a gun than it is for them to find a book with a character like them," says US author Angie Thomas.
This was part of the inspiration behind her debut novel, The Hate U Give.
"We're seeing issues where young men and young women in America feel as if they have to protect themselves and the best way to do that is to get a gun," she tells Newsbeat.
"In the inner cities especially we're seeing issues."
The Hate U Give focuses on 16-year-old Starr, who inhabits two worlds - the poor, mostly black neighbourhood she grows up in and the predominantly white, upper-class school she attends.
Her life changes when she sees her childhood best friend being shot dead by a police officer.
"I did take some inspiration from my own life," says Angie, who lives and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi.
"For me growing up it was nothing unusual to hear gunshots at night in my neighbourhood.
"I still hear gunshots at night."
As a teenager, it wasn't books that inspired Angie, it was hip-hop.
"Rappers showed us ourselves when books did not," she says.
"They told our stories, the stories we could connect with, they still do and I think, if there were more books that kids could see themselves in, they would be more likely to pick them up."
She's involved with the US publishing movement We Need Diverse Books, which aims to put stories with a range of characters into the hands of young people.
"There was a study recently that showed in 2015 that there were more books released in American publishing featuring animals and trucks as the main characters, than black children, Latino children, Asian children, native American children," she says.
"That's a problem.
"I hope with my book that I do give more kids mirrors and windows.
"Not just for the black kids to see themselves, but windows for kids who aren't black to see into their lives and to get a better understanding."
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Her next book, which she is currently working on, will feature a young female musician.
Although it won't be a sequel or spin-off, it will be set in the same neighbourhood as The Hate U Give.
"We need more of those books for those kids because maybe if they did see themselves in books, maybe some of them wouldn't want to pick up a gun," says Angie.
"I know it's kind of an ideal way of thinking because I know a book cannot change gun culture in America.
"But if I can get one kid to at least pick up my book and open their minds and open their hearts and maybe give them some knowledge, maybe it will encourage them to stray away from that lifestyle."
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