She grew up near the home of assassinated civil rights activist Medgar Evers, stating that her mother heard the gunshot that had killed him.

[9] While she was a college student, one of her professors suggested that her experiences were unique and that her writing could give a voice to those who had been silenced and whose stories had not been told.

[4] This story, compounded by the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and Sandra Bland, was a major influence on the novel.

"[10] In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Thomas stated that she aims to "show truth and tear down stereotypes" in her writing, and further says that it is important for the white community to listen to the grievances of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"[11] The Hate U Give, originally written as a short story, debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list for young adult hardcover books within the first week of its release in 2017.

[3] The Hate U Give was written, as Thomas says, to bring light to the controversial issue of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

[3] The book's plot follows a teenage girl, Starr Carter, and how her life is impacted by the death of her friend, Khalil, an unarmed black teen shot by a white police officer.

In 2018, the Katy Independent School District in Katy, Texas, removed the book from its shelves after complaints over profanity,[12] and a South Carolina police union requested the book's removal from a school's summer reading list, because of what the union considered "almost an indoctrination of distrust of police.

[18] Thomas wrote a young adult novel Blackout, released in June 2021, which she co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon.

[20][21] In 2015, Thomas received We Need Diverse Books' Walter Grant,[22] which grants $2,000 to "unpublished authors or illustrators from diverse backgrounds working on children’s or young adult literature projects"[23] The Junior Library Guild has selected the book and audiobook editions of The Hate U Give,[24][25] On the Come Up,[26][27] and Concrete Rose[28][29] for their collection.

[15] The Horn Book Magazine,[30] Kirkus Reviews,[31] Publishers Weekly,[32] and Shelf Awareness,[33] among others, named it one of the best young adult novels of 2017.