DeVante Character Analysis

Devante is a teenager from Garden Heights whose brother is killed at Big D’s party in the beginning of the story. He becomes involved with the King Lords to help support his family, and at one point sold drugs with Khalil. DeVante steals from King to help his mother and sister flee Garden Heights, and then turns to Maverick for guidance on getting out of the gang. DeVante is later taken in by Carlos and Pam. He helps Starr understand that people turn to gangs and drugs when they don’t have other choices, and that being a King Lord offered him the sort of protection and support he’d never had before in his life. He also is the one to tell Starr that Khalil wasn’t in a gang and only sold drugs to pay back his mother’s debt. His words help Starr realize that even if Khalil were a “thug,” that should not have been a death sentence. DeVante has a flirtatious relationship with Kenya, despite the fact that her father is after him. King beats DeVante badly in the end of the novel, but he is saved from potentially being killed by Chris, Starr, and Seven. He agrees to “turn witness” on King at the end of the novel in order to help the Garden Heights community.