Title: On the Come Up

Author: Angie Thomas   

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary     

Publisher: Balzer + Bray   

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 464

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

Review:

I absolutely loved this book! I knew I loved this author from the Hate U Give, but this book held its own in a different way!

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Bri is a sixteen year old who wants to become a rapper, but is facing many different complications and is struggling with many different relationships in her life. Her father was killed as a result of gang violence, her mother is a recovering addict and her brother is a college graduate but comes home to help support her and her mom. This rap career could help her family, which is what she really wants!

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I always love reading about diverse perspectives, especially those that are very different from my privileged perspective. I feel like I learned a lot about what it’s like to feels like to live in a struggling neighbourhood, and go to a school where you feel like you don’t fit in.

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I loved Bri as a character! She was smart and feisty and didn’t take crap from anyone. While she sometimes let her emotions get the best of her, she learned how to use her voice in the best way! And her rhymes were great! Overall a great book!

Happy reading!