On The Come Up – Angie Thomas
Posted on May 7, 2019 April 12, 2019 by charlottereadsthings
"One song is sometimes all it takes. I've got one song."
Blurb: "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."
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, I'm sure you're aware of New York Times Best-Selling Author Angie Thomas. Her debut, The Hate U Give is still thriving and even lead to a successful film adaptation.
Her new book, On The Come Up, is an set within the same town of Garden Height as The Hate U Give and while there are many nods to it, this story is its own entity. The reader is introduced to Bri: a teenage girl who is trying to break onto the rap scene. Given all the expectations already placed on her because of her race, music is the one aspect of her life that Bri feels she can fully control.
Bri focuses a lot on the outside elements that directly led to the people in her life being led down the wrong paths. For example, if a drug dealer hadn't sold to Bri's mother, she wouldn't have become an addict. She's sick of everything already being decided about who she is and what she should do and it takes a while in the story for Bri to finally come out and say it. The moments when she opens up about being a "race poster girl" and being vulnerable are beautiful parts to see.
Angie Thomas has a truly incredible way of writing characters and every single one of them has so much personality that it's almost impossible to believe they're not real people. They all have so much energy and I think a lot of this comes from the brilliant audiobook narration from Bahni Turpin.
My knowledge of rap lies solely in the musical Hamilton so it was really fun and fascinating to see the rap battles (one of which is my favourite scenes in the book) and to learn how rap songs are constructed, especially when it's on the fly. A big bonus of the audiobook is that Bahni Turpin actually raps the lyrics which added so much to the experience especially when it came to the rhythm which is something I feel is lost to the readers who opt for the book in a written form.
Angie Thomas has delivered another incredible book and I cannot wait to see what else comes from her brain.
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Author: charlottereadsthings
A proud Hufflepuff who talks about books and also tries to write them.	View All Posts
Tagged: angie thomas, book, charlottereadsthings, on the come up, rapping, review, spoiler free, the hate u give
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