On the Come Up

by Angie Thomas

Overview

#1 New York Times bestseller · Seven starred reviews · Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book

“For all the struggle in this book, Thomas rarely misses a step as a writer. Thomas continues to hold up that mirror with grace and confidence. We are lucky to have her, and lucky to know a girl like Bri.”—The New York Times Book Review

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.

But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.  

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.

Don't miss Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas's powerful prequel to her phenomenal bestseller, The Hate U Give!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062498588
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	6,311
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Angie Thomas is the author of the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novels The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Concrete Rose, as well as Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. A former teen rapper who holds a BFA in creative writing, Angie was born, raised, and still resides in Mississippi. You can find her online at www.angiethomas.com.

Editorial Reviews

This book beckons young readers and music lovers alike with an homage to the forefathers of hip-hop that also assures the feminine voice is never dismissed from the cypher.

Washington Post

★ “With sharp, even piercing, characterization, this indelible and intricate story of a young girl who is brilliant and sometimes reckless, who is deeply loved and rightfully angry at a world that reduces her to less than her big dreams call her to be, provides many pathways for readers.

Horn Book (starred review)

…what Thomas declares on every page of this exuberant, exquisitely intimate novel is that Bri deserves a big story of her own. That this complicated teenager with fake Timberlands and a right to her anger is worth engaging with in her full complexity. The fact that someone like Bri is granted nearly 500 pages to find and use her voice feels like an event of political urgency. She matters and must be heard, says an author in complete command of her own voice…Despite the challenges that Bri faces, the novel is at heart a joyful love letter. To hip-hop, to family, to Popeye's fried chicken and KFC biscuits, to Michael B. Jordan, to nerd culture, to Wakanda Forever, to any pop culture that holds up a mirror so kids like Bri can see themselves too. Thomas continues to hold up that mirror with grace and confidence. We are lucky to have her, and lucky to know a girl like Bri.

The New York Times Book Review - Karen Valby

★ 02/20/4

Thomas’s highly anticipated follow up to The Hate U Give returns to Garden Heights, but her new protagonist, 16-year-old Brianna Jackson, faces different challenges than the previous novel’s Starr Carter. Bri’s mother, Jayda, a recovering crack addict, has lost her job. The rent is late, the heat has been shut off, and Jayda must choose between staying in college and feeding her kids, because welfare benefits don’t include food stamps for unemployed students. Bri attends an arts high school, and she dreams of making it big rapping—a talent she inherited from her father, a neighborhood legend who was shot to death when Bri was four. She begins to gain notice in the local music scene, but her success draws the unwanted attention of the gang suspected of killing her father. At the same time, an incident at school connects her with activists. Bri’s artful rhymes convey her fears, frustrations, determination to challenge societal stereotypes, and growing awareness of her own talents. As in The Hate U Give, Thomas introduces readers to an unforgettable cast of characters who seek to thrive in close-knit neighborhoods that are also shaped by violence and systemic racism. Bri is a fully realized character who is both sympathetic and, occasionally, maddeningly impulsive, and the well-crafted dialogue, with some laugh-out-loud shade throwing, propels the dramatic plot. Ages 14-up. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

On the Come Up is earnest and warm-hearted, a careful examination of social issues that’s built around an immensely endearing main character. It’s likely to assure Thomas’s continued and well-deserved dominance on the best-seller lists.

Vox

★ “On the Come Up truly shines in its exploration of Bri’s resilience, determination, and pursuit of her dreams. In this splendid novel, showing many facets of the black identity and the black experience, Thomas gives readers another dynamic protagonist to root for.

ALA Booklist (starred review)

On the Come Up offers a complicated, imperfect heroine who lives and breathes her truth on every page.

Entertainment Weekly

Bri’s story is utterly compelling from first to last.

USA Today

For all the struggle in this book, Thomas rarely misses a step as a writer. Thomas continues to hold up that mirror with grace and confidence. We are lucky to have her, and lucky to know a girl like Bri.

New York Times Book Review

★ “This follow-up to Thomas’ landmark The Hate U Give, set in the same fictional city after the events of that book, demonstrates again Thomas’ gift for crackling dialogue, complex characterization, and impactful emotion. Readers already lining up for this title won’t be disappointed.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Bri’s story is utterly compelling from first to last.

USA Today

★ “On the Come Up truly shines in its exploration of Bri’s resilience, determination, and pursuit of her dreams. In this splendid novel, showing many facets of the black identity and the black experience, Thomas gives readers another dynamic protagonist to root for.” %COMM_CONTRIB%ALA Booklist (starred review)

This book beckons young readers and music lovers alike with an homage to the forefathers of hip-hop that also assures the feminine voice is never dismissed from the cypher.

Washington Post

★ “This follow-up to Thomas’ landmark The Hate U Give, set in the same fictional city after the events of that book, demonstrates again Thomas’ gift for crackling dialogue, complex characterization, and impactful emotion. Readers already lining up for this title won’t be disappointed.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

★ 02/01/2019

Gr 8 Up–Aspiring rapper Bri records "On the Come Up" to protest the racial profiling and assault she endured at the hands of white security guards at her high school. The song goes viral, and Bri seizes the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of her late father and lift her family out of poverty, but her loved ones worry, especially when some listeners paint her as an angry black girl inciting violence. Tension mounts as Bri's mother loses her job, Bri's relationship with her beloved aunt and musical mentor splinters, and a new manager dangles the prospect of fame and wealth—at a price. Set in the same neighborhood as Thomas's electrifying The Hate U Give, this visceral novel makes cogent observations about the cycle of poverty and the inescapable effects of systemic racism. Though the book never sands over the rough realities of Garden Heights, such as gang warfare, it imbues its many characters with warmth and depth. While acknowledging that society is quick to slap labels onto black teens, the author allows her heroine to stumble and fall before finding her footing and her voice. VERDICT Thomas once again fearlessly speaks truth to power; a compelling coming-of-age story for all teens.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Read More