THE BASICS
- Title: On the Come Up
- Author: Angie Thomas
- Genre: Young Adult Fiction
- Structure: Linear first-person narrative
- First Line: “I might have to kill somebody tonight.”
Synopsis:
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.
Should "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas be your next read? Find out in this detailed review! (No spoilers, pinky promise.) Click To TweetTHE GOOD
I was a huge fan of Angie Thomas’ first novel, The Hate U Give. I was not alone in that fan club. It was a fantastic read and you can read that review here. Thus, I had pretty big expectations going into her sophomore novel, On the Come Up.
One thing that Angie Thomas excelled at again with this novel is giving us the feeling that we’re really inside the main character’s head. I love how the book reads like a thought stream. The main character is instantly relatable and lovable.
It was also a cool experience to be back in Garden Heights, which is where her first novel takes place. In this book, it’s a year after the events from the previous novel. Different story. Different characters. Same location that brings about a sense of nostalgia.
Most importantly, Angie Thomas is bringing more heat with this book. She’s sparking and championing important conversations in regards to racism and oppression in the US. She has become a tremendous voice in our society. She points to issues that people don’t want to look at. Like Bri, the main character, she spits fire in her own way. This book needs to be read so we can continue to have real discussions about equality and justice.
THE UNFAVORABLE BITS
It kills me to write this part. I love Angie Thomas. I love her work. I have nothing but respect for her voice. So, take this section with a grain of salt. I believe that if you were to pick this book up off a bookshelf, you’d read it and like it. However, there are a couple main problems I want to address.
My first issue is that this novel doesn’t differentiate itself enough from her first work. Yes, it was a cool experience to return to Garden Heights, the same setting. However, I found that I kept wanting more follow-up from the first novel. This is not a sequel or advertised as a sequel. It seems as though this book straddles this weird divide between being a sequel and being something separately entirely. It feels as though Thomas couldn’t make up her mind as to whether or not to create a sequel and created this as a compromise instead. It should’ve been set somewhere else and been differentiated more from the first book.
In addition, there’s not much differentiation between the characters from the first novel. We’re reading another story about a high school girl who has a brother, who has a relative helping in the background (this time an aunt instead of an uncle), and who goes to a school outside the Garden Heights district, thus struggles with community disparities. Stand-alone: great story, great characters, great everything. In the context that Thomas has already written this particular story with The Hate U Give: not great for readers.
Lastly, in general, the plot had weak development. The book is a cool 450+ pages. After 100 pages in, not much has happened action-wise. Thomas’ first book moved at a pace that made sense for the length. This one was slow and much too slow for the stakes the characters were facing.
CONCLUSION
I rate this book 3/5 stars. I love Angie Thomas. I love her work. I think she’s bringing extremely important conversations to a table that has traditionally been reserved for others. However, we’ve heard this story already with The Hate U Give and it’s time to expand this conversation with different stories. Overall, I will always read Angie Thomas. This is a great read if you haven’t already read The Hate U Give.
GET YOUR COPY OF ON THE COME UP!
JOIN OUR MONTHLY BOOK CLUB!
I received On the Come Up from the Book of the Month Club. It was so great to receive personalized book recommendations at my doorstep! Honestly, I’m not sure if I would’ve picked up and experienced On the Come Up if it wasn’t for BOTM. You can join the club here for under $15 a month!
