Waterstones Children's Book Prize-winning author
New York Times #1 bestselling author
The highly anticipated second novel from Angie Thomas returns to the world of Garden Heights for a powerful story about hip hop, freedom of speech - and fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you.
Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill. But when her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Bri finds herself at the centre of controversy and portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. And with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it - she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.
If you're reading On the Come Up, you've almost certainly read The Hate U Give. Bri is a very different protagonist than Starr was. They both face the struggle of going to a predominantly white high school, they both experience violent trauma from racism, but they each respond to it in very different ways. Bri is far, far less willing to become an activist and voice of the resistance, in large part because her family is dealing with poverty and she's focused on helping and protecting them. She also screws up a lot more than Starr did. What isn't different is Angie Thomas' razor sharp ability to write three-dimensional characters who feel completely alive. It was almost cathartic to witness Bri figuring out who she wanted to be at the end of the story.
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
20 November, 2019:
Finished reading
-
20 November, 2019:
Reviewed