Her family isn’t doing well to keep the lights on. Her mother was devastated by his death and turned to drugs for a little while. Her father was a rapper because he was murdered by a rival gang.

Bri is a young teenager looking to make a name for herself as a rapper. If you’re looking to find The Hate U Give Part 2, you’re looking in the wrong place. I loved Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, and I knew I would love On the Come Up. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.Let me tell you how I’m not happy about breaking my TBR to fit this book in, but I will say that I’m happy I read it. This article was originally published in the February 2019 issue of BookPage. In the introduction to her new book, she calls that experience “surreal.” But Thomas should prepare for even more attention and accolades, because On the Come Up is another raw and powerful look at the challenges of being young and black in America. Thomas knocked it out of the park with The Hate U Give-amassing scores of literary awards and a blockbuster movie deal. Bri’s raw and controversial lyrics put her in danger when they incite misunderstanding and anger, and her classmates label her as “hood.” Add to that an eviction notice, a drug-dealing aunt and an out-of-work mom who’s a recovering addict, and it looks like Bri has bitten off more than she can chew on her way to the top.Ĭan Bri remain true to herself while rapping behind a tough persona? And is free speech really free-especially for young black people? Bri discovers that this fighting-for-your-life thing gets real in more ways than one. When she wins the rap battle and a buzzworthy video of her performance goes viral, she discovers that her war has just begun. She’s beyond confident after all, she’s the daughter of Lawless, a legendary and influential rapper who was killed in the midst of gang violence.įueled with a desire to be like her father, Bri goes big with her verse-maybe too big. But what 16-year-old Bri really wants to slay is her competitor in the Ring, a place where wannabe rappers come to compete against each other.

“I might have to kill somebody tonight.” It’s a powerful opening line for multiple award-winning author Angie Thomas’ sophomore novel, On the Come Up, which brings readers back to the neighborhood of Garden Heights, the setting of her debut, The Hate U Give.

On the come up angie thomas book