I am back with another review, today it is On the Come Up by Angie Thomas.
This story follows sixteen-year-old Bri. Even before the death of her rapper father when she was little, Bri always knew she was born to rap. With her mom's unexpected unemployment and bill payments being missed, she knows its now or never for her come up. As Bri navigates the world of becoming a rapper, she also has to deal with the world she lives in - the school security guards who target black and brown kids, the way hip hop and rap are seen by society, the aunt who tried desperately to succeed in getting out but remains firmly stuck. When it all comes down to it, Bri has to figure out who she is and who she's willing to become to achieve her dreams.
Firstly, there is just something inherently readable about Thomas's writing style. In fact, there were some parts of this book that read like a was watching it play out in a movie. That's not typically something I gravitate towards, but Thomas did a great job of balancing the 'realness' of the story with the writing style. I also really loved the rapping - more than I thought I would if I'm honest. I just wasn't sure how the rhythm and sound would transfer to written as opposed to spoken, but the lyrics were poetic enough that I was able to find my own beat.
The plot itself was great - it was a coming of age story like no other I've read before. The racial issues that Thomas brings into the story feel real - partly because they are real concerns that African Americans, unfortunately, face every day - but also because they are a part of the story, they are a part of the characters. No part of these conflicts is added to carry the plot; they are not just plot points. Through everything, though, Bri is trying to find herself. Is she her father's daughter, the rapper? Is she her mother's daughter? There is a lot of growth in Bri's character over the course of the novel and I thought Thomas did a great job making everything flow.
My only really minor, teeny, tiny issue with this book was that, at least for the first half, I was waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. I don't know if it was just because I was thinking about Thomas's debut - which has some really hard-hitting moments - but I just kept waiting for the one "big, bad thing" to happen. Obviously, it's unfair to compare two very different books but for a good chunk of this book, I was holding my breath for the moment when everything fell apart completely. And don't get me wrong, bad things did happen and things fell apart throughout the book. I think I was just waiting for that one catastrophic moment that changed everything.
I think once you realize that while this book deals with similar issues to THUG, it is a very different sort of read, you will enjoy it more.
Overall, I am so happy with this book and cannot wait to read whatever Thomas has in store for us next!