A review by smollica
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

4.0

Main point here: listen to the audiobook instead of physically reading this book! If you think you can't listen to audiobooks, think again. This narrator was phenomenal and really brought the story to life. I can't imagine reading this any other way. I realized reading this that audiobooks are great for listening to stories written by or about groups of people different from yourself because they allow you to fully immerse in the story in a way your personal voice would be unable to accomplish. For instance, reading this book physically would mean that my internal monologue is reading the story like a White person, when really I should be hearing it through a Black narrator's voice to gain a deeper understanding of the character, who is Black, and her experiences.

Aside from my praise of the audiobook, this story was just fantastic. I thought the author was able to tackle a plethora of issues in a way that wove together perfectly. It wasn't sloppy at all, as I would fear with so many topics addressed. The main character was great, and I loved her geekiness and quips about Star Wars and SciFi throughout. The side characters were also interesting and added a lot of depth to the novel with the little spotlight they were given. The friendships and strength found in the family dynamic really stood out to me and I love books that can give me a strong sense of family like that.