A review by askoda
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

5.0

Nobody will keep this girl down.

Based around personal experiences, Angie Thomas delivers another incredible story about resilience.

Centered around a young high schooler named Bri, Thomas forces readers to peek into the dark and uncomfortable realities many teens (especially Black and brown) face everyday. She is torn between lifting her family out of a cycle of poverty and being authentic to herself. Like most teens, Bri exemplifies the pangs of growing up in an unjust world.

Thomas easily slips in pieces from her life as Bri’s life unfolds before our eyes. Something that I really loved was how she interlaced Bri’s story with references of Starr’s in The Hate You Give. It just gave this story a little more authenticity and created a feel of real world community. Problems and all.

If anything, this novel is a battle cry reminding readers to stand up for what they believe in. It’s a reminder that there are so many things to fix in this world. And most importantly, it’s an example of grit and never abandoning who you are.