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A review by whore4book
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
4.0
I reaaaly liked this book, and would HIGHLY recommend to younger readers in high school.
The book follows Bri, a black high school girl, who wants to make it big as a rap star. She gets tangled up in a number of issues/hardships that are made more difficult by racism, poverty, grief, and systematic oppression.
I feel like those are big buzz words and can put off certain… readers. I liked this book for how it addressed these issues through the eyes of a teenager. And specifically for Bri, like most black kids in the US, the need to handle things independently as if they are adults despite being a teenager. I won’t get into how society kinda forces that narrative by seeing kids of color as adults who’s actions are irredeemable and other kids as just making mistakes.
I saw some reviews talk negatively about the language used - lots of slang, pop culture references, cursing, etc. I feel like maybe they missed how this is a young adult book for teenagers… I’m not far off from the age group only just graduating college but I didn’t feel like it was too much.
One of my favorite parts is the happy ending (not to spoil). I love some realistic stuff but it’s also nice to see that things can go well for kids of color despite the struggle. And that’s not necessarily ‘unrealistic’. Again, with the target audience being young adults, I think it’s important to give hope and endings that aren’t glossing over the issues but showing it’s possible to overcome.
The book follows Bri, a black high school girl, who wants to make it big as a rap star. She gets tangled up in a number of issues/hardships that are made more difficult by racism, poverty, grief, and systematic oppression.
I feel like those are big buzz words and can put off certain… readers. I liked this book for how it addressed these issues through the eyes of a teenager. And specifically for Bri, like most black kids in the US, the need to handle things independently as if they are adults despite being a teenager. I won’t get into how society kinda forces that narrative by seeing kids of color as adults who’s actions are irredeemable and other kids as just making mistakes.
I saw some reviews talk negatively about the language used - lots of slang, pop culture references, cursing, etc. I feel like maybe they missed how this is a young adult book for teenagers… I’m not far off from the age group only just graduating college but I didn’t feel like it was too much.
One of my favorite parts is the happy ending (not to spoil). I love some realistic stuff but it’s also nice to see that things can go well for kids of color despite the struggle. And that’s not necessarily ‘unrealistic’. Again, with the target audience being young adults, I think it’s important to give hope and endings that aren’t glossing over the issues but showing it’s possible to overcome.