I love working at Barnes & Noble. One of the perks of the job is access to ARC (advanced reader copies) of books and that is how, 2 months early, I just finished Angie Thomas' follow up to The Hate U Give.
On the Come Up takes place a year after the incident in THUG in the same neighborhood. Starr and Bri don't appear to know each other but the events surrounding Starr are referenced by Bri and are part of the context for her story, for the world as she knows it.
Bri is smart and talented and with Sonny and Malik make up what she calls The Unholy Trio. They have been best friends since their moms were pregnant with them. They are family by love and choice.
Bri lost her dad when she was young and almost lost her mom to drugs in the wake of her dad's death.
She doesn't want to lose herself, if she can find herself, figure out who she is. She knows she has words inside her that need to get out, and she is good at getting them out. She is a badass female rapper and she has hopes it is her way to contribute to caring for her family, a way out of the hood.
On the Come Up is at its core the story of finding out who you are and being ok with that, with being loved and loving, with healing and accepting. It is so beautiful. It isn't as gutting as THUG but it is just as powerful. Bri's voice is so important. I hope we get a movie version of this one too!!!
(Finished January 10, 2019)
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