On the Come Up

Set in the same community as Thomas’s first book, The Hate U Give, On the Come Up follows Bri, a teen who loves to rap, lost her father in a gang shooting, spent much of her youth living at her grandparents because her mother was a drug addict, and is trying to find a place for her voice. When she records a track which goes viral, she finds that the message that she is trying to send isn’t necessarily the same message that will be taken.

I really love Thomas’s writing. The world that she depicts is a lot different from that which I’ve experienced, but I get taken there and live with her characters for a while. I was so cross at Bri for her naivety, and I was so cross with the whole world for not listening and taking advantage. And for being so unfair.