On The Come Up
By Angie Thomas
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Walker Books
On the Come Up is written by Angie Thomas, the best-selling author of ‘The Hate U Give’ which is also now a very successful film. So, you might be comparing this book to her first one. I’ve never read ‘The Hate U Give’ or watched the movie so I’m literally a blank canvas. Other than the hype of the film I wasn’t familiar with Angie Thomas and the hype rarely mentions the author and usually the cast. Ok, I’m pushing it in this case only Amandla Stenberg was mentioned. Plus, I don’t buy into the hype because I’ve watched films that have been highly gassed up and I’ve been everything but impressed with them so yeah… neutral face.
Seasoning Level
CO2 | Salt | Pepper | Mixed Herbs | All Purpose Seasoning
Watch the breakdown
The book is about a sixteen-year-old Bri who wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. No ifs, buts or maybes she’s determined to be in the top 5. The problem is she’s finding it really hard to get her come up, whilst juggling staying in a school that has already decided who she is, and staying at home with next to nothing in the fridge because her mum has hit hard times. Her mum loses her job and is finding it near impossible to get a new one. What can I say this book is all about Bri and you can't help but become Bri when you get lost in this book. Bri reminds us of a sad reality that many young black people are existing in a society that has labelled them and put limitations on them from the jump. But also, that you are stronger than your current circumstances, no matter how hard it can be to believe that.
Plus no sixteen-year-old is fully complete without their ride or die, friends. Enter… Sonny and Malik, they’ve been friends from the womb days. We get to know Sonny and Malik's business but we're not all up in it doing the most... Ok well, we want to be in Sonny's business but he only drip feeds the information in small doses. You only have to read more into the book to know that there is a conscious person in Bri's mind stuck inside the mess. Is Bri impulsive, sure, but she's also someone who reflects later on her actions. You can feel her discomfort when the kids around the garden are mimicking her bars, knowing that her lyrics could influence a generation in the wrong way.
The Come up is the overall goal, and I was led to believe that Bri wanted to come up as a rapper but she is actually looking for way more than that. She wants her relationship with her mum to come up she can replace the continuous nightmares and flashbacks she has of harsher times. And she wants to be known of her own back and not come up as someone’s daughter but a boss in her own right.
Favourite character
Aunty Pooh is one of my favourite characters. I really liked that this hood, dope slanging road girl roadgal (we all know she is not a child) was her niece's ultimate cheerleader. That side of Aunty Pooh, makes me feel that everyone needs an Aunty Pooh.
“I let Aunt Pooh hear some rhymes I wrote, she gets so hype over them that she tells me to rap them for her friends. Trust, if you’re whack, a gangbanger will be the first to let you know.”
But she's such a complex character, I wanted to grab her by her shoulders and yell "the streets don't love you" when she left Bri to do her studio session without her because she had to buss shots/ sell drugs. A character like Aunty Pooh really questions my default idea that someone is either good or bad.
Every character in the novel was equally important though really bringing out Bri's character exploring how she navigates each relationship. The relationship between Bri and her older brother Trey is of an unbreakable sibling bond, and I felt very vulnerable to Bri and her mother Jay's relationship, which is slowly being rebuilt throughout the book.
It hit me when
It was confirmed that Aunty Pooh sold drugs. I found myself really questioning how someone could be so actively involved in the drug game when their older sister was at the other end of it at a point in time clearly struggling. I found myself being really judgemental and questioning her ethics. What was her thinking behind it? Growing up in my environment it wasn’t hard to have friends who were selling drugs, and I’ve never known anyone close to me hooked on drugs. I had a friend whose mum was addicted to class A drugs and she was in my circle but I suppose I never drew the connection to how it might have made her feel to be stuck between the two.
The inner struggle of Bri being in a position that made her have to question if she would be broke with dignity, or be a rich sell out really spoke out to me. This issue of integrity is not reserved for a certain age group and was a running theme throughout the book.
Is that how you’re feeling yeah?!
The whole tone of the book reflects life in Bri's surroundings. Sometimes bitter and sad, but also packed with a whole lot of twists and fun times to get you through. From experience when people talk about hard times in their childhood and past experiences it's not to evoke pity or get a response it's just about being real and for many people, it wasn't a "tough" or "heartbreaking" time because it was all they knew. I could relate to that with Bri on so many levels. Yeah, her upbringing had times she wouldn't have handpicked but she's using it as fuel to paint her own picture choosing rap as her art form.
Listen, there are certain parts of this book that are going to have you leaning over on your side bussin up because what you are reading is so damn funny.
“But I guess Curtis is cute in the same way that rodents are weirdly adorable? You know how you’ll see a baby mouse and will be like ‘Aw, cute! Until that bitch is raiding your cabinet, eating the Halloween candy you hid from your little sisters?”
Imagine this is someone's potential boyfriend being talking about. I'm telling you now this is why you don't ask your friends advice about a potential lovers appearance until you are sure, no make that double sure, that you like them. Comments like these are why people get immediately walked into the friend zone.
My favourite thing about the book is how Bri takes words used to characterise her in a negative manner and she moulds them into lyrics and making them her own. You may call her a "hoodlum" or "aggressive" and she's using them in her rap content. The term comes up in the dictionary right next to black women, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. Aggression has such a ring to it when really the better-suited words to describe someone would be inquisitive or confident. There seem to be clear factors that decide what side you fall on.
You know when people say "There is beauty in the struggle" but you're in a house with 4 different layers of clothing and eating corn beef and rice for the third night in a row. Finding this beauty is harder than finding Wally! The book is a great reminder that there's generally a long process before the actual come up. You don’t think it’s weird that people suddenly go from being one slice of bread and egg left in the fridge broke, too stupid rich with millions?
Storytime
I think people sharing their come up journey is so important! My home girl went to an event recently, specifically because someone she really looked up to in her field was on a panel. And when the person was asked about their journey they pretty much said they stumbled into the industry and boom they are doing so well now. The person completely missed out the part where they had went to University to study the subject for however long, spending how many thousands of pounds on a course, and that they were mentored by industry people for a portion of time after. Why lie? “Why you always lying, oh oh my garwsh.”
The middle part always gets left out though and it honestly jars me so this book helped fill that void for me.
Length
435 pages. It took a little while for me to get into the book. But once I got into it, at chapter 3, it had my full attention. Any little questions that popped up in my mind about a situation were later answered. For example why Curtis lived with her grandmother. I'm proper nosy and the author really catered to that!
Who should read it
This book is for young adults. I can see the older generation not being able to move past the fact that Bri calls her mum “Jay.” and spend their time annoyed at little things like Bri’s relationship with her mum and overlook so much of the bulk of the book. Also if you’re into rap music but not too interested in reading books this is the perfect pulling factor.
Favourite quotes
“Petty doesn’t discriminate.”
“Not that Jay doesn't love the Lord, but she gets extra Christian at church. Like her Aunt Gina and Aunt 'Chele weren't just twerking to bounce music last night in our living room.”
Questions for the author
1.Readers know Bri’s top 5 rappers, was it one of them who reached out to her at the end for a collab? And which one? (C’ mon I need to know)
2.How long is Aunty Pooh looking at inside?
3.Can I get a script of Jay and Grandma’s ground-breaking discussion? (asking for a friend I know a couple people who could use it)
Now that the book is finished I want to do some digging and find Angie Thomas’ SoundCloud account because I know she's got some good bars.
