On the Come Up

I'm a little late to this party, and many of my feelings can be summed up by other reviewers: maybe a few too many plot lines, maybe some unnecessary romantic relationships ... but hey, I remember high school, unrequited crushes took up a lot of my dang time and I always had way too many things going on. I can't really fault a high school story for including all the elements that a high schooler would experience, and I absolutely believed all these things could be going on at the same time for Bri (crippling poverty/instability, unsafe school environment, racism, family members that are involved with gangs and drug dealers, etc.).

I LOVED Bri's mom, Jay, and I really enjoyed the glimpse into the creativity of rapping. It was also fascinating, the idea of Bri's popularity among white suburban kids who want to freak out their parents, vs. the kids from her own neighborhood, whom she doesn't want to influence to carry “clips on their hips” and whatnot, but who experience life in the same community.

I don't really know why I don't feel stronger about this book, though I did enjoy it and think Angie Thomas is a great writer.

I listened to the audiobook, and On The Come Up has the same narrator as The Hate U Give did, and even though I listened to these books years apart, I kept picturing Starr in my head instead of Bri?? That was confusing, but I think that's a problem with me and not the narrator.