On the Come Up

"I started reading this novel with some trepidation. Could Angie Thomas write a second book that I loved as much as I loved The Hate U Give? She could! She did! We return to Garden Heights, but the star of this novel is Bri: normal high schooler with boy problems, daughter of a recovering drug addict, aspiring greatest rapper of all time. And she has a lot to say about inequality and injustice in America. There’s not always food on her table, and as a black teenager in America, she’s been called a “hoodlum” and “aggressive.” Rap is a powerful outlet for Bri as she tries to find her voice, and her smart, edgy lyrics pack an emotional punch as they communicate hard, messy truths. It’s a myth that lightning doesn’t strike twice."