Books On Our Radar: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’ next book. Her debut was this title called The Hate U Give, you might have heard of it, the national award winning and bestselling novel, oh and with a movie with the same name, that is releasing on October 19th? If you haven’t read or own The Hate U Give, check out our Banned Books Week post, since we are giving away a copy as well as 2 movie tickets! So since Angie’s books are being talked about this week, I thought it made perfect sense to feature her upcoming release that is definitely on our radar. This book is all about Bri, an aspiring young rapper who has to fight to make her dreams come true. When I first heard Angie talk about this book you could feel her love and passion for this topic and how much she wanted to write this book for all the kids who were like her, where music was her life and sparked her creativity of writing. On the Come Up is hitting shelves on February 5th, 2019 and I have a feeling you won’t want to miss out on this one, so add it to your TBR today!
On the Come Up
by Angie ThomasPublished by: Balzer + Bray
on February 5, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Bookshop
Goodreads
Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.
On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.
About Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi. Her debut novel The Hate U Give is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and was acquired by the Balzer + Bray imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in a 13-house auction. It has received starred reviews from 8 literary journals, one of the highest amounts received for a young adult novel, and will be published in over 20 countries. The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly both called it required reading. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 and Temple Hill Productions with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg attached to star.
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty.
Thomas holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Thomas is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included.
