On The Come Up
Angie Thomas. Who from the YA community hasn't heard of her? First she gave up the brilliant novel The Hate You Give and now this. As an important voice in the black lives matter community, one most wonder how Angie would hold up after the amazing success of THUG? Well I am so happy to say, Angie did an amazing job. Below is the goodreads summary:
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
Even though it is only February, I know that this will be one of my favorite books of the year. It is just such a great read and something I think will connect with so many readers. Even though we all have different situations, I think we can identify well with the emotions that Bri feels at times. The anger, the worry, the typical teen age angst that she has to suffer with.
Angie wrote some powerful and awesome raps in this book and I would love to hear somebody sing them. Also props to her that they are going to develop this book into a film as well. I have not yet seen the THUG movie but I know I really need to and will ASAP!
I am not a HUGE rap fan, but I do love music and I love how Angie created this raw story that was so heavy with the music. Words are so powerful and she wrote a powerful story and powerful songs so that is TWICE the word power there.
Being a hispanic woman, I could relate to some frustrating issues, though not to the extreme that Bri had to. I am had a comfortable life and didn't have the worries she did but I do have an anglo last name and there have been times in my life where people have treated me different. I am pretty fair skinned so that combined with my last name, people assume I am of white race and when they find out I am hispanic, can sometimes change their views of me.
To share a personal story, I had one teacher in 3rd grade. She had an obsession with white people that I didn't understand at that age. I was one of her favorite students because she assumed I am white. Fast forward to the 4th grade, I had the same teacher and it was the beginning of the school year. I forgot my lunch so my step dad brought it in to me. Now you can tell with out a doubt looking at my step dad that he is of Spanish decent. I remember her questioning me and I said no I am not white I am Spanish. She asked me where my dad was from and at the time, I didn't know to explain that my biological dad was a stranger to me, I had only met him a couple of times after I was born since at the time he and my mom were in the middle of a divorce because he was abusive to her. I did not know where my step dad was from because it never mattered to me so I never asked. I shrugged and mumbled that I didn't know all I knew was that I was Spanish and had my moms maiden name and her father was half anglo so that was that.
Well the rest of the school year was pure and utter hell. I cried to go to school. I was suddenly getting the lowest grades of my life because no matter what I did, nothing was good enough for my teacher and I didn't know what suicide was at that time but I knew I went to bed every night praying to God that I would go to heaven because I was terrified of how my teacher was treating me. I went from her favorite student to her most hated.
Angie is a powerful writer that talks about racism, about females being the lesser species and about so many important topics that humans deal with in an every day setting. I am so thankful to authors like Angie who uses her celebrity to give a voice to the people like me, the Bri's and Starr's of the world who other wise might not be able to talk and be heard.
I highly recommend Angie's books and I look forward to her next powerful female.
