The genre: YA

The gist: A high schooler who loves to rap ultimately tries to make it as a rapper to help save her family.

The tea: I love Angie Thomas’s writing.

So far, I’ve only read The Hate U Give and this one, but Concrete Rose is up next, and I’m excited to read anything else she puts out.

Her characters and dialogue are so real that you feel like you’re popping in on actual conversations. Not only that, but her stories show an American experience that not everyone shares, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her books.

In On the Come Up, high schooler Bri loves to rap. She deals with racism at school, family drama, and eventually the threat of extreme poverty that causes her to try to make it as a rapper to help her family. On top of that, she’s got normal teenager stuff going on, like crushes on boys and the pressure of getting into college.

Something I really liked was getting to see the thought process behind Bri’s freestyles, seeing her quickly transform her scattered thoughts into the sick burns she throws at her opponent.

The wrap-up: Great author, great book. Read all her stuff.

The rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 /5

I’m starting to think it doesn’t matter what I do. I’ll still be whatever people think I am.

—Angie Thomas, On the Come Up