My Thoughts: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (Audiobook)

On the Come Up
by Angie Thomas
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Publication Date: February 5th 2019
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9780062498564
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Realistic Fiction
Source: *Finished Copy from Publisher

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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. (Goodreads)

I was a little late to the party when it came to reading Angie Thomas’s first book, The Hate U Give, but once I finally read the book, I absolutely loved it, and I was determined to read On the Come Up as soon as I possibly could. I am so glad that I dived into this book right away, instead of waiting like I did with the previous book. I definitely enjoyed it, and this will most definitely be another hit for Angie Thomas!

While this book is set around the same neighborhood as The Hate U Give, it’s a brand new story and set of characters to get to know. I really enjoyed all the characters in this novel, including the main character, Bri, who wanted nothing more than to become a famous rapper so she could provide for her family and get them out of their current neighborhood. I love Bri for this, and she definitely has the skills to be a great rapper. I also really love her family and friends as well. They were all so well written.

This book also has a really great storyline, which was not only addictive, but also complete relevant to things that are happening in the world today. As with The Hate U Give, reading On the Come Up was definitely an eye-opening experience, and it made me feel all sorts of feels. It’s rare that I experience such a wide range of emotions when reading a book, yet Angie Thomas has made me feel these things not once but TWICE, and I love her for it.

I also want to add that I started reading the print version of this book at first, but then I opted to listen along with audiobook as I read, which was definitely the best decision ever. The narrator for the audiobook is Bahni Turpin, who also narrated The Hate U Give, and she was definitely the best voice for this novel. She does such an amazing job reading this story to you, and I very much enjoyed every bit of it. (If you haven’t listened to anything narrated by Bahni, I highly recommend you do so. She is the best!)

Overall; It’s pretty obvious that Angie Thomas has yet another hit on her hands with On the Come Up! I loved both this new book and The Hate U Give, and if you haven’t yet picked up either of these books, I definitely recommend them. Angie Thomas is an author that you definitely want to keep your eye out for, as I imagine we will see more and more excellent books from her. She has definitely become an auto-buy author for me.