On the Come Up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Angie Thomas' writing is hard to describe because there is no one out there who is writing like she does, especially not for young people. Thomas takes on hard issues, and yet her books do not feel like they are trying to teach a lesson. Rather her books are filled with humanity - in all its wonder, in all its brokenness. I shook my head over and over again reading this, just hoping the characters would succeed. Thomas paints people so honestly, and she does this with a set of society who is rarely seen.

I can't say that this book is as good as The Hate U Give. That book jolted me and felt like it should be required reading for people living in the United States. On the Come Up isn't as monumental, but it is still such a well told story. This would be a 4.5 for me, but Thomas gets the rounded up star because like Starr and Lisa Carter, the mother/daughter duo in On the Come Up is beautifully created.

The language of Thomas' Garden Heights is still rough. The violence and drugs are still present. Still Thomas does not endorse or condemn. She just presents a world that demands and invites our attention.

So glad I noticed the book's release date, so I could be on the library's wait list early. Also, the reader for this book is one of the very best, so if you're into audiobooks, this is a good one.

Happy reading--

(Book 18 - 2019)