On the Come Up - Angie Thomas





Conclusion: Worth It

If you get to the end, Angie Thomas makes it worth your time in spades.

But getting through this book was rough. We both felt it. Part of it was the way it picked at old sores for me—Bri's just trying to get through school okay, but she's worried about money. The rent's late. The electricity got turned off. There's no heat. They might get evicted. Her mom can't find a job. Thomas writes about this incredibly well, and if you've never experienced that kind of poverty as a child, you'll still get it. It feels like there's a vice grip around your chest. Like you can't breathe. If you've experienced some measure of childhood poverty, it'll strike much harder.

So there's that. And then there's all the relationship drama. You'd think that a book about a girl wanting to be a rapper would be less intense than a book about a girl who saw her friend get killed by police, but On the Come Up was so much more stressful than The Hate U Give. In The Hate U Give, everything is terrible outside home, but home is fine. Mom and Dad are safe. Friends have your back. All the relationships in The Hate U Give are stable. It's a foundation on which the rest of the story takes place.

Not so in On The Come Up. The relationship trouble is the story. Trouble with her mom, her brother, her friends, her aunt, her grandparents. It's good storytelling, it's just stressful to read. Both of us started the book, got stressed out, and set it down for a little. Lissy is more of a binge reader (three small children will do that to you!) so there was a lot of trust in Angie Thomas to fight through to the end.

BUT....it's worth it. Get through all the tension, and Angie Thomas makes it worth your time. You just have to trust her.

Because the thing is...it doesn't just end well. It keeps on ending well. About 65% to the end, you get your first (much needed!) bit of relief. Then there's another wrap-up of something at 85% through. Then another, and another, until they're happening every 5-10 pages, each one making the story better and better, until you're wrapped in this happy burrito of resolution. It's masterful. I was raving! I didn’t know that a book that stressed me out so much could have such a satisfying ending! When I say a book is worth it, this is the kind of ending I'm looking for.

- Alana and Liss

This book reminds us of...

The Hate U Give, naturally. The story and repercussions of The Hate U Give play a role in this book which is cool.

Honestly Angie Thomas is one of a kind...so if you like her style of storytelling, read all her stuff!

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