Book review: New Angie Thomas novel a compelling read
On the Come Up – Angie Thomas
(Walker, $19.99)
Angie Thomas is an excellent writer. Her first novel for young (and, I think, not so young) adults, The Hate U Give, attracted worldwide attention and won multiple awards for its visceral depiction of racism and gang warfare.
In On the Come Up, set once again in the black neighbourhood of Garden Heights, we have a different set of characters and a fresh story.
Brianna is a young woman with exceptional talent. Like her father before her she is a rapper with rapid skills, able to create rhymes on the spot. Unlike her father, she has managed to stay alive; he was shot by gang members opposed to his lyrics.
At only 16 years old Bri experiences racism that leaves her terrified and powerless; to take back control she raps about the incident and that gets her the attention of people who could kick start her career…or kill her for supposed slights in her rhymes.
Brianna’s life has been surrounded by death, drug addiction and real poverty as she, her brother and her mother struggle to make ends meet. Going to school in a white, gang free area offers an educational advantage but comes with the price of keeping your head down, being subjected to unfair treatment and having your voice silenced. Through rap, Bri has a chance to change this.
Garden Heights is a world I’ve never encountered in real life but Angie Thomas’s world building is so immediate and clear as to not only transport the reader to Garden Heights but to understand what’s going on there.
At once a coming of age story of friendship and romance, On the Come Up places the reader smack bang into Bri’s world. We feel her ambition, her fear and her love and it’s heart wrenching, hopeful and utterly compelling. Put To Kill a Mockingbird to one side for a minute and pick up Angie Thomas.
Wardini Books are in Napier and Havelock North.
