On the Come Up is the second novel written by Angie Thomas, after The Hate U Give. It is set in the same universe. Angie Thomas tells us a powerful coming-of-age story about hip-hop, freedom of speech and fighting for your dreams.
The story features Bri, a 16-year-old African American girl trying to overcome obstacles in the fictional Garden Heights.
Bri is the daughter of an underground hip-hop legend who died right before he hit big. She wants to walk in her fathers' footsteps and becoming one of the greatest rappers of all time …or at least win her first battle.
But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are much more parts of Bri’s life than beats and rhymes. With bills piling up, 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. She also describes the desperate realities of poor working-class black families.
Fighting for your dreams
This book is the story of: fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you and the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be.
Like The Hate U Give, On the Come Up is a young adult novel and a perfect example of a contemporary coming-of-age novel.
Going Further
To use in class with your pupils, you will find an excerpt of this book in Shine Bright Terminale LLCE File 16 (Expression et construction de soi - Axe3 : initiation, apprentissage).
Watch this interview of Angie Thomas…
… and this meeting between Angie and French rap singer Juste Shani.
English version: ON THE COME UP published by HarperCollins
French version: PARÉE POUR PERCER : TU PEUX PAS M'ARRÊTER aux éditions Nathan.
Copyright(s) :
HarperCollins
Nathan
Tag(s) : "Angie Thomas" "Book Notes" "coming-of-age" "hip-hop" "littératures et cultures étrangères" "On the Come Up" "rap" "Shine bright LLCER" "The Hate U Give" "U.S. culture" "U.S. literature" "young adult"