This is the highly
anticipated second novel by Angie Thomas, the author of the #1 New
York Times bestselling, award-winning "The Hate U Give."
Sixteen-year-old Bri
wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win
her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend
who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.
But it’s hard to
get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your
fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours
her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for
all the wrong reasons.
Bri soon finds
herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as
more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family
down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it
means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.
Insightful,
unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop
from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It
is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are
stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black
people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.