LISTEN UP YOU LITTLE POTATO PATTIES ANGIE THOMAS IS BACK AGAIN WITH ANOTHER BANGER

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Angie Thomas, amiright? 

After she dropped her absolute BANGER of a book, The Hate you Give, she blessed us with another manuscript from the gods, titled On the Come up. It highlights the life of a young rapper, Brianna, trying to juggle her grades with her aspirations of singing. However, things get more complicated when her aunt conducts weedy shenanigans in order to keep their family afloat and Brianna starts keeping secrets on who actually is helping her sing. It's a story about internal and external struggle, about a family being torn apart and Brianna navigating the forest in order to find her true self. 

Now now, I know what you might be thinking: “man, this sounds like the average book of ‘finding oneself’ and ‘drugs’”, but boy oh boy, let me tell you it is so much more than that. To me, this book represented a story of how external struggles could break a family apart, how one girls dream’s could become be thwarted no matter how much hard work she put in because of some old man wanting to make money off of her, that in order to find a path to success you have the clear the weeds that block you complete (aka the guy who was trying to make money off of her by making her sing music she didn’t mean). It was, honestly, one of the best books I had ever read. Thomas did an AMAZING job at highlighting the manipulation the old guy did to Brianna but also made it not so obvious, from him buying her shoes she always wanted in order to win her loyalty, throwing his son under the bus as “the guy who insulted your parents on stage, I don't know what he was on but that was CRAZY”, from telling her she had to “sing about the ‘streets’” but “don’t get involved in them, that's what got your father killed”, which is honestly kind of sick because people are going to hear about her song. No matter how low profile she keeps herself, her releasing that kind of provocative music targeting the gang that killed her dad will always find her trouble. And what's worse is that the guy told her to do it so he could get money, while he fully knew the risks.  OK I JUST REMEMBERED THE NAME OF THE GUY

His name is Supreme, which is quite ironic because the only thing he's supreme at is being an absolute asshole. *that drum noise laugh please*

But yeah ok. Angie Thomas did a great job of just showing how shitty people can be, what lengths they would go to to get what they want. Supreme literally caused the death of Brianna's dad by making him sing all about guns and violence, and at first it seems he's forgivable because he mourns his death and tells people what a great person he was. HOWEVER, when he hears of Brianna's talent he shamelessly goes up to her and tries to make her do music with him through the various ways of manipulation mentioned above, and advises her to keep it a secret from her family, the only people who actually care for her well being. What a sicko.

Unfortunately, Brianna, being young and naive and full of dreams and aspirations, agrees, however her older brother Trey, mother Jay and Aunty Pooh are smart enough to pull her out. Oh yeah.

Another aspect of this book that I said “dang” to were the bonds between the family members. No matter what, they try to support each other. Brianna’s aunt, especially, is fiercely protective of Brianna and she almost got killed because she couldn’t stand to have Brianna pushed around. Jay and Trey works a 9 to 5 (but its more like 6 to 8) job in order to earn a measly amount so they're family can survive, and thankfully their landlord is merciful and lets them stay for more time, however begrudgingly. Thomas, like with highlighting all the bad qualities in Supreme, does a phenomenal job of showing all the good qualities, like determination, caring about people, etc. in Brianna's family members. Ok I don't know why but I suddenly have the taste of McDonalds Chicken nuggets in my mouth, but this is good because it reminds of another thing. Family tensions. Just like my mother doesn't want me to eat chicken nuggets, Brianna's grandparents don't want her mother to have custody of the two children, living in a rundown house. Sure, its not quite the same however, my mother views chicken nuggets the same way Brianna's grandparents view her mother: a bad influence, unhealthy, and on the surface level, deceiving good. It doesn't help that Jay is a daughter in law rather than a direct bloodline, or that she used to do drugs which basically incapacitated her from taking care of her children and that her grandparents actually had in and raise the children.

WHICH LEADS TO ANOTHER GREAT POINT! Angie Thomas, through sheer talent or some weird magic, perfectly demonstrates the complexities of the story in such a simple way. Example: Aunt Pooh sells drugs, Jay used to do drugs and now hosts a recovery group at her house every Sunday. Another example: Aunty Pooh sells drugs and has a decent income, while Trey, who has gone to college and done everything right has to work at a pizza shop where he earns minimum wage. Last example: Aunty Pooh sells drugs, and even though every member of the family wants her to stop, even she does, she can't because she knows it would leave them impoverished. You see? There are so, SO many more examples but with all this tension already, its like a ticking bomb, ready to explode.

Also, usually the side characters in books don’t get a lot of character growth but man, in this book, they did. Curtis, first introduced to the reader as an absolute nincompoop, actually turns out alright after the book. The protagonist’s loyalists and enemies constantly shift, with Curtis going from enemy to loyalist and BRIANNA'S BEST FRIEND going from loyalist to enemy. Same with Supreme.

It was so fun to read, and I felt like my head was in a swirl of motion and roller coasters. Honestly, this book is really action packed and I would definitely recommend it! I hope you enjoyed this book review! 10/10

Adios potato patties