On the Come Up

Written by Angie Thomas

Narrated by Bahni Turpin

The award-winning author of The Hate U Give returns with a powerful story about hip hop, freedom of speech – and fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you.
Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill. But when her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Bri finds herself at the centre of controversy and portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. And with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it – she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Feb 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781528861830

Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas is the author of the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novels The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Concrete Rose as well as Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. She is also a coauthor of the bestselling collaborative novels Blackout and Whiteout. Angie divides her time between her native Jackson, Mississippi, and Atlanta, Georgia. You can find her online at angiethomas.com.

Reviews for On the Come Up

[Alice Welten · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was amazing in every aspect of it. Many powerful truths, great characters, well paced and interewting plot and great flow.

[Ovie Dixon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. Awesomeness is written in it. I must commend the Narrator too. She does great justice to this book..

[Saba Bashir · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bri is just 16 years old but has big dreams and even bigger shoes to fill. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before making it big, she wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time and move out of her poor neighborhood. But life keeps getting in the way of her aspirations. Her struggling mom has unexpectedly lost her job and the bills are piling up. With the family dangerously close to being homeless, Bri must do whatever she can to make it!

My top three thoughts on 'On the Come Up':
1. I'm not a big fan of blurbs for contemporary writers. I feel they don't do enough justice to the book. But the blurb for this one is well written and quite accurate. "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. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families."
I couldn't have said it better myself.
2. I was apprehensive to read this book because of my lack of connection to this particular genre of music. I haven't listened to hip-hop and R&B actively since my early teens. But I enjoyed Angie Thomas's last book, so I still read this one. 'On the Come Up' is a good walk down memory lane of old school music. It pays a wonderful homage to hip-hop music when it was at it's prime (according to me -when I was a passive listener of the genre.)
3. I'm REALLY glad I listened to the audiobook and didn't go for the e-book for this one. Bahni Turpin's voice sounded perfect for Bri and all the beats/music just added another level to this book.

[Tumba · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Loved the aunt Poo character. Would recommend it.

[Serena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I flew through this book. 100% would recommend. Suitable for adults and young adults.

[Anna Ali Mullings · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

On the come up 


One the come up is about a girl who is marginalized because of where she's from she's profiled negatively because of the neighborhood she grew up in  but that doesn't stop her from getting where she needs to go.


I love how the writer always tries to convey a sense of community when it comes to these characters, that even though she might not have every single family member present in her life she has people that love and support her,

I love that her books always have a positive message behind it and convey reality and listening to it brings all the characters to life.


I also liked that she linked what happened in the hate you give to this book but it is a standalone.

Definitely will be reading more work from her