I Read: On The Come Up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas really seems to have a knack for creating characters. Ones that make you feel something, even in situations you relate to.

This was Thomas' second novel, and while not as acclaimed as The Hate U Give, is still poignant and dramatic. It's not a sequel, but it is set in the same community, and there are references to events of The Hate U Give in On the Come Up. (There's also a reference to On the Come Up's lead character in The Hate U Give if you were able to remember it. - The advantage of reading them consecutively.)


This novel focused more on the main character's search for self, in a world that's telling her all the different versions of who she ought to be, amid everyone she knows putting expectations on her. That makes it overall a much more relatable novel because at some point in life everyone goes through that same struggle. The situations and incidents that force her to look at herself are very much more specific but still through the character's eyes it's easy to feel her issues.

Reading these "diverse" novels does bring up a conversation for me though. I understand having characters that reflect all people in society. I think it's important. Absolutely. But, I also think there's something to be gained by reading outside of your own experience as well. (Clearly when it comes to these novels.) So to say that there aren't enough black writers writing for black people is counterproductive. I think it's much more relevant to say that there aren't enough black writers at all. Readers should read things that take them out of their comfort zone, and make them think in new ways. That's part of the experience of reading.

I also argue with the idea that shared experience can only be related through similar background and physical description. You don't have to have the same face as someone else to have gone through similar experiences. And as an author, if you're relying on the colour of someone's skin, and the physical description of your character to relay that similarity then it makes me sad. Because as an author you should be able to relate the experience in a way that people who might not fit your description would also find they relate to it. (eg/ Bri's struggle to know who she is.  It's brought up through her community experience which I can't relate to, but I can relate to the not knowingness of it, and that has nothing to do with her physical description.)

But that is a conversation for a different day. Angie Thomas is brilliant with her characters. And while they are specifically black they are still relatable to anyone who's willing to pay attention beyond the physical description.

Four stars because it wasn't as good as The Hate U Give.

#38-2020