On the Come Up by Angie Thomas - HIGH

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, 447 pages. Balzer + Bray, 2019. $19.

Language: R (600+ swears 51 'f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG13 (Gun Violence, Gangs, Rap lyrics about violence). 

BUYING ADVISORY:  HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

16yo Bri wants to be a rapper, and she's good! She wins her first Rap battle at "The Rink" and everyone says she's gonna be a famous rapper just like her dad - Lawless. Bri's father was a victim of gun violence, shot down by a rival gang and her family is struggling to get by. Her mom was a drug addict, but has been clean for a while now - but holding on to a job is difficult, and Bri and her older brother are more worried about their present than their future. If Bri can hit it big as a rapper, she'll be making a lot of money and can help her family - but at what expense? 

Angie Thomas tells a great story. We see Bri think through her rap, figuring out the rhymes and then delivering a great performance. I would have loved to hear more of her poetry. Her community was great, school friends fighting the system, adults who are both part of the problem and desperately trying to break the cycle of poverty, gang affiliation and drug abuse. There are also some pretty tough themes, including homophobia, drug abuse, and violence. At over 400 pages, it looks like a daunting read, but the action moves fast and the story is engaging. High school kids will love this!

Lisa Librarian

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas - HIGH

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, 360 pages. Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins), 2021. $20. 

Language: R (100+ swears 16 'f'); Mature Content: R (sexual situations, teen pregnancy); Violence: R (gang violence, gun violence). 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

17yo Maverick got his best friend's girlfriend pregnant, when the paternity test showed Mav as the father, Iesha left the baby behind at the clinic - so now Mav is responsible for the baby full time. His cousin Dre encourages him to stop selling drugs and be a responsible father, so he gets a job working after school at the neighbors grocery store to help out with the bills, even though it means a lot less money, his priorities start to shift and he has to make some hard decisions. 

Angie Thomas - I love everything she writes. Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate You Give, is a gripping story that was hard to put down. Maverick had a lot on his plate - in a gang, father in prison, taking care of a baby, not doing well in school and not thinking much about the future. Honest and realistic characters - I loved his mom, making Maverick take responsibility for his actions, his friends and other adults both good and bad influences make his choices even more difficult. Can be read independent of The Hate You Give as it stands on its own, but the two together are great companions. 

Lisa Librarian

The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas - ADVISABLE

The Manifestor Prophecy (Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1) by Angie Thomas, 351 pages. Balzer/Bray (HarperCollins). 2023 $20. 

Language: PG (4 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (magical violence, monsters, peril, falls, blood, etc - not graphic) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

12 yo Nic and her dad have moved around all her life. They are Remarkables - which means they have magical powers, but it's something that must be kept secret from regular people (Unremarkables). When she meets her favorite author at a book signing, and it turns out he was her dad's best friend, Nic's life starts to unravel. Her estranged mother finds her, her dad is accused of kidnapping and Nic discovers she has a twin brother she never knew about. The Remarkables think her dad stole a special tool that can be used to destroy their world; Nic doesn't believe it and goes on a quest with her brother and best friend to find it. 

Thomas' world is fun - the kids have some cool magical gadgets they can use, and the monsters they deal with are both new and familiar - Haints, Ghosts, Vampires, the Devil's Daughter etc. There are also some great connections to African American history including the Underground Railroad. It has all the parts of popular fantasy middle-grade novels - 12yo discovers they are powerful, have a couple of friends along for the ride, fight their cultural gods and demons, and the adults leave them alone to do it. While Manifestor Prophecy cleanly wraps up, there's plenty of stories left to populate a series and I hope it doesn't take forever to get the next installment. Nic is Black. 

Lisa Librarian 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - HIGH

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 444 pages. HarperCollins, 2017. $10 (Scholastic Book Fair version)

Language: R (100+ swears, 54 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (teen drinking, marijuana, foreplay, arousal mentioned ; Violence: PG-13 (gun deaths, riots, beatings, police violence, fires set)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Starr lives in a rough part of town and after one of her best friends gets shot in a drive by shooting when they’re ten, Starr’s parents have her attend a private school that’s safer. Now Starr is 16yo and she witnesses her other childhood friend getting fatally shot by a police officer. Her friend did nothing to provoke the shooting, except for being black.

Thomas has a powerful novel that is about much more than racism. It’s also about choices, bravery, integrity and helping others. This book has a lot of swearing which is authentic to the lifestyle of the character’s surroundings, but the message of empowerment makes it a must read. This is a novel that will stick with me. I liked how the author shows reality and brings her characters to life to make the readers care about them. I like that two different worlds are brought together by two teens living in both and experiencing the stark differences in each. Character development is abundant and bravery and integrity are a huge factor in the main character’s life and family. I love how the main character’s family is open to discussing everything instead of keeping secrets from each other.

LynnDell Watson, Delta High School Librarian 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - OPTIONAL

Thomas, Angie, The Hate U Give, 464 pages, Walker Books, 2017. $18. Language: R (660 swears, 92 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG-13 (teen intimacy) Violence: PG-13.

16-year-old  Starr Carter lives in a poor community, rife with gangs, violence and a dangerous drug lord. Her father runs a small grocery store, and the family sends Starr and her brothers to a private school.  Their lives at school are a whole different world for them.  Starr’s school friends don’t know what her home life is like, and her friends in the hood don’t know her school friends.  It’s like living two lives.  But when Starr is the only witness to a police involved shooting which kills her friend Khalil, an unarmed black teenager, Starrs life changes - in fact, it affects the whole community - both of them.

This debut novel is a sensitive, realistic look at some very important issues.  Race relations, gangs, violence, the legal system, The language is very mature, making it difficult to recommend to the younger reader, but this book should speak to everyone. Very well put together, the page count looks daunting, but the story is gripping from the beginning and holds the reader to the very last page.  It deserves all the hype it’s getting.  Well done!  This will be hard to keep on the shelves.

HS - OPTIONAL Lisa Librarian

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson - OPTIONAL

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson, 416 pages. Random House BFYR, 2023. $16

Language: R (45 swears 4 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (Underage smoking. Mention of underage drinking); Violence: PG-13 (Mention of attempted murder suicide)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

17yo Andre returns to his home in Portland, Oregon feeling angry, confused and disgruntled after serving two months in a juvenile detention center for something he didn’t do. He also has to adjust to pandemic life because everything seems to have changed. Andre was framed for robberies when someone placed a backpack of stolen items in his locker and that’s the evidence that sent him away. He has an idea of who did it and he wants to know the truth. When his friend Eric goes missing, the danger builds and secrets are revealed as Andre tries to find his friend and get justice.

The chapter titles are fun since they’re named after songs. The history of our country’s turmoil during the pandemic is represented well. I enjoyed the book and read it straight through. The story reminds me a bit of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, because of the harsh reality brought to life, but with less swearing. Andre, Sierra and Eric are black, the rest of the characters are default white.

LynnDell Watson, Delta High School Librarian