This is Bri. Bri lives in Garden Heights, a place that is ridden with gang violence. Her father passes away before the book takes place due to this gang violence. She has a mom, who she constantly argues with but loves deep down, a hard working brother, and 2 friends, Sonny and Malik.
On the Come Up- Angie Thomas
Bri is an up and coming rapper. This affects her school performance as she would rather rap than pursue her education. She goes to a rap club, where contestants battle each other. This is where she makes her debut, destroying "Milez", her opponent.
Milez? That's cute. But it don't make me cower. I move at light speed, you stuck at per hour.
Bri has had a very rough childhood. Her mother had fell into drug abuse when she was about 5, and she had to live with her grandparents for a few years. One of the most traumatic experiences of her life was when she saw her mom running around a park, crazed from the drugs she was taking.
Starr also goes through a lot of racism. At school she is constantly suspended, or sent to the office for being aggressive. Most of these convictions are because she is black. The day after the rap competition, she suffers an attack from guards at the school, even though she didn't really do anything wrong. She gets suspended however, because she was carrying "contraband" which was just candy. She makes money selling candy at school to help her mother, as they are struggling, as she is a little too young to work a proper job.
As I mentioned on the previous slide, Bri's family is struggling. Her family consistently goes without bills paid, and sometimes food after her mother loses her job. She is also in a very complicated love situation with her childhood friend and his girlfriend. She lands a deal to record her first song, which blows up. However, it doesn't blow up in the right way.
In the song, Bri raps about problems in her life, and doesn't hold back. She raps about being "Strapped like a backpack", which people around her call her out for, as it doesn't really represent her as a person. On the Come Up is an incredible novel about how an adolescent and inexperienced girl overcomes many, many problems and traumatic experiences in her life while sticking true to her dream of becoming a rapper.