Books like 'On the Come Up'
Readers who enjoyed On the Come Up by Angie Thomas also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary realistic coming-of-age family poc-mc lgbtq social-commentary friendship high-school poverty
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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsSixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.Soon afterward, his death is a national headline... -
![Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas]()
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsInternational phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood.If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords... -
![Hustlin' by L. Divine]()
Hustlin' by L. Divine
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe holidays are coming, along with all the madness and materialism that comes with them. As usual, Jayd is just trying to stay sane while everyone around her is losing it. Mickey's got a major secret and Jayd's girl Nellie is trying to stir up trouble with her loose lips. Vengeful Laura is trying to undermine Jayd's performance in the school production of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth... -
![The Fight by L. Divine]()
The Fight by L. Divine
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBrimming with the same spirited sense of style and magic as Disney's That's So Raven, Drama High introduces a fun, brazen new series featuring a young sistah who's learning that life in the hood is nothing compared to life in high school . . .Proudly hailing from Compton, USA, sixteen-year-old Jayd Jackson is no stranger to drive-by shootings or run-ins with the friendly neighborhood crackhead... -
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![Not My Daughter by Kate Hewitt]()
Not My Daughter by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnna’s hands tense on Alice and she hesitates. In that endless pause, I see all I need to know. She doesn’t want to give Alice to me – not now, and not ever. And part of me doesn’t even blame her… Milly always dreamed of being a mother. Adopted herself, she has always imagined a powerful intimate connection with a child of her own... -
![Half a heart by Karen McQuestion]()
Half a heart by Karen McQuestion
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom bestselling author Karen McQuestion comes a moving novel about broken hearts…and what it takes to put them back together again.At nine years of age, Logan Weber knows the routine. Keep quiet, make the food last, and don’t ever cause trouble. He’ll do what it takes to evade the rages of his troubled, violent father. Even though he’s only a child, Logan already knows too much—has seen too much... -
![No Way Out by Peggy Kern]()
No Way Out by Peggy Kern
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBluford High freshman Harold Davis is trapped. Medical bills for his sick grandmother are piling up, and a social worker has threatened to put him in a foster home. Desperate for money, he reluctantly agrees to work for Londell James, a neighborhood drug dealer. The choice leads him into a world of dangerous streets where no one is safe... -
![Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark]()
Impossible to Forget by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this poignant novel from million-copy bestselling author Imogen Clark, an extraordinary final wish brings five lives together forever. Just turned eighteen, Romany is on the cusp of taking her first steps into adulthood when tragedy strikes, and she finds herself suddenly alone without her mother, Angie, the only parent she has ever known...Categorized as:
coming-of-age grief friendship family literary-fiction female-mc fiction contemporary -
![Hard Land by Benedict Wells]()
Hard Land by Benedict Wells
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMissouri, 1985: Um vor den Problemen zu Hause zu fliehen, nimmt der fünfzehnjährige Sam einen Ferienjob in einem alten Kino an. Und einen magischen Sommer lang ist alles auf den Kopf gestellt. Er findet Freunde, verliebt sich und entdeckt die Geheimnisse seiner Heimatstadt. Zum ersten Mal ist er kein unscheinbarer Außenseiter mehr. Bis etwas passiert, das ihn zwingt, erwachsen zu werden... -
![November Blues by Sharon M. Draper]()
November Blues by Sharon M. Draper
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen November Nelson loses her boyfriend, Josh, to a pledge stunt gone horribly wrong, she thinks her life can't possibly get any worse. But Josh left something behind that will change November's life forever, and now she's faced with the biggest decision she could ever imagine. How in the world will she tell her mom? And how will Josh's parents take the news? She's never needed a friend more... -
![Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin]()
Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPart of the Penguin 60s series, issued to celebrate 60 years of Penguin books. This collects "Sonny's Blues", "The Rockpile" and "Previous Condition", all taken from Going to Meet the Man (Penguin, 1991)... -
![Bronxwood by Coe Booth]()
Bronxwood by Coe Booth
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe acclaimed author of TYRELL and KENDRA returns to PUSH to continue Tyrell's astonishing story. Tyrell's father is just out of jail, and Tyrell doesn't know how to deal with that. It's bad enough that his brother Troy is in foster care and that his mother is no help whatsoever. Now there's another thing up in his face, just when he's trying to settle down... -
![অপেক্ষা by Humayun Ahmed]()
অপেক্ষা by Humayun Ahmed
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsমানুষের জীবন কি চক্রের মত? চক্রের কোন শুরু নেই, শেষ নেই। মানব জীবনও কি তাই? রহস্যময় চক্রের ভেতর এই জীবন ঘুরপাক খেতে থাকে? শুরু নেই, শেষ নেই। চক্র ঘুরছে।এই চক্রের ভেতরে ঘুরপাক খেতে খেতে অপেক্ষা করে কেউ কেউ। কিংবা সকলেই কিসের... -
![In Little Stars by Linda Green]()
In Little Stars by Linda Green
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a divided northern England, love and hate are about to collide . . .Sylvie and Donna travel on the same train to work each day but have never spoken. Their families are on different sides of the bitter Brexit divide, although the tensions and arguments at home give them much in common... -
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![All The Colours In Between by Eva Jordan]()
All The Colours In Between by Eva Jordan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEva Jordan's much-anticipated follow up to the bestselling 183 Times a Year It's not a life, it's an adventure! Lizzie is fast approaching 50. Her once angst ridden teenage daughters, now grown and in their twenties, have flown the nest, Cassie to London and Maisy to Australia... -
![Heaven Adjacent by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Heaven Adjacent by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes a bittersweet novel about healing old wounds and finding a new place to call home… Roseanna Chaldecott spent her life as a high-powered lawyer in Manhattan. But when her best friend and law partner dies suddenly, something snaps. Unsure of her future, Roseanna heads upstate on one tank of gas and with no plans to return... -
![True Biz by Sara Nović]()
True Biz by Sara Nović
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsTRUE BIZ (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talkTrue biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies...Categorized as:
lgbtq literary-fiction coming-of-age realistic social-commentary family friendship fiction -
![Saturday at the Food Pantry by Diane O'Neill]()
Saturday at the Food Pantry by Diane O'Neill
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMolly and her mom don't always have enough food, so one Saturday they visit their local food pantry. Molly's happy to get food to eat until she sees her classmate Caitlin, who's embarrassed to be at the food pantry... -
![A Family Affair - A Free Preview of the First 7 Chapters by ReShonda Tate Billingsley]()
A Family Affair - A Free Preview of the First 7 Chapters by ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAward-winning author ReShonda Tate Billingsley, whose bestselling fiction "tackles some of life’s toughest situations" ( The Florida Times-Union ), unravels the secrets in a mother’s past that turn her daughter’s life upside down—by revealing the family she never knew existed... -
![Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner]()
Heartbreak of a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLong live the Queen of Hip Hop Lit! Nikki Turner is back with another explosive, page-turning sequel to her #1 bestselling novels A Hustler’s Wife and Forever a Hustler’s Wife. Yarni Taylor is a successful corporate attorney who wants nothing more than for her husband, Des, to renounce his hustlin’ ways and commit to his life as a pastor—especially after someone tries to kill him... -
![Imani All Mine by Connie Rose Porter]()
Imani All Mine by Connie Rose Porter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"With authority and grace" (Essence), Imani All Mine tells the story of Tasha, a fourteen-year-old unwed mother of a baby girl. In her ghettoized world where poverty, racism, and danger are daily struggles, Tasha uses her savvy and humor to uncover the good hidden around her...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family female-mc high-school literary-fiction poc-mc realistic social-commentary -
![Caitlin's Lucky Charm by Lisa Schroeder]()
Caitlin's Lucky Charm by Lisa Schroeder
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFour best friends, one lucky bracelet, and an utterly charming new middle-grade series!Caitlin would stay at summer camp forever if she could. Her new best friends in the world, Hannah, Mia, and Libby are there... -
![The Celebrants by Steven Rowley]()
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises--especially to ourselves--by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle. It's been a minute--or five years--since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began... -
![Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall]()
Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAmerican Street meets Long Way Down in this searing and gritty debut novel that takes an unflinching look at the harsh realities of gang life in Jamaica and how far a teen is willing to go for family.Things can change in a second:The second Frankie Green gets that scholarship letter, he has his ticket out of Jamaica.The second his longtime crush, Leah, asks him on a date, he’s in trouble... -
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![Homecomings by Marcia Willett]()
Homecomings by Marcia Willett
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAt the end of the row of fishermen’s cottages by the harbour’s edge, stands an old granite house.First it belonged to Ned’s parents; then Ned dropped anchor here after a life at sea and called it home. His nephew Hugo moved in too, swapping London for the small Cornish fishing village where he’d spent so many happy holidays... -
![Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott]()
Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSam has the rules of slackerhood down: Don't be late to class. Don't ever look the teacher in the eye. Develop your blank stare. Since his mom left, he has become an expert in the art of slacking, especially since no one at his new school gets his intense passion for the music of the Pacific Northwest—Nirvana, Hole, Sleater-Kinney...Categorized as:
realistic high-school friendship coming-of-age poc-mc family young-adult contemporary -
![Emako Blue by Brenda Woods]()
Emako Blue by Brenda Woods
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEmako Blue was supposed to be a star. She was beautiful and good-hearted. She was Monterey's best friend. She was the only girl Jamal cared about, the one who saw through his player act. She was the one who understood the burden of Eddie's family. She was the best singer anyone had ever heard, with a voice like vanilla incense, smoky and sweet... -
![The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz]()
The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's the summer before freshman year in high school and Nina decides to follow what someone said at her middle-school graduation: "Be unnoticed, but be remarkable." Her best friend Jorie is focusing on boys, clothes, and popularity, her lawyer parents are diving into a new case, and this is the first summer without her beloved Grandma, so she's is feeling a little lost... -
![The Mission by Jason Myers]()
The Mission by Jason Myers
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWake up and do something! Kaden Norris's life is shattered when his older brother -- his best friend and hero -- is killed in Iraq. All Kaden has left of Kenny is a letter, urging him to break away from his sheltered life and to go to San Francisco to visit his cousin, James. Kaden is blown away, as James introduces him to a life filled with drugs, sex, and apathy... -
![Don't Ask Me Where I'm From by Jennifer De Leon]()
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From by Jennifer De Leon
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFirst-generation American LatinX Liliana Cruz does what it takes to fit in at her new nearly all-white school. But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls. There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again... -
![This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph]()
This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn instant New York Times bestseller!The powerful and timely YA novel debut from two-time New York Times best-selling author Frederick Joseph is a deeply heartfelt story—and a rallying cry against book banning.In an instant, Ossie Brown’s entire future is in jeopardy when a torn ACL ends his promising basketball career... -
![Three Nights in Italy by Olivia Beirne]()
Three Nights in Italy by Olivia Beirne
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFOUR WOMEN. ONE WEEKEND. A JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME.Zoe has always known that her grandmother's wedding ring would be hers one day. She just never expected that day would come so soon. She may not be ready, but Zoe knows the importance of goodbye - and how much it hurts when left unsaid... -
![Unbroken Threads by Jennifer Klepper]()
Unbroken Threads by Jennifer Klepper
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJessica Donnelly’s life is beginning to unravel. When the attorney turned stay-at-home mom tentatively volunteers to represent Amina Hamid, a woman seeking asylum, Jessica must learn an unfamiliar area of the law. Soon, rising opposition to Muslim immigration and unexpected prejudices put her relationships on shaky ground... -
![Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens]()
Don't Forget Me by Victoria Stevens
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke is no stranger to heartbreaks, and being sent to live with a father she’s never met is the latest in a string of them. Even the beauty of eastern Australia isn’t enough to take her mind off her mother and the life she had to leave behind in England... -
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![Small World by Ishta Mercurio]()
Small World by Ishta Mercurio
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Nanda is born, the whole of her world is the circle of her mother’s arms. But as she grows, the world grows too. It expands outward—from her family, to her friends, to the city, to the countryside. And as it expands, so does Nanda’s wonder in the underlying shapes and structures patterning it: cogs and wheels, fractals in snowflakes... -
![Georgetown Academy: Book Two by Jessica Koosed Etting, Alyssa Embree Schwartz]()
Georgetown Academy: Book Two by Jessica Koosed Etting, Alyssa Embree Schwartz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the halls of Georgetown Academy, gossip and rumor abound. But when photographic proof shows up on the front page of The Huffington Post? Then it’s a national scandal. While Ellie tries to put her life back together, Evan just might get everything she’s ever wanted—the perfect boyfriend and her dream career... -
![Outrunning The Darkness by Anne Schraff]()
Outrunning The Darkness by Anne Schraff
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThemes: Hi-Lo, High school, neighborhoods, family, loyalty, friendship, urban teen fiction, self esteem, teen relationships, unrequited love. Written for young adults, the Urban Underground series confronts issues that are of great importance to teens, such as friendship, loyalty, drugs, gangs, abuse, urban blight, bullies, and self-esteem to name a few... -
![16 & Pregnant by LaLa Thomas]()
16 & Pregnant by LaLa Thomas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe bond between two best friends is put to the test when one of them gets pregnant in this contemporary teen novel inspired by MTV’s iconic reality show.Erykah was looking forward to junior year at East Prep High. She has a cute boyfriend, gets good grades, and has the best bestie. Money is tight, though that’s nothing new in her world. But everything changes when she gets pregnant... -
![Black and White by Paul Volponi]()
Black and White by Paul Volponi
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMarcus and Eddie are best friends who found the strength to break through the racial barrier. Marcus is black; Eddie is white. Stars of their school basketball team, they are true leaders who look past the stereotypes and come out on top. They are inseparable, watching each other's backs, both on and off the basketball court. But one night—and one wrong decision—will change their lives forever... -
![The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White]()
The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSixteen-year old Meghan Powers thought that boys and grades were the most important issues of the day, until her mother dropped the bombshell-she was going to run for President of the United States. And she was going to win. Bad enough that her mother spent so much time away from home as a state senator. Now she was going to be the most important woman in America... -
![Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsElle is a loner. She doesn’t need people. Which is a good thing, because she’s on her own: she had to move into her own apartment so her mother’s boyfriend won’t have to deal with her. Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle... -
![Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat]()
Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house—complete with her beloved piano—the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life.And it isn’t pretty.Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks... -
![Cross-Stitch by Jazmina Barrera]()
Cross-Stitch by Jazmina Barrera
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA debut novel of female friendship and coming-of-age from Jazmina Barrera, acclaimed author of Linea Nigra and On Lighthouses, translated by Christina MacSweeney.It was meant to be the trip of a lifetime. Mila, Citlali, and Dalia, childhood friends now college aged, leave Mexico City for the England of The Clash and the Paris of Courbet...Categorized as:
lgbtq drama literary-fiction friendship coming-of-age female-mc fiction contemporary -
![The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu]()
The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Junior Library Guild Selection, 2014A Junior Library Guild Selection, 2014A School Library Journal Top 10 Latino Books of 2014As a straight-A student with a budding romance and loyal best friend, M.T.’s life seems as apple-pie American as her blondish hair and pale skin. But M.T. hides two facts to the contrary: her full name of Monserrat Thalia and her status as an undocumented immigrant... -
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![The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees]()
The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrankie Towers has always looked up to his older brother, Steve, and with good reason. Steve is a popular senior who always gets what he wants: girls, a soccer scholarship, and--lately--street cred. Frankie, on the other hand, spends his time shooting off fireworks with his best friend Zach, working at his parents' restaurant, and obsessing about his longtime crush, Rebecca Sanchez... -
![DJ Rising by Love Maia]()
DJ Rising by Love Maia
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe first thing I hear is music. The first thing I've always heard is music.Meet Marley, an unassuming high school junior who breathes in music like oxygen. In between caring for his heroin-addicted mother, and keeping his scholarship at a fancy prep school, he dreams of becoming a professional DJ.When chance lands Marley his first real DJ job, his career as "DJ Ice" suddenly skyrockets... -
![Atusparia by Gabriela Wiener]()
Atusparia by Gabriela Wiener
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsUna política de izquierda víctima del lawfare se encuentra prisionera en una cárcel de alta seguridad en las entrañas de la selva amazónica.Se hace llamar Atusparia, como el líder de la resistencia indígena peruana del siglo XIX y como el delirante colegio comunista donde estudió en los estertores de la guerra fría... -
![Finding Freia Lockhart by Aimee Said]()
Finding Freia Lockhart by Aimee Said
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFreia Lockhart just wants to fit in at school but her best friend Kate is determined to get in with the popular Bs: Belinda, Bethanee and Brianna. Even Freia knows when she hangs out with the Bs she fits in like a turkey in a flock of flamingos. Kate convinces Freia to audition for the school play so they can 'all hang out together' and meet all the cute guys... -
![Die Schönheit der Nacht by Nina George]()
Die Schönheit der Nacht by Nina George
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVor der beeindruckenden Kulisse der bretonischen Küste lässt Bestseller-Autorin Nina George zwei Frauen sich selbst neu entdecken: ihre Wünsche und Träume, ihre Sinnlichkeit, ihr Begehren. Die angesehene Pariser Verhaltensbiologin Claire sehnt sich immer rastloser danach, zu spüren, dass sie lebt und nicht nur funktioniert... -
![Whiskey & Charlie by Annabel Smith]()
Whiskey & Charlie by Annabel Smith
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhiskey & Charlie is a captivating debut novel of brothers who have drifted apart and the accident that will determine their future, by an unforgettable new voice exploring the struggles and strengths of the sibling bond.Some twins communicate in a secret language all their own...
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