Angie Thomas: On the Come Up

Southbank Centre's Book Podcast

The bestselling author of The Hate U Give presented an homage to hip-hop and the power of storytelling in a discussion of her second novel, with Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff. She talked about On the Come Up, 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 faced by poor and working-class black families. "It took me a couple years to decide to write that story but it came from a place of anger, hurt and frustration but also from a place of hope and hopefully a way to celebrate when the world doesn't do it for us." ANGIE THOMAS