Kicky’s Post It Note Reviews: On the Come Up and The Devouring Gray

The Teen, as many of you know, is a prolific reader of YA lit but basically hates to write reviews. So years ago she decided to write short reviews on post-it notes and thus, Kicky’s Post It Note Reviews was born. I try to fill in the gaps when I can because she and I talk about the books that she reads often, though not always. So here today are some thoughts from a prolific teen reader about some new and upcoming YA lit titles.

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Publisher’s Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is 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 of poor and working-class black families.

Post It Note Review

“An absolutely amazing and powerful book.”

The Teen and one of her best friends both read this book at the same time. At first she was kind of meh about it and told me that she thought it was okay but liked The Hate U Give better. Then one afternoon we were driving and she was reading in the passenger seat and she literally gasped/squeed/yelled and starting texting her friend about what was happening. This was a huge turning point in the book for her and as you can see from her brief post-it note review, she ended up really liking it.

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

Publisher’s Book Description

On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…

Uprooted from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the townsfolk are right to be afraid.

When bodies start to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?

Post It Note Review

“Interesting. I’m not a big fan of series but I may read the second book.”

So the Jensens are notorious for leaving series unfinished. The Teen in particular prefers stand alone titles, with paranormal fantasy, mysteries and realistic fiction being her favorites. She liked this book enough that she would consider reading the second book, and I need you all to understand this is high praise indeed.

The Devouring Gray comes out on April 2nd. On the Come Up is out now.

Filed under: Book Reviews