On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Description
I only see the top of her Sisterlocks. The rest of her is hidden behind her Nikki Giovanni book. Occasionally she goes "Mmm" at some line the same way my grandma does during a sermon. Poetry's Mrs. Murray's religion. p4
Compliments like that are part of the parental responsibilities she took on when she evicted me from her womb. p9
Ever since that boy got killed, my heart races whenever I see a cop. I could've been him, he could've been me. Luck's the only thing that separated us. p237
Society and Expectations
Every single time I get sent to her, she asks me questions that sound like they cam from some "How to Talk to Statistical Black Children Who Come to Your Office Often" handbook. p7
______________________
"Carrying the torch for Law, huh?"
Not really. More like making my own torch and carrying it. I say, "Yeah," though, because that's what I'm supposed to say. It's part of being royalty. p23
_____________________
But it's kinda like saying one side of the Death Star is safer than the other. It's still the goddamn Death Star. p75
But I'd rather see her as my hero than as somebody else's villain. p113
"Well, they probably will make a lot of noise about the song. Folks love to blame hip-hop. Guess that's easier than looking at the real problems, you know?" p253
Protect our children. I'm definitely not included in that. p265
It must be nice to panic over some goddamn words, because that's all they are. Words. p265
____________________________________
Why You Won't Take My Guns:
Gun Control Has No Place Here
But it's different when I rap about guns? p266
_________________________________________
Yeah, people get killed around here, and nah, it's not always by the police, but Jay says this was like having a stranger come in your house, steal one of your kids, and blame you for it because your family was dysfunctional, while the whole world judges you for being upset. p51
"Aggressive" is used to describe me a lot. It's supposed to mean threatening, but I've never threatened anybody. I just say stuff that teachers don't like. p66
"That's right, fuck censorship," I say, to three hundred viewers. "They don't get it because it ain't for them to get. Besides, if I am strapped like backpacks, maybe it's 'cause I gotta be, bitch. Ain't my fault if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable every goddamn day of my life." p267
They'll never truly understand because they don't wanna understand someone like me. p282
Shade
Usually I'm cool with an entire hour of not knowing what the president tweeted. Or getting texts from Sonny and Malik (sometimes about shit the president tweeted). p4
You gotta be careful with church compliments though. The person's probably thinking the exact opposite of what they're saying but says something nice in case Jesus is listening. p122
"While some of us are afraid of the impact songs will have on our children, there are parents who are absolutely terrified for the safety of our children at the hands of people who are supposed to protect them." p322
Is that the kind of message you want to send to your students? That the safety of some of them is more important than the safety of others? If that's the case, there is no concern for the safety of all of them. p323
Makes Me Old
People still used CDs back then, so he made copies and passed them out all around the neighborhood. p28
LOL
In fact, a Sonny and Malik fight is one of the few things guaranteed in life, right up there with death, taxes, and Kanye West rants. p54
There's always that one white boy who says stupid shit in the name of making his friends laugh. You can usually find them trolling on Twitter. We just spotted one in the wild. p40
YES!!/ Literary Allusions
"...Anyway, I recently read this book about these two guys who fall for each other over email." p137
The Rules
p146 If you're like me and teach using Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This, but you've been wondering if you should replace the Unwritten Rules selection from Sherman Alexie, this could be a great alternative.
Journalism
The headline? "Teen Daughter of Murdered Underground Rap Legend Lawless Just Killed Us Her Damn Self with This New Heat!"
Side note: Do I have a name or nah? It's short enough that it could've fit, too. p199
Gender
At sixteen, my brother was calling toxic masculinity "one hell of a drug." p272
Beautiful
And finally, to those roses in the concrete in the real Gardens of the world-- even when they doubt you, even when they try to silence you, never be quiet. They can't stop you, so get your come up. ~Acknowledgements
I only see the top of her Sisterlocks. The rest of her is hidden behind her Nikki Giovanni book. Occasionally she goes "Mmm" at some line the same way my grandma does during a sermon. Poetry's Mrs. Murray's religion. p4
Compliments like that are part of the parental responsibilities she took on when she evicted me from her womb. p9
Ever since that boy got killed, my heart races whenever I see a cop. I could've been him, he could've been me. Luck's the only thing that separated us. p237
Society and Expectations
Every single time I get sent to her, she asks me questions that sound like they cam from some "How to Talk to Statistical Black Children Who Come to Your Office Often" handbook. p7
______________________
"Carrying the torch for Law, huh?"
Not really. More like making my own torch and carrying it. I say, "Yeah," though, because that's what I'm supposed to say. It's part of being royalty. p23
_____________________
But it's kinda like saying one side of the Death Star is safer than the other. It's still the goddamn Death Star. p75
But I'd rather see her as my hero than as somebody else's villain. p113
"Well, they probably will make a lot of noise about the song. Folks love to blame hip-hop. Guess that's easier than looking at the real problems, you know?" p253
Protect our children. I'm definitely not included in that. p265
It must be nice to panic over some goddamn words, because that's all they are. Words. p265
____________________________________
Why You Won't Take My Guns:
Gun Control Has No Place Here
But it's different when I rap about guns? p266
_________________________________________
Yeah, people get killed around here, and nah, it's not always by the police, but Jay says this was like having a stranger come in your house, steal one of your kids, and blame you for it because your family was dysfunctional, while the whole world judges you for being upset. p51
"Aggressive" is used to describe me a lot. It's supposed to mean threatening, but I've never threatened anybody. I just say stuff that teachers don't like. p66
"That's right, fuck censorship," I say, to three hundred viewers. "They don't get it because it ain't for them to get. Besides, if I am strapped like backpacks, maybe it's 'cause I gotta be, bitch. Ain't my fault if it makes you uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable every goddamn day of my life." p267
They'll never truly understand because they don't wanna understand someone like me. p282
Shade
Usually I'm cool with an entire hour of not knowing what the president tweeted. Or getting texts from Sonny and Malik (sometimes about shit the president tweeted). p4
You gotta be careful with church compliments though. The person's probably thinking the exact opposite of what they're saying but says something nice in case Jesus is listening. p122
"While some of us are afraid of the impact songs will have on our children, there are parents who are absolutely terrified for the safety of our children at the hands of people who are supposed to protect them." p322
Is that the kind of message you want to send to your students? That the safety of some of them is more important than the safety of others? If that's the case, there is no concern for the safety of all of them. p323
Makes Me Old
People still used CDs back then, so he made copies and passed them out all around the neighborhood. p28
LOL
In fact, a Sonny and Malik fight is one of the few things guaranteed in life, right up there with death, taxes, and Kanye West rants. p54
There's always that one white boy who says stupid shit in the name of making his friends laugh. You can usually find them trolling on Twitter. We just spotted one in the wild. p40
YES!!/ Literary Allusions
"...Anyway, I recently read this book about these two guys who fall for each other over email." p137
The Rules
p146 If you're like me and teach using Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This, but you've been wondering if you should replace the Unwritten Rules selection from Sherman Alexie, this could be a great alternative.
Journalism
The headline? "Teen Daughter of Murdered Underground Rap Legend Lawless Just Killed Us Her Damn Self with This New Heat!"
Side note: Do I have a name or nah? It's short enough that it could've fit, too. p199
Gender
At sixteen, my brother was calling toxic masculinity "one hell of a drug." p272
Beautiful
And finally, to those roses in the concrete in the real Gardens of the world-- even when they doubt you, even when they try to silence you, never be quiet. They can't stop you, so get your come up. ~Acknowledgements
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