An Author and her Books, Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas writes about challenges teens face in today's world
Hi readers,
I discovered Young Adult fiction several years back, and my first exposure to it was teenage love/angsty storylines that left me not wanting to read any more YA fiction. I usually don’t read about angsty love in adult fiction, and I didn’t want to read it in YA fiction. It reminded me too much of my teenage years, and that isn’t a period of time I want to revisit at this stage of my life. Fast forward a few years to when I discovered a different type of YA fiction from authors Nic Stone, Jennifer Latham, Elizabeth Acevedo, Renee Watson, Jacqueline Woodson, Angie Thomas, and others. These authors write character-driven books, people and issue-focused, a look at right and wrong in our society, and an insightful look at the problems teens face today. I’ve read at least one book from each of these authors and plan to read more soon. Today’s “Author and Her Books” focus is Angie Thomas, and I’ve read all four of her books.
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still lives in Jackson, Mississippi. She holds a BFA in creative writing from Belhaven University. Thomas is a former rapper, she can still rap if needed, and she says she has an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, began as a senior project in college and was acquired by Baltzer+Bray in a thirteen publisher auction and debuted at #1 on The NY Times bestseller list. She has won numerous industry and reader-based awards, her first two books were made into movies, and her books have become some of the best YA novels written in the last few years.
Thomas has written three books thus far, drawing rave reviews and national acclaim, and has a story in a six-author anthology published in 2021. Here are her books in publication order, along with a brief description of each:
The Hate U Give - Follow along as Starr travels between two worlds, the poor neighborhood she lives in and the fancy prep school she attends. Starr witnesses the shooting of her childhood best friend. That incident gains national attention, causes unrest in her community and potential harm to her family. She is outspoken, courageous, resilient, and such a role model to teens everywhere. This book will change you if you allow it to.
On the Come Up - This book is very different than her first book, it reminds me of Elizabeth Acevedo’s books, and in some ways, I think it is actually better than The Hate U Give. As the daughter of an underground rap legend that died before he could hit it big, Bri wants to become the greatest rapper of all time. To do that, she has to win her first rap battle, but the odds are stacked against her. She is not one of the good kids at school; she is poor, her mother lost her job, and they now face eviction. Achieving her dreams is everything to her, but what does she have to give up to become the famous rapper she believes she can be? I loved Bri’s drive and determination; I felt her sadness and anger and rejoiced in her wins.
Concrete Rose - In The Hate U Give, readers were introduced to Starr’s father, Maverick, but we didn’t learn much about him. Concrete Rose is Maverick’s book, the prequel to The Hate U Give. Maverick is like many seventeen-year-old kids in his neighborhood that turn to bad things because of the pressure of feeling like he has to take care of his family. He becomes a father, steps up to the plate, and does what he needs to do to take care of his family. Maverick’s offered the opportunity of going straight, and he discovers that while you can take the man out of the gang, it may be hard to take the gang out of the man. I enjoyed this book a lot; it explains why Maverick is the way he is and why young men like him wind up in gangs no matter how many others try to prevent it. It provided an understanding of a culture that I knew nothing about.
Blackout - As an anthology, this book offers up short stories by six authors about black teens in NY City one evening during a blackout. The stories are all interconnected by the blackout, and these stories follow couples of all kinds exploring their potential love with many messages offered in the pages. If messages in books are an issue for you, this is probably not the book you need to read. If you can read and enjoy the stories presented while either agreeing with the messages or ignoring them if you can’t agree, then I think you will find the stories interesting and enjoy reading them.
Here are some articles and other links related to Angie Thomas and her books:
CBS Morning Show interview at the time of the release of Concrete Rose
Wisconsin Public Radio interview about The Hate U Give
A fantastic article by The Guardian about activism, social media, and coping with rejection
Politics and Prose book store live event recording with Angie Thomas about The Hate U Give
A short interview and rap session with Waterstones about On the Come Up
A CNBC article talking about the “yes” that changed everything
Don’t let the genre title “young adult” scare you away from reading one or more of these books. Even though they are about teens, there are so many lessons to be learned by all of us through these books. I almost let a few bad YA books keep me from discovering some great books by even better authors. If the books highlighted here sound interesting to you, be sure to check out some of the authors mentioned above and check out a prior newsletter about Jennifer Latham or this one about Elizabeth Acevedo for other book suggestions.
Thanks for allowing me to take up space in your inbox a couple of times a week; it means the world to me to share my love of reading with you. I’d love to know if you’ve read any of Angie Thomas’ books and if you liked them; you can tell me in the comments below. Have a great week and happy reading!
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