On the Come Up

73 pages • 2 hours read

On the Come Up

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. What does Bri call the place where rap battles take place?

2. What was Bri’s father’s rap name?

3. What “contraband” does Bri have in her backpack?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Bri know Milez’s father?

2. Why does Bri call her mother “Jay”?

3. Why doesn’t Bri go to her local Garden Heights high school, Garden High?

Paired Resource

“The Birth of Rap: A Look Back”

This brief NPR article summarizes the progression of rap from the 1970s.
The information in this article connects to the theme of The Power of Words.
How does music help rappers convey their message? What characteristics of rap are a good fit for Bri’s traits and personality?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 5-9

Reading Check

1. What is Aunt Pooh’s “job”?

2. What does Trey “diagnose” Bri with?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Jay lose her job at the church?

2. Why does Aunt Pooh leave Bri during the recording session?

3. How does Grandma find out about Bri’s trouble at school?

Paired Resource

“Oppositional Defiant Disorder”

This article from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry describes the signs and symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in children and teens.
Do you agree with Trey that Bri’s behavior is characteristic of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or is it likely something else? Explain.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 10-13

Reading Check

1. Who shouts “Free Long and Tate!” at Bri when she gets to school after her suspension?

2. Who is Malik dating?

3. Whom do Bri and her mother run into at the food giveaway?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do some of the students first hear Bri’s song?

2. Why does Aunt Pooh not like Bri’s song?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 14-17

Reading Check

1. What item of her father’s has Bri taken to wearing?

2. With whom does Bri flirt on the bus?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Bri’s song first go viral?

2. Why doesn’t Bri get to battle in the Ring a second time?

3. According to the media, how does the riot at Midtown start?

Paired Resource

“Rap Music on Trial Bill Would Stop Prosecutors From Citing Irrelevant Lyrics in Court”

This 2023 news article discusses a bill in New York designed to limit the use of rap lyrics as evidence in court cases.
This resource connects to the themes of Racism Within Schools and Communities and The Power of Words.
Consider how people have been interpreting Bri’s lyrics. How might these words cause conflict? Provide your rationale.

PART 2, CHAPTERS 18-21

Reading Check

1. What does Supreme surprise Bri with?

2. When the school hires new security guards, what is different about them?

3. What does the Crown member steal from Bri at gunpoint?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why isn’t Supreme worried about the media making Bri a villain?

2. What double standard causes Bri to get upset in the opinion piece published about her?

3. How do Sonny, Malik, and Bri intend to change the narrative about her song?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 22-25

Reading Check

1. What utility is turned off in Bri’s residence after she tells Aunt Pooh about the Crown stealing the chain?

2. Who gives Bri’s family money to get by for a little while?

3. Who floods the Maple Grove projects as Pooh is talking to Bri?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Bri decide to call Aunt Pooh after the theft of the chain?

2. Why do Grandma and Granddaddy show up unannounced?

3. How does Jay end her talk with the superintendent?

4. Why did Aunt Pooh get involved in gangs?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 26-30

Reading Check

1. What happens to Bri’s Timbs after Aunt Pooh is searched?

2. What kind of interview does Bri walk out of?

3. Who ends up asking Bri out, officially?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Aunt Pooh arrested?

2. How is Bri’s kiss with Curtis different from hers with Malik?

3. Why is Bri unhappy with the second song she has to record?

Paired Resource

“How Many People Does It Take to Write a Hit Song?”

This BBC article highlights the trend for committee-based songwriting in modern music.
This information connects to the themes of Finding One’s Own Voice and The Power of Words.
Does knowing that an artist didn’t write a song change its message or impact for you as a listener? Explain.

PART 3, CHAPTER 31-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. Where is Bri supposed to perform her second song?

2. Who is Sonny’s mysterious online boyfriend?

3. Where will the family be living while they try to get back on their feet?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why won’t Jay bail Aunt Pooh out of jail?

2. What is Jay’s daily goal for herself and her family?

3. What does Bri rap about in the Ring near the novel’s conclusion?

4. What is Bri’s condition for working with the next celebrity who wants to do a song with her?

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Tyrell on SuperSummary

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Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. The Ring (Chapters 1-4)

2. Lawless (Chapter 2)

3. Candy (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Milez’s father, Supreme, used to be her father’s manager. Supreme was fired shortly before Lawless was shot. (Chapter 2)

2. While addicted to drugs, Jay left her children with their grandparents following Lawless’s death. Bri refers to her mother as Jay because she does not feel a strong enough connection to call her “Mom.” (Chapter 4)

3. Bri’s mother did not want her surrounded by gang violence, a common occurrence at Garden High. Bri attends a local arts school instead. (Chapter 4)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 5-9

Reading Check

1. Drug dealer (Chapters 5-9)

2. Oppositional Defiance Disorder (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Local riots caused damage to the church daycare center. The church does not have enough money to pay for the repairs to the daycare and keep Jay on as secretary, so they fire Jay. (Chapter 5)

2. Aunt Pooh only tells Bri that she has “some business” to take care of. Bri assumes it is gang-related. (Chapter 8)

3. Curtis’s grandmother visits Bri’s grandmother to tell her the gossip Curtis told her. (Chapter 9)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 10-13

Reading Check

1. A white student (Chapter 10)

2. Shana (Chapter 11)

3. Supreme (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Sonny begs Bri to let him hear it on the bus. When he plays it, several students overhear it and ask him to play it louder. (Chapter 10)

2. Aunt Pooh does not like that Bri implies being associated with the Garden Disciples, even referencing the rival gang, the Crowns. (Chapter 13)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 14-17

Reading Check

1. His crown pendant on a chain (Chapter 15)

2. Curtis (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. After Bri sends the file to Supreme, it ends up on a popular gossip blog and begins to go viral. (Chapters 13-14)

2. A group of rival gang members (Crowns) start trouble outside the club and the bouncer refuses to let any of them in, including Bri, because it is against the venue’s policy. (Chapter 15)

3. The media blames the violent nature of Bri’s lyrics for starting the riot. (Chapter 17)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 18-21

Reading Check

1. New Timberlands (Chapter 18)

2. Police officers (Chapter 20)

3. Bri’s father’s crown pendant and chain (Chapter 21)

Short Answer

1. Supreme believes that any publicity is good for her career. He also says that it is common for the media to condemn rappers. (Chapter 18)

2. Bri is angry that the author of the opinion piece is judging Bri’s discussion of guns and violence while also being pro-gun in other articles. Bri can tell that it is about race more than it is about violence or weapons. (Chapter 19)

3. Sonny, Malik, and Bri create a music video that includes the footage Malik took when Bri was assaulted. They hope that this will show the real meaning behind the lyrics. (Chapter 21)

PART 3, CHAPTERS 22-25

Reading Check

1. Electricity (Chapter 22)

2. Granddaddy (Chapter 24)

3. Police officers/SWAT teams (Chapter 25)

Short Answer

1. Bri knows that Aunt Pooh is involved in gang issues, and since they were mugged by a rival gang member, Bri thinks that Aunt Pooh will be able to help them. (Chapter 22)

2. Grandma and Granddaddy are worried because the family was not in church on Sunday. They have also heard about Bri’s music and are concerned that the children are not being cared for properly. (Chapter 23)

3. Jay gives him her resume for the open secretary position. They bond over their sobriety and the character it takes to remain clean. (Chapter 24)

4. Pooh started in gangs because she looked up to Bri’s father. When he was killed by a rival gang, she decided to get involved as a way to get revenge/justice. (Chapter 25)

PART 3, CHAPTERS 26-30

Reading Check

1. The Timberlands are fake, and one of the heels falls off. (Chapter 26)

2. A radio interview (Chapters 27-28)

3. Curtis (Chapter 29)

Short Answer

1. Aunt Pooh is arrested as part of a drug bust. (Chapter 26)

2. Bri feels more of a spark with Curtis than with Malik. She describes it as wanting more but also slowing down. (Chapter 26)

3. Bri is unhappy because instead of composing it herself, the song was written by Dee-Nice. Bri did not realize she could not rap her own lyrics. (Chapter 30)

PART 3, CHAPTER 31-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. The Ring (Chapter 31)

2. Miles, Supreme’s son (Chapter 32)

3. With Bri’s grandparents (Chapter 33)

Short Answer

1. Jay says that Aunt Pooh cares more about the street life than her family, and Jay is worried that Pooh will just end up back in the same problems if she gets out of jail. (Chapter 31)

2. Jay’s goal is to be there for Bri, no matter what. (Chapter 33)

3. Bri raps about trying to find her own voice and image in a world that is trying to make her into something she is not. (Chapter 34)

4. Bri says she will only work with them if she is allowed to do it her way. (Epilogue)