Mock Printz 2026 discussion

Seeing as I goofed and Shout is published in March, thanks Jennifer, On The Come Up was the runner up so that's our March discussion.

What did you think of On the Come Up? Is it Pritz worth? Why or Why not?

Angie Thomas is so incredible at creating three-dimensional characters that come alive on the page. Even the side characters feel fully fleshed out and with their own backstories. I thought the setting seemed strong too.

She does such a great job weaving different themes together, and I really loved Bri's voice. I thought the storytelling and pacing was great and I was riveted through the whole book. I think that this is strong in a lot of the Printz criteria.

I loved On the Come Up! My students agree! Bri has this wonderful connection to her dad and wants to follow in his shoes! Her voice and determination throughout the novel kept me reading! She will not quiet herself to make things easier for others!

Unpopular Opinion-I know I'll be in the minority here but I did not enjoy this book and I do not think it is Printz worthy.

Here's my original review:
I think my biggest issue was that there was too much going on to focus on important things. She wants to be a rapper and her mom has lost her job so they can't pay bills and she likes her friend and her other friend is gay and has a secret guy he's talking to and she gets bussed to a predominantly White school and there's an incident at the school and her aunt is in a gang and her brother can't find a job even though he has a college degree and her father was murdered by a gang and her mom used to be hooked on drugs and her grandma is an asshole to her mom. IT'S TOO MUCH !!!!!

Because there was so much going on, I felt like the rap part was an after thought. This girl dreams of being a rapper so much so that her grades are dropping yet the music part of the book comes in random places. She's told she could get a record deal then days go by when she doesn't talk about this VERY exciting thing that has happened because there's so much other minor shit going on. Why did we need a love interest? There was no need for the unrequited love, jealousy, found a new guy crap. Sonny's secret relationship with a guy was A, predictable and B, wasn't written well and I'll explain in the next paragraph. I hate when authors have so many ideas and they try to cram it all in. Just focus on a couple of themes/issues and execute them well.

I felt like the themes in this book were dumbed down. There are some pretty solid themes here-pursuing your dreams; vulnerability and asking for help; and being true to yourself. However, they way they are executed was not as critical as they could have been. Bri mentions a couple of times that Jacksons don't cry and her mother is struggling to pay bills but she won't accept help from her in-laws. At some point, the pressure gets to Bri and she cries and her brother tells her that crying isn't weak-DUH. Her mom finally accepts help-DUH. And that is the extent of the critical merit on that theme. Basically this book is written for a teen who has never read a book; it's just so basic. I thought THUG had its critical moments and challenged the reader to evaluate their own prejudices but this didn't.

Characters-IMO the strongest thing is THUG was the characters but in this book-YIKES. All of the characters were extremely underdeveloped and that's because of the dumbed down writing I explained above. Trey could have been good because he's so positive given his situation but he had a couple of run-0f-the-mill advice for Bri about crying and behavior but that's it. The mom was just okay; she also gave the same advice over again and can we talk about how the mom seemed to be suffering from depression? Am I wrong here? She would retreat to her room for days and lay in the dark and they just thought that it was okay as long as she wasn't using drugs again. I know that many Black people go undiagnosed for depression because they don't know the symptoms but this could have been an opportunity for Thomas to touch on that seeing as there were 15 other things going on in this book. Let me know if I'm wrong. Back to the characters, Aunt Pooh didn't have a new voice neither did Malik.

I didn't like Bri at all. I couldn't figure out who she was. At one point her friends tell her she's changed and that may be true but the reader never sees the before Bri so how are we supposed to see this change? She was the typical angsty teen who needed to be told five times by five different people that her behavior was a problem-I HATE THIS! It's repetitious and annoying.

OMG and those rhymes she would make up while people were talking to her. Am I supposed to believe she's an amazing lyricist with raps like, "Just 'cause I wasn't mellow, They're gonna think I'm ghetto." NO, JUST NO.

And what happened about the whole security guard thing. It just wrapped up in a pretty bow and ended. What happened to the video her and Malik made?

Another thing that REALLY bothers me about books is when authors write these god awful dialogues that don't drive the plot nor contribute to character development. Bri and her brother would talk about video games and farts and they would hit each other and OH MY GOD-SO WHAT! I know it's supposed to show the good relationship with the brother but can it at least be funny for meaningful?

As I write this review, I don't think I liked anything about this book. Like I said, I liked THUG because of the execution of (I can't remember his name) that boy's murder and I liked the Dad and the contrast between the dad and the uncle. I didn't like any of the characters or the themes. The only thing I appreciated is that Thomas touched on some topics that Black women deal with on a day to day basis and these are sometimes overlooked in own voices books. Living with the stereotype of being aggressive or sassy and being followed around in stores and not putting your hand in your pockets were mentioned. I don't think White people understand or know the day-to-day of being a Black woman. I purposely smile because I don't want White people to think I'm aggressive. My hair is braided and I know that comes with some prejudices so I'm overly pleasant even when I'm in a shitty mood. When I go into stores, if I take my phone out of my coat pocket, I don't put it back because I don't want it to look like I'm stealing. When I was a lot younger, I made sure people knew I had two college degrees so that they wouldn't treat me different; I made sure I didn't use slang or played my music too loud because I didn't want people to think I was "ghetto." I don't worry about the latter anymore but I did when I was in my 20's and so do a lot of Black people so I'm glad she talked about it.

Bang Bang Books wrote: "Unpopular Opinion-I know I'll be in the minority here but I did not enjoy this book and I do not think it is Printz worthy.

Here's my original review:
I think my biggest issue was that there was ..."

This review said aloud many of the thoughts I've had rolling around in my head since finishing the book. Normally I do a review right away for the HS students and I haven't on this one because I couldn't find a way to articulate what I didn't like about the book in a coherent manner. Thank you for sharing your unpopular opinion.

I also wondered what happened to the security guard plot line. It reminded me of Anger Is a Gift but then really didn't deliver. I would have liked the plot to be more driven by that incident with the family issues in the background as character development. The teacher character was left undeveloped as were the classroom scenes. The plot of THUG was *driven* by actions surrounding the police shooting. This book has too many threads that don't tie up.

I agree that there was too much going on plotwise in this book and paring down some of the plotlines would have enabled Thomas to dive more deeply into some issues. I also never warmed up to Bri. I get that some teens don't want to listen to any of the adults around them, but they usually listen to their friends. Bri was hard-headed and stubborn to the point of being obtuse. If there was a wrong decision to make, she was going to make it. Following your dreams is one thing, but you have to have some common sense. I also thought the book wrapped up too neatly. I was interested to see if Bri's mom would be able to have any impact once she got the job in the school, but that wasn't followed up on.

I thought THUG was a much stronger and better edited book than On the Come Up and while I love Bahni Turpin she has done so many audiobooks that she sounds like every AfAm teen girl to me now...not Printz worthy in my opinion although teens will and should read it

Was I the only one who felt the ending was too contrived and simple? After all the anger and the identity issues, it was so randomly wrapped up in an almost perfect bow. I can handle a hopeful tone, but the sanitized ending was out of character with the set up of the story.

I enjoyed On the Come Up, but not as much as The Hate U Give. I agree with others who've said that the plot-line is too crowded and the characterizations less dynamic. I don't see it winning the Printz, but I think readers would still find it a worthwhile read.

I can't decide if I actually really like Thomas's writing, or if I really want to like her writing. I feel like her plot arc is very flat, lacking tension to keep me wanting to read. The writing itself is good, but at times it feels more episodic to me rather than a cohesively written plot.

As a follow up to a Printz honor debut, I don't think this book has the literary merit to win again.

I felt Bri was so very real, but that many of the characters (other than her mom) were just kind of set dressing and only stuck around to play as part of her narrative. I appreciated how Thomas showed how poverty erased a lot of options and just left characters with a buffet of decisions that all cause problems elsewhere in their lives, exemplified by choosing between gas and food. It was hard to watch how a lack of emotional intelligence made characters not talk about things like they needed to, and I have a hard time reading books where you know a lot more than the characters and have to wait a while for them to pick up on it. I find the reader knowing more than characters makes us not respect characters as much. I did not feel like this was as strong as The Hate You Give, even if I felt Bri was much more of an everygirl than Star was.

Atomicgirl wrote: "Was I the only one who felt the ending was too contrived and simple? After all the anger and the identity issues, it was so randomly wrapped up in an almost perfect bow. I can handle a hopeful tone..."

I agree. I was not sure how to feel at the end of the book. I'm not sure how else it could have ended, but it was unsatisfying as an invested reader.

I don't love the dialogue in this book. I felt a lot of it was very contrived and over the top - the over explanations of the "geek" references for example. I know there are a lot of plotlines in this book, but I actually enjoyed all of them, because they showed the many facets of Bri's life, family, and friends which I felt was important in the development of life as a teen, which readers will enjoy.

The writing was not as strong as with THUG, in my opinion. I still feel that this is a good read and that many of my teens will enjoy it, it's just not Printz material.

I honestly really like On the Come Up, it was so real and raw. Bri wasn't the most lovable character, but she seemed very real to me. I think Angie Thomas is a very strong writer and this, her sophomore book, is very solid. I am currently reading another book about the rap scene, another 4 starred book by professional reviewers, SPIN by Lamar Giles, and ON THE COME UP is heads and tails above that one. I especially like the character growth.