On the Come Up
A Novel, Based on a True Story
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4.2 • 14 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Based on a true story, an impassioned and propulsive debut novel about a headstrong girl from Far Rockaway, Queens, who is trying to find her place in the world
Written in an urban vernacular that’s electrifying and intimate, On the Come Up introduces a heroine whose voice is irrepressible, dynamic, and unstintingly honest. Thirteen-year-old AnnMarie Walker dreams of a world beyond Far Rockaway, where the sway of the neighborhood keeps her tied to old ideas about success. While attending a school for pregnant teens, AnnMarie comes across a flyer advertising movie auditions in Manhattan. Astonishingly, improbably, and four months before she’s due to give birth—she lands a lead role. For a time, AnnMarie soars—acting for the camera, flying to the Sundance Film Festival, seeing her face on-screen. But when the film fades from view and the realities of her life set in, AnnMarie’s grit and determination are the only tools left to keep her moving forward.
Told with remarkable compassion and based on the real-life story of Anna Simpson, whom the author met during the filming of the award-winning Our Song, Hannah Weyer’s debut novel is an incredible act of literary ventriloquism that powerfully illuminates the lives of the urban unseen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This vibrant debut novel based on a real-life story from indie filmmaker Weyer is set in the urban community of Far Rockaway, Queens, and explores the struggles of a local girl trying to carve out a life beyond the expected. When AnnMarie Walker starts eighth grade, she knows that having brand-name jeans and the best voice in her music class doesn't mean much unless you can back it up with attitude. Her sass attracts the attention of Darius Greene and their romance turns a na ve AnnMarie into an expectant mother at 14. As her belly grows and the relationship takes a violent turn, AnnMarie lands a role in an indie film that expands her world and takes her to Sundance. AnnMarie's journey to make it as an actor is as rocky as the first few years of single motherhood, and she faces the grim reality of what it takes to succeed in work, family, and love without advantages. Weyer skillfully handles each phase of AnnMarie's life with a tonality that serves her growing maturity and shifting goals. Weyer's compassionate storytelling and experience as a mentor for at-risk youth lends her compelling novel an inspiring pathos without losing its sharp, realistic edge.
