Finding Strength in Family and Friends

Throughout On the Come Up, the author uses Bri's complex relationships with her best friends, mother, brother, aunt, and grandparents to explore the ways in which one's closest ties have the power to carry her through great difficulty. When Bri's father is murdered and her mother begins a subsequent drug habit, Bri's relationships with her family start to unravel. Though Jay is clean in the narrative present, Bri still has difficulty trusting her. Her late father's parents hold a similar grudge against Jay, further widening the familial divide. Bri simultaneously pulls away from her brother Trey, seeming to resent his admirable character, his devotion to his work and work. Though the siblings were close as young children, Bri increasingly pulls away, insisting she does not need Trey's support and advice.

As Bri's relationships with her mother and brother in particular experience...