Hoo boy, we have a CORKER of an episode for you today, with On The Come Up, by Angie Thomas. We're going to be talking about some of the continual and heartbreaking trauma students of color face in our schools, as well as the incredible resilience of mothers.

I'm joined today by Marley Evans, a Vermont educator originally from the same Mississippi town as author Angie Thomas, and someone who originally appeared on our 21st Century Classroom podcast as a brand new educator. She'll be talking a little about her experience of school in Mississippi and Vermont, and how some experiences are universal.

A quick content note: we're going to be mentioning a couple of episodes of physical, emotional and familial trauma that occur in On The Come Up, so we want you to be forewarned if that would be helpful.

Now, pull up a seat. This is VTed Reads! Books for, with and by Vermont educators. Let's chat.

Jeanie:  Thanks for joining me. Marley, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Marley:  I'm a seventh and eighth-grade humanities teacher at Charlotte Central School. But I am originally from Jackson, Mississippi, which is where Angie Thomas is from! I like to imagine in my head that we're best friends, even though we have never met, and I only stalk her on Instagram. I love to read! And I've always been a reader. I used to get my books confiscated before I went to lunch, because I would just read the whole time. I would read under my desk at school. Plus I'm also a member of Green Mountain Book Award Committee. So I read a ton of YA every year. I usually read over 100 books. And I think this year is going to be about 120. I love to read.

Jeanie: What are you reading right now?

Marley:  I read the new Louise Penny, which was amazing. I always get her books. I'm reading Echo North. I finished Patron Saints of Nothing a couple of weeks ago, that was amazing. I'm rereading Emily Starr: Emily of New Moon, the Ellen Montgomery series.

Jeanie: Wow. You read a lot!

Marley: I read a lot.

Jeanie: You read more than me.

Marley:  I do read a lot.

Jeanie: What's your favorite YA of the year so far?

Marley: That is such a tough question! I really loved On the Come Up. I really loved With the Fire on High.

Jeanie: Me too! Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, is one of my favorite books of all time, and With the Fire on High is a great follow up.

Marley: I'm going to say I liked it more than Poet X! And I loved Poet X. That's not a judgment on Poet X, but I loved With the Fire on High.

Jeanie:  I'm going to read everything Acevedo ever writes! Just like Angie Thomas.  But let's move on to On the Come Up. Angie Thomas was the author of The Hate U Give , which everyone is reading and talking about, but On the Come Up is an amazing novel on its own right. Could you introduce us to the main character Bri?

Marley: Yeah. So: Bri. I have trouble sometimes in my mind, separating Bri from Starr; Starr’s the main character in The Hate U Give, and in my mind it's almost like they're sisters and I'm constantly comparing them.

Bri's in high school, and she's from the same neighborhood as Starr, Garden Heights. Which is a made-up neighborhood, a fictionalized neighborhood. She's feisty. She doesn't fit in this perfect box. It seems like she's always getting in like little bits of trouble, little scrapes. She's still trying to figure out who she is. I think what's very apparent throughout the whole book, is she has all these different ways she could go, these sort of paths she could go and she's trying to figure out which path to take and who to be, throughout the whole book.

Jeanie: That sounds like your average high school kid.

Marley: Yeah.

Jeanie: Her childhood, unlike Starr’s, it’s been really challenging. I wondered if you could read a section from page 43 of the book just to give our listeners an idea of the challenges of Bri's young years?

Marley: Yes, definitely.