On the Come Up

by

Angie Thomas

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on On the Come Up makes teaching easy.
A ten-year-old boy who lives in Aunt Pooh's apartment complex. He rides around town on a dirt bike, and it's implied that he doesn't often go to school and has very little support or supervision from a parent or guardian. Bri tries to steer him in the right direction, but she's mostly unsuccessful—Jojo idolizes Aunt Pooh and asks to join the Garden Disciples every chance he gets. He experiences some degree of fame by association after Bri's song, “On the Come Up,” gets big, though he starts telling kids that Bri is actually involved in gang-related violence. When he shows up at the Ring to see Bri perform, Trey takes Jojo under his wing and does what he can to give Jojo some direction and a good role model.

Jojo Quotes in On the Come Up

The On the Come Up quotes below are all either spoken by Jojo or refer to Jojo. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Individuality Theme Icon
).
Chapter 25 Quotes

"Me and my twin know all the words to your song!" this snaggle-toothed girl pipes up.

I scribble my name for her. "Oh, for real?"

"'Strapped like backpacks, I pull triggers,'" she and her sister squeak. "'All the clips on my hips change my figure.'"

I stop writing.

How old are they? Six? Seven?

Related Characters: Bri (speaker), Jojo
Related Symbols: Bri’s Song, "On the Come Up"
Page Number: 331-32
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire On the Come Up LitChart as a printable PDF.
On the Come Up PDF

Jojo Quotes in On the Come Up

The On the Come Up quotes below are all either spoken by Jojo or refer to Jojo. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Individuality Theme Icon
).
Chapter 25 Quotes

"Me and my twin know all the words to your song!" this snaggle-toothed girl pipes up.

I scribble my name for her. "Oh, for real?"

"'Strapped like backpacks, I pull triggers,'" she and her sister squeak. "'All the clips on my hips change my figure.'"

I stop writing.

How old are they? Six? Seven?

Related Characters: Bri (speaker), Jojo
Related Symbols: Bri’s Song, "On the Come Up"
Page Number: 331-32
Explanation and Analysis: