Concrete Rose

It's been a minute since I read [book:The Hate U Give|32075671], so there were little things here and there that I couldn't remember from it, like Starr's mother's name (I figured it out lol). But what's nice is that I didn't need to remember everything (or really anything) to love this book! Mav made some downright dumb decisions, but he learned and grew and figured out who he wanted to be, and I love it even more for that. Not everything he did was right, and not everything he did was for the right reasons, but they all helped him. It shows that you can, at any time, make the decision to change your life. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it (as The Hate U Give shows us).

Also, I just love Angie Thomas' style. It's show more fantastic! show less

Audiobook performed by Dion Graham
4****

In this prequel to The Hate U Give, Thomas gives us the young Maverick Carter, a 17-year-old gang member struggling to find his path to manhood.

I really liked her debut novel, but I have a problem with “prequels / sequels.” That’s my issue and I recognize it may be unfair, but Thomas’s sophomore effort had that hill to climb for me. And she did it marvelously well!

I can really see how this young man, hardly out of childhood, is being influenced – by his peers, by his parents, by other adults in his neighborhood and school, and by the expectations of society. The pressure on him to “be a man” is intense, and the conflicting ways in which this is evidenced or proved to others is at show more the core of Maverick’s difficulties.

On the one hand he honors the respect shown his father (who is incarcerated for crimes committed) by other gang members and the reputation Maverick feels he needs to live up to as “little Don.” On the other hand, are the messages he’s getting from his mother and neighbor Mr Wyatt about being responsible, and thinking for himself rather than following the crowd. On the one hand is the sense of belonging and camaraderie he feels with his fellow gang members, on the other is the love he feels for his girlfriend Lisa, and the obvious disdain shown him by her brother and parents because of his gang affiliation. I particularly liked the conversations he had with Mr Wyatt, owner of the local grocery, who gives Maverick a part-time job and some sound advice on setting goals and working to achieve them.

Maverick’s only seventeen, and for all his bravado and pronouncements about “being a man” he is not yet an adult. Teenagers make mistakes – sometimes serious mistakes – often based on the emotion of an instant rather than a coherent plan. Some poor decisions threaten to completely derail this young man’s path to adulthood. Having read the debut novel, I know he’ll survive, and yet some of the scenes had me so afraid for Maverick, my heart was in my throat and tears flowed freely.

Thomas writes about a realistic urban environment for many families, with brutal honesty and empathy. She does not shy away from the serious social issues facing these families, nor does she offer platitudes or pat answers on how to address these issues.

Dion Graham does a marvelous job performing the audiobook. He really brings these characters to life and his changes in vocal style, and inflection make it easy to understand who is speaking. show less

I'm about to say something sacrilegious....

I liked this book BETTER than "The Hate U Give"

"The Hate U Give" was written at a time of racial unrest (the beginning of it really). It tackled police relations, protesting, standing up, etc. It was eye opening and due to its well written nature, very deserving of the awards it won.

"Concrete Rose" is written in a universe set before "The Hate U Give." Instead of race relations, we tackle gang violence. The lack of positive role models and father figures in young black men's lives. I LOVED Maverick's story, a young man who has gotten two different women pregnant by being stupid. Yet he wants to be better. He knows he can't end up like his dad (who is behind bars). Maverick knows that if he show more slings drugs, while he earns more money, his life is at greater risk to end far too early. What about his children? What about his mother who needs him to help pay the bills?

This is a story that is JUST as relevant to the Black experience as "The Hate U Give." I wish "Concrete Rose" was getting equal publicity. It deserves it!! I encourage you to try it for yourselves!! show less

Angie Thomas wrote this in part because the actor who played Big Mav, Russell Hornsby, in the film adaptation of THUG, asked her questions to help with characterization. That warmed my heart. Russell Hornsby is one of my favorite actors. Fans of THUG also inspired Thomas to write this prequel, among other factors. I was interested to read a book about one of my favorite THUG characters. Reading about anything with babies and kids is horribly boring. Somehow, Thomas made it interesting. Teen parenthood is something I can't relate to. Still, I kept reading. I was eager for Mav to turn his life around, and cheered him on. He made choices I would have too, as a teen. Thomas does a great job of getting into the mind of a teenage boy and show more deftly explores consequences. Usually short chapters drive me nuts, but here they were successfully used to dramatic effect. I grieved at the death and grief in this book, and was saddened over Mav's hardships. I was stunned at Iesha's irresponsibility, entitlement and denial, and incredulous about King swooping in on her. And Mav didn't stop interacting with them! The book examines why quite well, but ugh. P-Nut was just annoying. I hadn't realized how young Mav and Lisa were when they got together, and when Seven was conceived with Iesha. Somehow, I thought it was during Mav's and Lisa's marriage (eg adults), not as teenagers.

The book didn't end where I thought it would, and ended on a great point to introduce THUG. Like THUG, the title refers to a Tupac Shakur song. I liked how toxic masculinity was was questioned in regards to grief, and dismantled in regards to fatherhood. I've never experienced the challenges the characters experience. Given that, I wasn't the intended audience for the book. This was an incredibly important novel that is going to give hope to a lot of people. I'm so glad Angie Thomas is successfully continuing to write such important, terrific books. show less

Angie Thomas is truly a talented author. Her writing is so engaging and her storytelling so enthralling. It's another book you can zoom through, not wanting to put it down, and you are challenged and provoked throughout, ending the book thinking about the world in a different way. At least it was for me. This is one of those books that, for me, shines a bright light on the biases and stereotypes I didn't know I (still) had.

If I could describe this book in one word it would unapologetic. For example, Thomas (the author) does such an amazing job (in my very humble opinion) showing the complexity of Black youth/men's decisions and realities around drug dealing, use, and being in gangs. Similarly, she portrays a complexity of (Black) show more teenage mothers' decisions and realities that is both unapologetic and non-shaming. For example, how Iesha left Seven when he was 3 months old. Thomas was able to build empathy for this decision by showing how completely overwhelmed she was, depressed to the point of putting her baby and self at risk, while at the same time pointing out the harmful impact of some of her decisions on her baby and others. Being able to illustrate these multiple, often contradictory yet still true truths in a story is such a gift and so, so needed.

Similarly, like in The Hate U Give, she humanizes the men who are in gangs and dealing drugs while also showing the harm this causes to others. She reiterates the systemic lack of opportunity, choice, and options facing young Black men and women in under-resourced communities like the Garden while also lifting up their agency. Like this quote, for example "What’s the point of a high school diploma or a GED? Nah, for real. People claim they’ll make my life easier, but all a high school diploma did for Ma was help her get two jobs that don’t pay enough."

The power of community shines through in this story too. Mr. and Ms. Wyatt, Ms. Rosalie, Mama, Dre... so much resilience grows out of the community.

It was fun reading this and thinking back to the Hate U Give. I had to go back and look up things in The Hate U Give to make some of the connections, and that was fun. Thomas did such a great job making connections and bridges between the stories that were both natural and witty. I want more though... I want a story about Mav going to prison when Starr is 3 years old, perhaps told from Lisa's perspective? I hope that is in the works!

I put this on the LGBTQIA shelf because there is a bisexual/lesbian relationship that is normalized and accepted. But it is not a central focus of this story. show less

I loved [b:The Hate You Give|53522062|The Hate You Give|Angie Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613832668l/53522062._SY75_.jpg|49638190] and I love [a:Angie Thomas|15049422|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1471998209p2/15049422.jpg] (though I guess I missed [b:On the Come Up|35887567|On the Come Up|Angie Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518828924l/35887567._SY75_.jpg|56364068] - unimportant)
Based on what I already knew about Maverick's story, I was prepared for this to be a dark and difficult book. And while it was, I definitely didn't expect to laugh as hard at these little dorks as I did. It reminded me of the antics from my high show more school classmates (which I hadn't realized I missed until now) However, young Mav's predicament is something I've known so many kids have found themselves in - yet Maverick is inspiring. Maverick was a train wreck, don't get me wrong, but it was interesting to watch him get his redemption. Thomas could have gone with a lot of stereotypes, but that would have been lazy and not like her at all. Instead, we can watch as some dumb teenagers act like fools, but still take heart in knowing that they grow up to become amazing people and their teen years weren't at all mistakes. show less

Angie Thomas is phenomenal - and I am about as far outside her target audience as one can get - a 56 year old middle class white guy. "The Hate U Give" was one of the best books of the year. "On the Come Up" was one of the best books of the year. And "Concrete Rose" follows that trend.
The protagonist, Maverick Carter, is harsh, tough, and deeply, deeply flawed. Yet, in Angie Thomas' hands, he is a sympathetic hero that you can't help but love and root for.
Maverick is 17, and in a local gang. He sells weed as he is too young an inexperienced to be trusted by the "big homies" with the hard drugs. When he finds out near the beginning of the book that the baby of one of his closest friends is actually his, he suddenly finds himself a father show more with a child to support, because the mother abandons him. Maverick decides he has to quit selling drugs and go straight for his son. But going straight is hard. Most of his friends pressure him to follow the gang path, and his job at Mr. Wyatt's store sure isn't bringing in the money he needs.
When his cousin is gunned down, bad things take a turn for the worse. Maverick feels duty-bound to avenge Dre's murder... even though he doesn't have any way of knowing for certain who did it, and even though he's never killed before. And then... he's got a second child on the way from the girl he actually loves.
It's a complicated life Maverick is living. Which path will he choose? show less