Book Review :: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
ISBN: 1406384445
Series: The Hate U Give
Published by Walker Books
on 2021-01-12
Pages: 323
Source: HarperCollins NZ, Walker Books AUS
Find at Walker Books AUS
Goodreads

If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang legend, Mav does that the only way he knows how: dealing for the King Lords. With this money, he can help his mom, who works two jobs while his dad’s in prison.

Life’s not perfect, but with a fly girlfriend and a cousin who always has his back, Mav’s got everything under control.

Until that is, Maverick finds out he’s a father.

Suddenly he has a baby, Seven, who depends on him for everything. But it’s not so easy to sling dope, finish school, and raise a child. So when he’s offered the chance to go straight, he takes it. In a world where he’s expected to amount to nothing, maybe Mav can prove he’s different.

When King Lord blood runs through your veins, though, you can't just walk away. Loyalty, revenge, and responsibility threaten to tear Mav apart, especially after the brutal murder of a loved one. He’ll have to figure out for himself what it really means to be a man.

Last updated on 19 March 2023

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My Thoughts on Concrete Rose

As we jump back into the world of the Carter’s in Concrete Rose (which we discovered back in The Hate U Give), Maverick Carter is just 17 years old (the father of Star, who is the main character in THUG). He’s young, he’s making his way through high school, he’s weighing up what he’s doing with his life … and then he finds out that a one-night stand ended in a pregnancy.

We already know a bit about Maverick’s life, having learnt some of his back story in THUG, but what we didn’t know was what kind of person he really was. In Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas dives headfirst into Maverick’s character, revealing a young man who wants to the right thing, who is loyal to his family, who is a good father. Thomas writes the characters in this book wonderfully, as she does all books, and tackles so many ever-relevant and deep issues rooted in society.

“It’s kinda like how we have to do with ourselves. Get rid of the things that don’t do us any good. If it won’t help the rose grow, you’ve gotta let it go.”

As we follow Maverick’s life for a while, we see him go from a drug-dealing teen to a young father ready to do whatever it takes to hold his family together.

If you enjoyed THUG then Concrete Rose is a must-read. While I didn’t like it quite as much, it’s still an incredible feat in storytelling, and Thomas deserves all the praise she gets for her stories.

Have you read Concrete Rose? What did you think?

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Thank you to HarperCollins and Walker Books who gifted me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.