"Concrete Rose" Review
by Olivia Appleton
For Maverick Carter, son of a former gang legend, life is turned upside down when he finds out he is going to be a father. At just 17 years old, he is given the opportunity to set his life straight by stopping dealing drugs, finishing school, and raising a child. We see Maverick’s journey on becoming a father while also walking away from his gang members. A prequel to “The Hate U Give,” Angie Thomas’s “Concrete Rose” digs deeper into gang life and the hardships of fatherhood.
All the characters have depth; they are realistic and believable. We get to see how these characters challenge Maverick and how they affect him on his journey. The pain he goes through having to make tough decisions felt moving while reading. The plot started off slow but quickened once the story was established.
Maverick lives in a poorer neighborhood with a lot of violence and gang activity, which creates pressure on him and the community. For fans of “The Hate U Give,” there are Easter eggs included in “Concrete Rose” that only readers of the series would get. That felt enjoyable to make connections while reading because it was all included in the world Thomas made. Although this book had a quicker ending, it sums up Maverick’s story perfectly because we see it carried into Thomas’s “The Hate U Give.” Many of the themes in Thomas’s books pertain to being Black in America.
Maverick, for instance, at one point says in “Concrete Rose,” “One of the biggest lies ever told is that Black men don’t feel emotions. Guess it’s easier to not see us as human when you think we’re heartless. Fact of the matter is, we feel things. Hurt, pain, sadness, all of it. We got a right to show them feelings as much as anybody else.”
Thomas captures Black emotion vividly through her writing. Her contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement through her books captures readers attention. She not only writes of her own experiences but of those of many other Black Americans. We see this through Maverick’s struggle trying to better himself and people doubting him. We see how unfair the world treats him because of his skin color. Thomas writes in a beautiful way to guide people through these issues. People feel represented through Thomas’s writing.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for fans of realistic fiction. It helps cover many world issues through Maverick’s journey on becoming a father in a gang-oriented area. Thomas writes to represent the Black community through real-life problems and creates unique points of view.
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